H&R 38 Hammerless Cylinder Retainer

swppopgun

I recently bought a New Model Hamnmerless H&R .38 five shot, latest patent 1889. While oiling it I in advertantly "unscrewed" the cylinder from the quill. This causes me a bit of anxiety as all my other H&R old top breaks require holding up the barrel catch to turn the cylinder CCW and remove it from the quill. After examining this piece I don't see any tang or cylinder retainer on the barrel catch. Is this normal?

Knifecollector

Yes its normal. The cylinders will just unscrew and pull off.

32 Magnum

Cylinder removal on H&R hinged frame revolvers is Model, variation and year of manufacture dependent. There are at least four different approaches to cylinder retention depending upon the above criteria. Most require that the latch be raised and either locked in the up position, or held. Some have a hook retainer on the bottom of the latch, some have screw threads, some have smooth quills, some don't have the latch hook. I've seen many old H&Rs with "fancy" zig-zag engraving on the cylinder caused by folks trying to screw off or screw on the cylinder without holding the latch out of the way...simple answer is - it's normal on some, NOT normal on others.

swppopgun

Thanks for responding. Seems that my model is OK.