H&R Model 1906 Oddball

[Old Gun Guy]

Hello!
I have begun to restore an H&R Model 1906 .22Cal. RF. It is strange because it has a pinned barrel and front sight. The barrel is pinned below the barrel. It's an early serial # of 9796. I have most of the parts to rebuild it, however the trigger guard is different than any from that period, and the grips are non-existent anywhere. The bottom 2 pictures show the length of the trigger guard, and the distance between the pin holes. Notice how close the front pin hole is to the front of the trigger guard. The barrel is an odd 4 7/8" long. Why do I always pick these oddballs to restore? Maybe I'm the oddball. LOL.
Old Gun Guy
[IMG]http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt133/slummutt65/000_0119.jpg[/IMG

[Jim Hauff]

Old,
Looks like a standard 1906 frame with the "wrong" barrel, and I don't know why there's a hole in the frame below the barrel (probably, as you said, to pin the "wrong barrel"; all the other holes look to be in the proper position. Note also, besides the other parts that aren't shown - you need an index pin for the grips. Never saw a frame without one before - got a couple that are loose in their seats, but never missing - easy fix. See attached pics. First pic shows a 6" barrel with gun "field stripped" and with optional "target type grip panels." Second pic shows the "standard" 2.5" model with "standard grip panels." Got a pic of the top strap?

[Old Gun Guy]

Jim,
I have the indexing pin for the grips. I removed it so I could fit a pair of grips that I found to be very close. They had a "fleur-de-lis" design at the top. I am enclosing a picture of the top strap. The barrel pin was undetectable before I removed it, which led me to believe that the barrel was proper for this revolver. If not, whoever did the modification was a real craftsman, because there was no evidence that the barrel had been switched out.

Old Gun Guy

[Jim Hauff]

Old Gun,
I've not, as yet, seen a model 1906 with a round barrel - of course I've not seen every one. Catalogue images from the pre-1910 era - show that model with a octagonal barrel.
Also, this model came standard with the "Target Logo" grip, patented by H&R as a "design" in 1890 and made standard after that, except on the American DA and Young America DA models.
I've magnified the area in question (barrel pin hole) on the two of my 1906s pictured above - one, the earliest one I have is the s/n 16480. Enhanced the sharpness and contrast and still cannot detect a barrel pin on either. I'm still of the opinion that your piece was rebarreled, perhaps by a skilled craftsman, as you said - until other examples show up, I have to assume non-pinned is the standard. ???
On my tiny little monitor screen, I can't make out all the details of your top strap stamping. Here's, also, a pic of the s/n 16480 to compare "fonts".

[Jim Hauff]

Captured your top strap pic and magnified - the font on yours is definitely different than that on my pieces - yours is earlier (from the s/n), H&R must have made some changes to their roll stamps.

[hrf]

Originally Posted by Old Gun Guy

The barrel pin was undetectable before I removed it, which led me to believe that the barrel was proper for this revolver. If not, whoever did the modification was a real craftsman, because there was no evidence that the barrel had been switched out.
Old Gun Guy

Is the frame threaded? That would suggest a non original barrel, and the barrel shank in your pic looks a bit scored.

[Old Gun Guy]

Originally Posted by Jim Hauff

Old Gun,
I've not, as yet, seen a model 1906 with a round barrel - of course I've not seen every one. Catalogue images from the pre-1910 era - show that model with a octagonal barrel.
Also, this model came standard with the "Target Logo" grip, patented by H&R as a "design" in 1890 and made standard after that, except on the American DA and Young America DA models.
I've magnified the area in question (barrel pin hole) on the two of my 1906s pictured above - one, the earliest one I have is the s/n 16480. Enhanced the sharpness and contrast and still cannot detect a barrel pin on either. I'm still of the opinion that your piece was rebarreled, perhaps by a skilled craftsman, as you said - until other examples show up, I have to assume non-pinned is the standard. ???
On my tiny little monitor screen, I can't make out all the details of your top strap stamping. Here's, also, a pic of the s/n 16480 to compare "fonts".
Attachment 47617

Attachment 47618

Attachment 47619

Jim,
I wish I had taken a picture of the left side of this frame before I removed the barrel pin. It looked exactly like the ones you show. There was no evidence whatsoever that there was a barrel pin there. I knew where to locate it by looking under the barrel in the frame after I had removed the cylinder and pin. (Have you ever looked under yours?)The grips I modified for this revolver I knew were not the original design, but they came out real nice, and look appropriate for this revolver.
HRF: No, the frame was not threaded, nor does the barrel show any signs that it once was. I still believe that this barrel was original to this revolver. I am definitely not an expert by any means, but I'm going by what I've observed. Another thing that makes this revolver an oddball is the fact that the serial # on the bottom of the grip strap doesn't match the serial # in the picture. This serial # on the bottom of the grip strap is 7916, and different than the 9797 serial # on the side of the bottom grip strap.

Thanks fellas for your inputs!
Old Gun Guy

[rlee5349]

Mr. Hauff, I have a quick question on the grips for this model, the 1906. Will they interchange for the grips of the large frame Automatic Ejecting? I picked up a pair of the wrap-around model 1906 target grips and put them on my large frame Auto Ejecting and while the left grip fits well, the right grip is a little off at the top. And I think they don't quite meet right at the back strap, though it's hard to tell because there's some damage to the left grip there. I can't figure out whether they're not supposed to fit the Auto Ejecting, or whether they were just manufactured a little "off".
Ryan