H&R; How old and what does it shoot safely?

Jeepflexin

I have an H&R 9 shot revolver model 929 serial number AN 971. The barrel is marked 22 CAL.

A .22LR round will chamber no problem, is this safe for .22 short, .22 long and .22 LR?


I speculate it is but would apreciate any thoughts. Also if anyone knows how old this little guy is I'd be appreciative.

Thanks in advance.

rufe-snow

The 929's were first made in the 50's, that means that they are OK with modern ammo.

That said, you still might have a handgun that over 50 years old. Not knowing the fired round count, or what has or has not been done to it over the years? If you have any doubts about it's condition or safety, take it to a qualified gunsmith for inspection and test firing. We have know way of ascertaining it's safety for you, over the net.

Jeepflexin

Thanks. It's condition is fair-good I have no reason to suspect it is unsafe but because it has an "old" look to it I wasn't sure what it should shoot, once it chambered a 22LR I figured it could shoot that. Would I presume correct that it can shoot 22 Short and 22 Long as well? I doubt I'd have any reason to shoot anything but 22LR though it but it would be nice to know. Most of the firearms I have seen in my limited experience would designate one or as many as all types it was designed to shoot. Maybe I should have asked what round was it designed to fire.



It locks up pretty tight and as far as its mechanical condition I have little concern about safety issues, your recommendation is duly noted and apreciated though.[:)]

11b6r

Intended for 22 short, long, and long rifle. Some guns do all 3 (have a few Remington auto rifles like that) If you DO shoot shorts, scrub the chamber good- you can build up a ring of carbon/ bullet lube at the case mouth of the short that may prevent LR from loading. Attractive when shorts were cheaper than longs, which were cheaper than LRs.

32 Magnum

Your gun was made in 1975. Use of the short and long cartridges should be limited and the cylinder bores cleaned thoroughly after firing those cartridges or crud build-up will occur making it difficult to chamber and extract .22 lr cartridges. Many of the H&R firearms that were originally catalogued as being suitable for s, l and lr were later catalogued for .22lr only, when these problems began to occur and the warranty work began to cost H&R money.

The above info was supplied by the former Superintendent of Works for H&R Arms Co. and verified by a gentleman of my personal acquaintance who was a former Quality Control Supervisor and the Archivist/Historian for H&R Arms Co.
Jim Hauff
H&R Collector
Contributing Editor for H&R firearms to "The Blue Book of Gun Values" by S. Fjestad

Bill DeShivs

Why would improper cleaning of chambers be a warranty problem?
Markings were changed to .22 LR because anyone knows that longs and shorts are perfectly fine in a LR chamber.

Jeepflexin

quote:Originally posted by Bill DeShivs
Why would improper cleaning of chambers be a warranty problem?
Markings were changed to .22 LR because anyone knows that longs and shorts are perfectly fine in a LR chamber.


While I generally agree with this statement what threw me off was this one being marked "22 CAL" not .22 LR and even though it is in pretty good shape it has an older than 1975 look about it as far as design. Had me wondering if this was some relic that shouldn't fire modern stuff. Clearly this was a case of ignorance on my part, fortunately those above were able to set me straight on it.[:D]

I greatly apreciate the insight from all that replied.

32 Magnum

Mr. DeShivs - think about it.

JeepFlexin
The Model 929 (introduced in 1957) was a refinement of earlier designs, such as the 922, which was derived from the H&R Model 1904, which in itself was a refinement of the American Double Action which was first produced in 1883. One of the "charming" aspects of the H&R firearms was the fact that they rarely discard what they considered a "good idea". Ultimately this philosophy resulted in the continuation of older designs improved with minor changes over a long period of time. These variations were incremental and it is not unusual to find the same "model" with six or seven variations, some of which only lasted for a couple to a few years, before another variation was introduced. In my collection I have over thirty DIFFERENT examples of the Sportsman revolver which evolved into half a dozen DA and SA models, each of which are represented by as many as six or seven variations and spun off four or more "other" similar models. The 929 grew out of this same philosophy, it was preceded by the Model 900 with a "snap-out" cylinder, which was an improvement over the Model 922 with a pull-pin cylinder removal system. The 732/929 models were the first of the H&R revolver with a crane mounted "swing-out" cylinder. The metalurgical properties of the H&R revolver cylinders were never in the same league as the "top of the line" manufacturers. That is one of the reasons H&R never produced a handgun suitable for even .38 S&W Special loadings and the only .38s they ever built were only suitable for 5 rounds of .38 S&W as well as only 5 rounds of .32 H&R Magnum, when their cylinders were of dimensions similar to S&W. Poor grade steel has a tendency to erode/pit/roughen up more quickly and thus the problem with shooting short and long .22s in their cylinders.
Jim Hauff

Jeepflexin

Thanks a lot Jim, that is some great information on H&R, in the next few weeks I'll be posting some questions about an H&R hammerless that was passed down to me as well, I hope you will be able to add some insight to it as well, I'll post pics with it when I post. Thanks agian!

~Pete~