Top-break Smile Factory

H&R Sportsman 999

H&R Sportsman 999

Howdy, folks, and welcome back to Tales of A Gun. I hope you are having a happy Christmastide, and wish you a merrier new year than the one we're leaving.

Today's subject is another family piece that came down from my grandfather, but this one much more recently. It's a Harrington and Richardson 999 Sportsman, in .22 LR. H&R is one of the perpetual also-rans of the American gun scene. They made some clunky small revolvers in the early days of the century. They made several gajillion (I counted,) single shot shotguns. One of those in .410 was both my dad's and my first gun, (some decades apart.)

They also made rifles for the military, including being involved in the M-14 fiasco. They never really made a name for themselves, the way Colt or Smith and Wesson did. I've handled some of their other .22 revolvers, the swing-out cylinder models that released the cylinder with a forward tug on the ejector rod/base pin, and they were nothing to write home about. Except possibly in the sense of "Dear Family, Be on the lookout for these, they may be cheap, but they are also cheap. Sincerely, A. Shooter."

With such a checkered reputation for the company, it's all the more surprising just how good this one is. The Model 999 Sportsman is an interesting revolver. It's a top break, 9-shot .22 LR double action revolver. This one has a six inch barrel, with adjustable sights. It also features a ventilated rib, slightly reminiscent of the Python. The grips feel much like S&W's Magnas, being thicker than the tiny splinters of wood which graced the earliest double action revolvers. It also has a built in grip converter, which gives a feel similar to a Tyler T-grip, or BK, like the one on my Model 10.

The sights are an interesting arrangement. Similar to an AR, of all things, they adjust for windage in the rear, but elevation at the muzzle. This little screw raises and lowers the front blade, which is hinged on a pin.

The double action trigger pull is smooth, and no heavier than the average K-Frame Smith. Surprising for a .22, as they often come with mainsprings sourced from a one-ton truck to make them even passably reliable with the average rimfire. In the several hundred rounds I put through it recently, it only failed to ignite two rounds, which borders on the astonishing.

The shooting experience is much like dry-firing a K-Frame, except for the pop and fireball. (And the lead going downrange. Mustn't forget that.) Combined with the nine round capacity, it's a smile factory.

I hadn't shot it for years before the last time I took it to the range. And having actually learned to run a double action gun in the meantime, my reaction to the first cylinder can best be described as "cackling with glee." All of a sudden, I couldn't imagine how I'd lived without a .22 revolver in my life for so long. When we start seeing some warm weather again, I look forward to sharing this one with another generation of budding handgunners.

Get out and make some noise, and we'll see you again next year!