[Milly]

Dad asked me to try to get some info on his pistol that he got from his grandfather (my great-grandfather) in the late sixties or early seventies. It is believed that it was originally purchased some time in the 1950's by great-grandfather. Dad only has the gun and a leather holster, as it did not come with the box or paper work. It is a 9 shot revolver that is loaded and unloaded by "breaking" the gun open (breach loading?? Please correct me if I'm wrong). It appears that when it is shot the cylinder skips the next chamber in order to line up the next one. The cylinder spins freely, unlike my Ruger Single Six that "locks" into position to line up the chamber with the barrel. I thought it was worn out be Dad says the gun has always operated like that. Here is the info that he gave me off the gun:

H&R 22 Special
Serial #581084 (found on inside of the grip on the frame)
Harrington & Richardson Arms Co.
Worcester, Mass.
.22 Long Rifle CTC

Dad would like to know approximately what year the gun may have been produced and what it may be worth. The gun appears to be pretty tight where it folds open and the extractor works smoothly. It is a chrome or nickel plated gun that shows signs of wear from the holster it has been stored in for many decades. It has wooden grips, with no markings.

It has been many years since the gun was last shot and I think Dad is thinking of doing some target shooting with it but doesn't want to shoot it if it is a collectible now.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[docmccoy]

The Blue Book lists a .22 Special break-open, 9 shot double action, 6" barrel, but says "blue only". There were no listings for a nickel plated .22 9 shot break-open by any other name either. Maybe it was after market plated

As for being able to rotate the cylinder, I assume you mean with the hammer down. It should lock up when the hammer is back. I used to have an old double action Iver Johnson that operated the same way, except it didn't skip a chamber when indexing.

If the gun is operating properly, the value is $50 for 60% grade and can range upward to $250 for 98%.

 

[Milly]

Thanks for the info. I found a few pictures online that looked just like Dads gun and they were also blued. The blueing is shiny, like worn chrome if you will. I'm thinking it's just worn blue. Thanks again.