Should I have passed on it?

[TTv2]

Had a transfer done and while I was at the LGS I saw they had some top break H&R's. One was a 5 shot .32 for $50, looked at it and it was a black powder model in poor condition, so no deal on that. Then I saw they had a .38 top break H&R, smokeless, 5 inch barrel and it looked unfired, but it was DAO and the trigger pull was very heavy. I have other H&R revolvers, work fine, and none of them felt as heavy as this one did in DA, but the ones I have are DA/SA.

Price tag was 200, which is not bad, but I don't have any dies or brass for .38 S&W. I'd prefer an exposed hammer on such a long barrel model, but this did look unfired. Was I right to pass on it or am I a dunce?

 

[Bronco72]

Only time will tell !

 

[Mark_Mark]

$200 ! my wallet would have been moving at 186,000 miles a second

 

[chicharrones]

I can't think of any reason I'd get a .38 S&W DAO revolver unless it was factory issued that way and I was an H&R revolver collector.

 

[Mauser lover]

I wouldn’t have purchased it, and I love top breaks!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I'd have passed too.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Those cheap guns at not so cheap prices are getting more expensive, that in my book would still be a $50-100 dollar gun, not a $200 dollar gun.
They will never have a high value no matter how long you keep them.
Won't be fun to shoot because of the trigger pull, and probably not accurate past 10' so it's a no for me to. I think you did the right thing.

 

[TTv2]

Those cheap guns at not so cheap prices are getting more expensive, that in my book would still be a $50-100 dollar gun, not a $200 dollar gun.
They will never have a high value no matter how long you keep them.
Won't be fun to shoot because of the trigger pull, and probably not accurate past 10' so it's a no for me to. I think you did the right thing.

I've had good accuracy with my .32 H&R top break, in fact I had gone years without shooting it and brought it out last year and was surprised how well it was shooting even in double action.

The long barrel DAO combination is just some next level dumb.

 

[Palladan44]

My days of buying very Inexpensive guns because the price was really good are long over. I've never appreciated them on down the road, and I wind up selling them or giving them away, or taking a total loss on them as they sit in a box taken apart [cuz failure]
But, this is just what I've learned from my gun buying choices over the years.

 

[silicosys4]

A cheaply made budget gun will never be anything more.
I've passed on all of those old off-brand top breaks. They are just an older version of a Jennings or Raven to me.

 

[Johnm1]

I think you did the right thing. The long barrel DAO was not to your liking. That's reason enough. Although the longer barrels are, in my opinion, more desirable in DA/SA. But DAO in a 5" barrel is really contraintuative. Can't pocket carry it well and at contact distance all it accomplishes is giving your opponent more to grab. The longer barrel wouldn't gain you anything as far as value goes.

Now my preference for the longer barrels is purely because they are less common. But now that I think about it even rhe DA/SA longer barrels don't really make sense either as all of the top breaks have tiny sights. Not really best suited for target shooting I associate with longer barrels.

 

[Speedo66]

I found this 3” model Iver Johnson, smokeless version in .38 S&W, last year on Gunbroker for $150 + shipping, C&R so no transfer fee.

DA pull is horrendous, but SA isn’t too bad.

If it wasn’t really what you wanted, then you did well to not get sucked in and pass.

 

[Johnm1]

It's odd that in the top break era 3" and 3 1/2" were the predominant "pocket" barrel lengths when today 2 1/4" is more common. I realize there is a following for 3" J frames, it certainly isn't the majority. Maybe the black powder cartridges the original top breaks were desdigned for wouldn't develop enough velocity in a shorter barrel.

There's always the story from South America about the man who shot his wife 5 times in the head with a 32 S&W. The story goes she walked to the ambulance. And the saying "Any vest is a bullet proof vest against a 32 short"

 

[TTv2]

It's odd that in the top break era 3" and 3 1/2" were the predominant "pocket" barrel lengths when today 2 1/4" is more common. I realize there is a following for 3" J frames, it certainly isn't the majority. Maybe the black powder cartridges the original top breaks were desdigned for wouldn't develop enough velocity in a shorter barrel.

There's always the story from South America about the man who shot his wife 5 times in the head with a 32 S&W. The story goes she walked to the ambulance. And the saying "Any vest is a bullet proof vest against a 32 short"

I think the reason the 3 inch was so common was at that time conceal carry was more commonly done in a vest or coat pocket, not in a holster inside the waistband. It may have been that the longer barrel carried better in this method than a shorter one. We do know that 2 inch top breaks were around, but were advertised as for the bicycle. I guess when people rode bicycles at the time they wore tighter clothing that required smaller pistols.

As times and clothing fashions changed the waistband became more sensible and shorter barrels worked better in that role.

 

[commygun]

Those cheap guns at not so cheap prices are getting more expensive, that in my book would still be a $50-100 dollar gun, not a $200 dollar gun.
They will never have a high value no matter how long you keep them.
Won't be fun to shoot because of the trigger pull, and probably not accurate past 10' so it's a no for me to. I think you did the right thing.

He’s right. I like the old topbreaks, but as Americana, not shooters. This S&W scratches that itch.