Old .22 revolvers.

[Carl Levitian]

I know I'm strange, the 'ol lady tells me so very often. But I have this strange draw to old .22 revolvers. Iver Johnson, High Standard, H&R's, even an old webley.

What makes it strage is I have more modern guns that are way better quality, like Smith & Wesson 617, 317, old model 18. But I love those old ones from the 40's and 50's. My old H&R 9 shot sidekick is a regular woods walking and camping gun, as is my old top break sportsman.

Anyone else have and shoot the old ones?

 

[Shade00]

I was in the shop looking at H&R 622s and 922s yesterday. Just couldn't make up my mind. At $140, the price is right. Nothing wrong with the old H&R guns - lots of folks around here have them.

 

[rgs1975]

Why not go for old and quality at the same time.

S&W K22 Masterpiece, 1948

 

[Shade00]

That's a beautiful gun, rgs1975. I'm sure it costs a lot more than an H&R though.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My Colt Officers Model Target is one of the most accurate handguns I own -- surpassed only by a 1938 Colt Woodsman.

 

[MortalWombat]

I used to have an old H&R 922 a few years ago that I bought for $80. It was fun to shoot, but it was a pain to unload because you have to remove the cylinder to do so. I eventually traded it back in to the gun shop where I bought it (they gave me $40, so I guess I just rented it for $40 for a year). I now have a Single Six and a .22 SP101 for my .22 revolver needs. It served its purpose to introduce me to the joys of .22 revolvers.

 

[rgs1975]

I'm sure it costs a lot more than an H&R though

More yes but not what I'd consider really expensive. They made gazillions of them and they are still pretty easily obtained. $500 or less should get you a good quality K22 shooter no problem in most areas.

 

[aka108]

I am not to entrigued with the newer 22 rf handguns either. I have a K-22 and Match Target Woodsman made 1950. All steel, deep blueing, metal to metal fitting that you can't feel and barely see. Accurate. Save your bucks and take your time to get a high quality older piece. They are out there.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have to agree with you -- the newer Smiths don't float my boat. I have a couple of Ruger Blackhawks I like, but that's as far as it goes.

 

[woad_yurt]

Old .22 revolvers....

Here are some of mine. Actually, I sold 2 out of the 3 in the last picture but still have the rest. I'm glad to see someone who appreciates these old Ivers and H&Rs. They're the ultimate go-to .22 revolvers.

1952 H&R 922 Camper Model:



2 H&R 676 double action convertibles:




A 100 year old (maybe) US Revolver Co. .22 LR double action seven shot made by Iver Johnson:



2 H&R 922s and a 6" 923, all from the earliy fifties:

 

[plateshooter]

This one is only around 50 years old, but is a great shooter.

 

[kennedy]

favorite is a high standard 9 shot revolver

 

[22-rimfire]

Go ahead and feed your new found interest in third tier 22 revolvers. But if you want quality, go with either Colt or Smith & Wesson. End of story.

 

[Moonclip]

Get a mod 17 or 18 or a pre 17 or 18 but 922's and sentinels are fun to shoot also.

 

[theNoid]

I just love it when a person posts a thread about older, cheaper guns and then you get answers such as

Go ahead and feed your new found interest in third tier 22 revolvers. But if you want quality, go with either Colt or Smith & Wesson. End of story.

Number one, I am betting this is no "new found interest" at all, and more likely to be one that has been with him for most of his life. Number two, I am pretty sure if you check the OP it is mentioned that he is aware of mo' betta quality guns out there, he was simply starting a thread about another aspect of this hobby he considers fun...and rightly so. I myself shoot a S&W 617, and love it and think it's the nicest shooting 22lr I have ever shot in the wheelie world. On the other hand, I would also love to own some of the old stuff like this thread is supposed to be about. An absolute favorite of mine that I would LOVE to have is a High Standard "High Sierra" model with the octagon barrel. Of course, right there with that is the H&R Sportsman 999. Can't forget the Savage model 101.

plateshooter: Are those the factory grips? I don't normally care for the lighter color grips unless wood, but that is one sweet looking pistole my friend.

Noidster

 

[woad_yurt]

TheNoid:

Thank you. I don't know why it is but I've noticed a little tendency for some folks to write off all of these regular, ol' .22s as crap. They may not have the spit and polish of an S&W but they certainly are as dependable and useful. And some of them, like the upper tier H&Rs and Ivers, are quite well finished guns. There's a reason why millions of folks bought them for decades. They weren't made to fondle or ooh and ahh over, but to work. These are nost cast metal RG10s but Made-In-USA, all steel, perfectly serviceable weapons. They wouldn't have lasted so long if they were junk. I have never seen a shot-out 9 round H&R .22 yet and I'm usually up to my armpits in 'em.

