Harrington & Richardson - turn of the century Auto Ejecting

[mattiooo]

I inherited a couple of revolvers from my dad. One was his grandad's gun.

I found some information that based on the barrel markings it was an early smokeless one, manufactured between 1905 and 1908. Does anyone know a way of, using the serial number, narrowing that down more, and what I really want to know is: where it would have been sold from.

I know they aren't worth much - I'm just trying to use it to help with family tree stuff.

I probably don't plan to shoot it, but if I wanted to verify it was safe to shoot, who would be the best person to take it to?

Lastly - there were 5 rounds still in it that are clearly old. Assuming they could be from any time as early as when the gun was manufactured, would they still be viable now? Is there a separate resource for dating old ammunition?

Thanks all!

[crays]

Collector's Show this spring. Bound to be someone who knows.

May 20-21, Merchandise Mart

sent from me

[rondog]

Bert?

[DOC]

Pictures?

[mattiooo]

I was able to confirm this much based on the Blue Book:

Third Generation - First Variation
First Variation 4 patent dates (5-14 & 8-6-89, 4-2-95, 4-7-97) model name and caliber on left side of barrel (1905-1908).

Here are some photos - I struck the last 2 digits of the serial: 1035XX

69961699626996369964

[thvigil11]

When my Granny passed way, we found one of those exact pistols under her mattress. Shells were leaking green and the firing pin was broken off. No one knows where she got it or how long she had it. My brother ended up keeping it, but he's never bothered to fix it. He did at least chuck the shells and give it a good cleaning.

[Marine24]

H&R revolvers are tough to research. If the serial number starts with an alpha character, a little more information is available but older models are tough. I had a similar 32 S&W top break H&R revolver but had a tough time dating it.

Once you get it checked out, I would recommend shooting it. I'm a fan of top breaks and the 38 S&W is a pretty mild one to shoot.

As previously recommended, the Collector's show would be a good place to start to find someone to look at it. John Kelly is who I've used in the past, but he is semi/almost retired at this point.