Information on a Harrington & Richardson Shotgun

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Beezer

New member
I've picked up a Harrington & Richardson single shot, break top shot gun from my grandfather. I'm having a hard time finding any information about it online.

On the left side of the gun, there appears to be a date of May 14, 1921 (or 1951), but the writing is worn so its difficult to tell. I've attached a few pictures. Can anyone tell me the age of the gun and how much its worth (ball park)?

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Beezer, I have a shotgun exactly like that that was my grandfather's first shotgun. My grandmother tells me he got it when he was 12, and he was born in 1912... So that would put the date of mfg on or before 1924. As yours looks identical to mine, I would bet the date is 1921 rather than 1951. As for the value, I really have no idea... So much of that depends on a potential buyer and his demand for your particular model. Maybe someone can chime in with more info on value.

On another note, my grandmother wasn't confident in the gun's condition so she made me promise to never shoot it.
 
I can tell you that that with the condition this gun is in, I probably won't be shooting it unless some work is done on it.
 
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Your H&R appears to be a Model 1900.

When the latch on the LH side of the receiver is lifted, it acts as a thumb grasp, so the hinge pin can be unscrewed & removed to takedown the gun into two parts (ILO three) w/o removing the forend.

The receiver/frame appears to have had a poor polishing job prior to a reblue, so the value is negligable - especially since H&R collectors are few & far between (and they mostly want pristine condition, anyway).

I would advise against ever shooting it with any modern ammo. since post-1926 ammo has different pressure characteristics than older stuff.

I shoot my ca.1911 shotgun only with special, low-pressure ammo (I use RST, but there are other brands/makers).

Yes, the specialty ammo is more expensive than wallyworld discount shells - but I won't subject such an old gun to a whole lot of shooting, anyway.




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The folks in the collecting section over on Greybeard Outdoors (go2gbo) might be able to help with ID/value.
 
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