My moms aunt passed away in the late 80s and when we were emptying her house to sell it we found this H&R 32 revolver with a small box of lead round nose ammo. It seems there are many models like this with multiple patent dates..trying to figure out how old it may be. The action is tight and don’t know how many rounds may have gone through it. Any help appreciated as these are something new to me.
Old revolver ID and possible value
- Thread starter BOSS351
- Start date
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RaleighReloader
Well-Known Member
The roll mark on the barrel says it all ... it's a top-break shrouded hammer revolver made by Harrington & Richardson. It's chambered in the .32 S&W cartridge, which is colloquially known as the ".32 Short" now.
There's a long and somewhat religious debate among gun collectors about whether the H&R was actually a better gun than the Smith & Wesson that it mimicked. Sadly, though, none of that translates into value ... these guns tend to fetch somewhere in the $200 to $300 range, give or take a bit.
This probably dates to somewhere between the 1890's and the 1910's. By WW1, the "hand ejector" design (where the cylinder swings out to the side) had become the de facto revolver design.
Mike
There's a long and somewhat religious debate among gun collectors about whether the H&R was actually a better gun than the Smith & Wesson that it mimicked. Sadly, though, none of that translates into value ... these guns tend to fetch somewhere in the $200 to $300 range, give or take a bit.
This probably dates to somewhere between the 1890's and the 1910's. By WW1, the "hand ejector" design (where the cylinder swings out to the side) had become the de facto revolver design.
Mike
whbonney26
Well-Known Member
They are pretty neat guns and fun to shoot. I have about a half dozen of the older .32 revolvers. Several I still shoot from time to time and some that are pretty rough but ended up with me for one reason or another. Values have went up over the last 10 years but are still pretty cheap depending on the actual gun model, condition etc.
Be Careful
I have an H&R top break that belonged to my grandfather. He carried this thing in the 30’s. It is chambered in .38 S&W short. If I cock the hammer, the cylinder will rotate, but it does not lock up with the chamber centered over the forcing cone. It looks like it could fire with the cylinder freely rotating. LGS said parts impossible to get and even if they were, cost to repair more than value of the gun. I tagged it with a “DO NOT FIRE” hang tag and put it back in my safe.
I have an H&R top break that belonged to my grandfather. He carried this thing in the 30’s. It is chambered in .38 S&W short. If I cock the hammer, the cylinder will rotate, but it does not lock up with the chamber centered over the forcing cone. It looks like it could fire with the cylinder freely rotating. LGS said parts impossible to get and even if they were, cost to repair more than value of the gun. I tagged it with a “DO NOT FIRE” hang tag and put it back in my safe.
