Can anyone tell me about old H&R .22 revolvers?

[CovertX]

I've got a gun listed online for sale/trade and got offered a pair of H&R .22's. I don't know anything about them except what the guy said about them.

He says one's a Model 923, 9 shot, 2.5" barrel, nickel finish, SA/DA, made in the 50's.

The other is a Premier model, 7 shot, small frame, 3" barrel, has 95% bluing, top break made between 1907-1913. Both are functional and fire.

What kind of education can you guys give me on these? Like are they worth picking up, what are they worth, etc? He's also including about 1500 rounds of ammo. Thanks guys.

[Rifleman1776]

Nobody else has jumped in. So I'll tell you what I know, which isn't much. I have never owned one but I have handled several. They had the hardest trigger pull I have ever experienced. Had to be over 50 pounds. Methinks it was lawyer engineered stuff. Rest of it was pretty crude.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I've collected about 3 dozen early pocket guns, so I'm lightly qualified...

if the guns are actually pictured, I see between $100 & $300 worth of guns, I can't tell function by looking at the pictures

a couple things... on early guns, they made more nickel than blued... on the early top break gun, if the gun functions good, do not shoot it with modern 22 ammo ( I shoot mine with Aguila Colibri ammo ) most were not made for high pressure ammo... the solid frame may better handle the pressures, you'll note the lack of a loading gate ( normal for earlier guns, but most by the 50's were using a loading gate, & not having one, bothers me enough, I have very few of that style ( I particularly like Hopkins & Allen guns of that era, as the solid frames offered a loading gate as an option ) the light grips look like remakes, & it wouldn't suprise me if the top gun wears reproduction grips as well... if you get them, be very carefull removing them, the original had hard rubber, which often stuck to the frame, & became brittle over the years they often break out by the pin, or crack from over tightening

serial numbers would better tell you what ammo may or may not be safe... H&R made top break 22's well into the higher pressure 22 LR era, but I don't think by looking at the pics, that either of those are safe for that type of use... the bottom gun may be OK for LR ammo, but I wouldn't shoot it in the top gun... since they are being offered as a group, like they've been shot with modern ammo, I'd look over the top break for stretched / loose latch, & or tough to shoot trigger assembly ( often the results of shooting high pressure ammo )

the top break, if it functions correctly & is in as good a condition as it appears ( no function issues, or chipped / cracked grip on the back side, etc. ) could be worth up to $200.00 with the right buyer... the other is less desireable ( at least to someone like me )

BTW... the top break ( at least ) should be lubed before shooting, most / all of it's internals would only be surface hardened ( if at all ) & can wear pretty fast, if not lubed regularly

[CovertX]

Thanks Magnum. Sounds like I'm probably gonna pass on getting them then. Always love learning something new about guns