Sturdy, well made and reasonably accurate, despite going out of business in 1986, H&R .22 revolvers might likely cross your bench.

by Wendell Dwight Deaner

Harrington and Richardson was in the business of making firearms from 1871 to 1986. From the period past the First World War to the end of its manufacturing run, the company produced many variations of .22 revolvers with model numbers ranging from 900 to 999. Some of the very similar firearms it produced had no model numbers (for a time) or were labeled with a name, such as the Sportsman. These little guns were sturdy, well made, and reasonably accurate. Many are in use today and you may find an example coming into your shop for repairs at any time.
Fortunately, the 900s are not difficult to work on. Many parts are still available but some may be easier than others to obtain. Brownells has a few and Bob’s Gun Shop (gun-parts.com, fax: 501/767-2750) seems to have a good selection. Use Google to search “H&R gun parts” will bring up more suppliers. For revolvers that were manufactured from 1934 to 1986, finding parts is not the chore that one would suppose. The good news is that the most likely suspects, cylinder pins and mainspring assemblies, are fairly easy to find.
The barrel is pinned and screws out. Dedicated action wrenches for this gun would not be easy to find as would barrel vises. That being said, something from most shops could probably be rigged to twist off the barrel. Most of the time this is not necessary but I have seen some of these guns with loose barrels you could actually shake with hand pressure.

Read more in our September 2012 issue. Back issues are available.

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