Please educate me on this firearm

N

Nate7504

Inactive
Hello all,and thank you for taking the time to read this! First off I am a total noob when it comes to firearms,truth be told I have never fired anything larger then a pellet gun,so with that being said please forgive my severe lack of knowledge! I recently purchased a six shot revolver,ingraved on top of the barel is the following...HARINGTON&RICHARDSON ARMS COMPANY.second line...WARCHESTER MASS USA.PATD OCT 4th 1887,(I think) marked on the star shaped thing that ejects the shells 823,stamped on the front of the cylinder where the shells are loaded 823,under the left grip 6823.the finish is nickel there are no other markings that I can find,it is break action.also the grips have a target looking symbol on both of them,I am not terribly conserned with the value,more so was wondering the caliber,if I can purchase shells,how old it might be things like that? I only paid $30 bucks for it,and I would say 85% of the finish is intact,and all the movement of the parts feels very tight (as in still in good working order) still very precise.thank you so much for any info you folks can provide.
 
Can you post pictures, including a picture of the caliber marking (should be on the side of the barrel).

I will say that H&R's of that era are not generally high ticket guns and you probably paid a reasonable price. There is some collector interest, but only for those in top condition since H&R made millions of revolvers in that period.

Jim
 
From your description you have a turn of the century top break revolver made by H&R one of dozens of companies that copied the S&W design. H&R was one of the better copies. There has never been much collector interest but at $30 you made an ok deal. Many of these guns are worn and/or pitted from corrosive ammunition, most were .32 or .38 S&W caliber.
 
I believe I read somewhere that if there where no markings stating the caliber that it was to use a black powder shell? I really would like to fire it,after proper inspection! For all I know this thing could blow up in my hand.
 
if it is patented 1887 odds are it was never built with smokeless powder in mind. I am no expert in antique revolvers but using smokeless powder in anything prior to 1900 is bad joo joo for the most part.

if you know anyone that reloads there is a smokeless powder called trail boss that simulates black powder pressures, you may be able to load up some light loads depending on the condition of the gun. however with anything that old you should take it to a gunsmith to inspect and make sure it's even safe to attempt to fire before going out and building loads.
 
As best I can tell without pictures of the actual gun and the reference books...

A six shot top break Harrington & Richardson is probably a .32 S&W.
If the caliber is not stamped on the barrel, it is a black powder weapon.
I am sure a lot of them have been shot with smokeless, which is not loaded any hotter than it ever was, but I am not telling you that it is OK for you and your gun.

The single patent date spelled out marks it as a second variation, made only from 1890 til 1892.

Magnum Wheel Man can probably give you some pointers on shooting the old gun.
 
The concern about "black powder" in those old guns is pretty modern. The owners fired millions of them for years with smokeless powder (that is all there is or has been since about 1915). I am sure some weak ones did let go, but H&R's are pretty sturdy. I have fired literally hundreds of those guns with modern ammo and never had one let go. That is not to say they can't, so, like others, I have to say there is some risk, mainly to the gun.

Jim
 
Ok so let's assume its in good enough shape to fire and its .32 cal,and I decide to give it a shot (pun intended) exactly what ammo would I buy (modern), just look for 32 cal ammo?
 
.32 Smith & Wesson.
Some call it .32 S&W Short; but Smith & Wesson don't.

There IS a .32 S&W Long, don't get that.

Do NOT put .32 ACP in an old topbreak.
 
Thanks a lot sir! I found a couple places online that sell it,pretty expensive though.why is it so $$ ? Is it just an unusual caliber? Oh we'll,it will be well worth it to see this old firearm shoot again,if possible.
 
I found some ammo at my local store,it's .32 cal fmc,is that full metal jacket? Can that be used,or should it be all lead only?
 
The boxes should be marked ".32 Smith & Wesson" or ".32 S&W". The headstamp should be ".32 S&W". The bullets will be lead, not metal jacketed. You don't want .32 ACP" or ".32 Automatic".

Jim
 
as has been said there are so many 32s out there it's insane.
32 smith and wesson
32 ACP(automatic colt pistol, also called 32 auto for short)
32 smith and wesson long
and then there is 32 special which is actually a rifle cartridge.

32 wouldn't do you much good, it's a rimless case so there's no way to extract it once it's fired... assuming your gun can take it.
 
I think you mean .32 ACP wouldn't extract. The problem is that .32 ACP is NOT a rimless cartridge. It is semi-rimmed, and will fire and extract in those old revolvers made for .32 S&W. But the pressure of the .32 ACP is 20,500 psi, about 7000 higher than the .32 S&W. That difference can destroy an old and weak gun.

Jim
 
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