In need of Harrington & Richardson expert/historian

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rufusky

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
2
Location
kentucky
Hello Ruger Owners:
I've aquired a old Harrington & Richardson shotgun. I am trying to find out when it was made. Contacted H&R,told their records only go back to 1941,&
they could not help.Told me to contact their historians(Remington). H&Remlin historians told me the same thing their customer service did.Have post on marlin owners & was referred to you good people.Have reached out to Cody Museum, but don't know if they can help.
The gun is: Harrington & Richardson Arms Co., Worchester, Mass. USA.
REENFORCED BREECH. On top of barrel, at the breech it says "16 gauge choke". The receiver looks to be nickel plated.Brown patina 28 inch barrel,
clean bore.On bottom tang it has a five digit all number serial #, with matching #'s on forearm & barrel. The serial # starts with 28xxx. The shotgun
is a single shot.In working order (fired high-brass).
Any help or info would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
2,271
Location
Orange County, CA
You're going to have a hard time getting a hard date for that gun. So many such guns were made in a mad mixture of models over such a long time that it is very hard to date them accurately. The only good news is that it does have a serial number (not a requirement when it was made, and many didn't) and the "Reinforced Breech" marking. Those might narrow down the time frame for somebody with a real understanding of H&R models, if you can find him.

One place I can suggest to try is the double shotgun forum on www.doublegunshop.com/BBS (it is the first sub-forum in their list). Mark you posting OT and make it clear that you are asking an H&R historical question in the title (the title of this post is about perfect). Possibly somebody there will have the knowledge you need--I have seen several such questions answered by members. Good luck!

If you don't get a specific answer, you might look in old H&R catalogs which may be available online (some BBS members may have them).

At a GUESS, I'd say the gun was made sometime between the general adoption of smokeless powder for shotguns (1905-ish????--that's why they reinforced the breech and advertised the fact) and 1941. If the gun really has a 2 3/4" chamber, that makes it later because most early 16s, even in the smokeless period, had 2 5/8" chambers. So I'd GUESS that it was made around WWI. JUST a guess.....
 

rufusky

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
2
Location
kentucky
Thanks for the help.The shotgun is not stamped,but I put a 2 3/4 in and closed it and shot it,so I assume it's 2 3/4.I'll give them a shout. Thanks.
 

airedaleman

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
23
Location
New Kent County VA
rufusky said:
Thanks for the help.The shotgun is not stamped,but I put a 2 3/4 in and closed it and shot it,so I assume it's 2 3/4.I'll give them a shout. Thanks.

Don't assume that it's chambered for 2-3/4 inch shells. Early 16 gauge guns had 2-9/16" chambers. (A lot of old Browning autoloaders had their chambers lengthened when the 2-9/16" became hard to find. I believe Simmons used to advertise this service.) At any rate, I just measured an old unfired 2-3/4" Peters High Velocity pie crimp paper shell (3/1-1/8 No 6) and found it to be 2-7/16" long, so it obviously will chamber. The rub is that, on firing, the 2-3/4" shell opens into the forcing cone, constricts the shot charge, and raises pressures significantly. If you must shoot that old-timer, be aware of the risk.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2008
Messages
1,036
Location
Kansas
Based on your info, it sounds like you have the Model 099. It is the only one listed in my book of dates with a nickel receiver. Production shows from 1943 to 1986. Based on the serial # it sounds like an early model.
Again, this is based on the nickel receiver. The older models: Model 8 & Model 6 Heavy Breech or Model 7 & 9 Bay State don't show a nickel receiver in my book. All of those were in production form 1908-42 and came in 16 Ga.
I will dig a little deeper in the older models to see if they madel any with nickel receiver. Alot of these also did not have serial #'s.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
1,523
Location
NW Ohio
Try your question here;
http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/index.php
Click on the "Ask the expert and what's it worth" forum. Many knowledgable H&R people there. It would help greatly if you could post some photos of the gun and its markings.
Hope this helps.
 
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