# Revolver ID Needed



## Bostonjoe1927 (Feb 3, 2018)

Hi All,

I have this old revolver, would love to know manufacturer and possible age. No marks aside from the number 592 on the cylinder. Thanks for looking!


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Just guessing, I'd say it's probably a Harrington & Richardson from the late 1800's to early 1900's. It may be a .38 Short, and it may not be safe for modern smokeless powder. I don't have a book, but I've seen many similar revolvers for sale, usually for about $150.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Bisley said:


> Just guessing, I'd say it's probably a Harrington & Richardson from the late 1800's to early 1900's. It may be a .38 Short, and it may not be safe for modern smokeless powder. I don't have a book, but I've seen many similar revolvers for sale, usually for about $150.


I'd agree, but if so, it should have some info (including the H&R name) marked on the flat surface on top of the barrel rib.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

I was going by the emblem on the grip, a square target with 4-5 'holes.' I've seen this on several H&R's that did have the name on them. Also, maybe worth mentioning, it could be an earlier model that was manufactured for black powder. If so, one would probably want to use a light load, if any, of modern ammo. I'm assuming it is chambered for .38 'short'.


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## denner12 (Oct 14, 2017)

Looks like an old one. Should be marked somewhere? Under the hood at the rear of the frame should be where the serial # is located as far as my research goes, but the OP didn't post a pic of that angle.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

H&R, Iver Johnson, and a couple of other makers built cheap .32 and .38 top-break revolvers for retail sale by other businesses.
It is therefore possible that this H&R revolver was made for "the trade," and sold by a small-size hardware merchant who didn't have his own business marking for the guns he handled.
Or, it might be a Spanish copy of a H&R original. But I don't think so. The many Basque gunmakers seem always to have applied their own names to the guns they made.
...Or, it may be a H&R pistol which was stolen from the assembly line by a H&R worker, before proprietary stampings had been added.

It's an H&R-style grip.
Maybe the grip panels were a later addition (or a repair) to a Spanish copy.

Modern .32 S&W and .38 S&W cartridges are loaded on the weak side, primarily because of pistols like these.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't shoot any in this one.


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## Bostonjoe1927 (Feb 3, 2018)

Thanks everyone for the information, I really appreciated learning about this old gun!


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