 

[bannockburn]

woad yurt

I remember seeing a book on guns many years ago. It was pretty much a general info kind of book, but the neat part of it was in the section on handguns, it had several pages of color prints of the High Standard revolvers. It was almost as if they had their catalog strategically placed in this book. They had the High Sierra, the Double Nine, the Natchez (my favorite), the Long Horn, and the Durango. Any one of these, along with the H&R Model 999, have been on my short list for some time now.

 

[Onmilo]

Man, have you ever shot an Iver Johnson Sealed Eight?
I had one years ago, it was my second purchased revolver following an H&R 929.
The gun shot dead on at 25 paces, didn't misfire, didn't stick fired cases in the chambers, had very decent single and double action trigger pulls and was scaled right for the .22 rimfire cartridge.

I bought the gun for $85.00 and sold it for $150.00 because I needed the cash.
Getting rid of the revolver is a regret I still have.

 

[CajunBass]

I just love it when a person posts a thread about older, cheaper guns and then you get answers such as

Quote:
Go ahead and feed your new found interest in third tier 22 revolvers. But if you want quality, go with either Colt or Smith & Wesson. End of story.

What makes it even funnier is when the OP said:

What makes it strage is I have more modern guns that are way better quality, like Smith & Wesson 616, 317, old model 18.

What that tells me is the person who posted comment #2, didn't even bother to read the entire post.

I've got a couple of Ruger 22 revolvers, a Dan Wesson 22, and a Model 17 S&W on layaway, but I'd still like to have a few of those H&R's.

 

[dispatch]

Well here's another opinion. I also love the old H&R, Iver Johnson, and High Standard .22s. They are from days gone by, but solid, well built guns. I learned to shoot with my uncle's H&R Model 622 many years ago. I own two of them now- not worth much to anybody but me, but I still shoot them. If I could keep only one .22 Revolver it would be my Smith Model 18, but thank God and the Founding Fathers, I don't have to make a decision like that.

 

[plateshooter]

Noidster, I am sure they are the grips that came on the revolver. That gun and a couple of Ruger semi autos came from a man in his 80s that was disposing of some of his stuff before he was going into a nursing home. He said he bought the gun new, and never shot it much.

I have a Savage 101 that I bought many years ago for 20 bucks. It looks pretty beat up as it was my tackle box gun for years. It still shoots well. Here is a pic of it.

 

[GNLaFrance]

Guys, I bought my wife an H&R Model 929. It has a nice trigger and is easy to point, but it won't fire reliably. I figured the mainspring was weak and replaced it, but it still won't set off some of the rounds.

The firing pin/blade seems to be okay, at least it doesn't look worn or deformed. The cylinder shake and end-play and the cylinder/barrel gap and head space don't seem to be excessive. My Ruger Single Six isn't any tighter and has similar gaps and spacing, and it goes bang every time.

Not sure if this is a factor, but it seems to me that the hammer isn't under spring pressure at the point where the firing pin hits the cartridge rim, it seems that the hammer is moving under momentum only. Does that make sense? Any ideas?

 

[Leatherbark]

Your H&R has a rebounding hammer. The mainspring has to be powerful enough to strike the firing pin and then at the same time rebound back to the safety notch. If the mainspring is too strong it will fire, but wont bounce back into the safety notch. If the mainspring is too weak it may not fire, but will rebound to the safety notch...........So its a balancing act. The mainspring guide plays an important part in all of this.........If you strengthen the mainspring to make it fire ,then you have to be sure to pull the hammer back into the safety notch............Grease up the half moon area of the mainspring guide where it contacts the hammer...............Good luck...............Bob

 

[woad_yurt]

A good one for sale....

I saw this on Gunbroker. I have one and it is frickin' awesome. This is a good one, especially with the magnum loads:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=103949715

 

[GNLaFrance]

I didn't know the hammer was supposed to bounce back and set itself into the safety notch. It doesn't. The hammer goes into the safety notch (and the "real" trigger resets) when the finger trigger is pulled back slightly or the hammer is pulled back slightly, but it never bounces back and seats itself in the safety notch after firing.

The curved nylon piece at the top of the mainspring guide is smooth and slick and has a tiny bit of oil on it. I think, from what you said, that the mainspring is still too weak. Thanks for the help, Leatherbark.

Does anyone else have any ideas before I take this thing to the store, get a few bucks for it and write it off as a bad buy?