I had a family friend bring this old 1937 22LR H&R revolver. Though it has little monetary value it was her grandfather’s. She said it was her most prized possession. Well, it randomly misfires. Doesn’t appear to have any rhyme or reason to it. It has the common loose frame lockup. It also has a good bit of endshake. About .008. I watched the section of the pro course that talks about this gun & the loose frame issue. I think I’ll start with trying to stretch the gas ring to get the cylinder closer to the breech face for better primer strikes. She seemed uneasy when I explained that I could move the metal back to tighten up the frame as Bob suggests in the course. Frankly being such a sentimental piece I’m not crazy about it either. Anybody have any other ideas? More current/updated ways to deal with this? Is it best to try to turn down a hardened piece of steel or harden a piece after it is turned down to use as a plug to stretch the gas ring?
Shimming is an option. McMaster sells shims made of stainless and spring steel of different dimensions. You may find one that will fit if you are lucky.
I did stretching a few times. It wasn’t too hard. Make sure you properly plug the gas ring before you start squeezing though. A set of pin gauges comes handy in this occasion. -TL
Follow up info on question
I don’t mind stretching the gas ring. It’s the tightening of the lockup on the frame that concerns me. Plus I have to question the longevity of that type of fix. Moving the metal rearward and refitting doesn’t seem like it would last very long. I was wondering if maybe somebody had some new ideas about tightening the barrel catch. If somebody made an over sized barrel catch that would ideal but that is above my current skill level & would be cost prohibitive to manufacture.
Answer
That revolver must have been shot a lot, with that much of endshake and barrel lockup slop, considering it fires .22LR. Replacement barrel catches are still available at reasonable price. You can buy one and try tig welding the engagement surface. Not sure it will work though. This gun’s lockup mechanism seems a bit different from other designs. The barrel catch rotates in a small circle, while the barrel rotates in a big circle. The lock lugs on the frame needs to have the correct circular profile in order for the barrel to lock up tight.
You asked about the plug. I use pin gauge. It is hardened and you don’t need to machine it to fit. My biggest problem is to forget putting the plug (gauge) in the tube before squeezing. Big problem. -TL
Answer
Loose barrel latches are common on those H&R revolvers. Don’t waste your time and money on a new latch….peen the frame and refit as need. The worn out part should be the frame not the latch. You can tig weld up the frame but that will be VERY expensive (welding, refitting, then rebluing) and peening is the best way not to mention the least expensive. Make sure the gun times correctly. Don’t forget the hammer rebound. The hammer may rebound a fair amount further than it needs to…..again quite common on these guns. Ken
Reply
Well it had a lot of endshake so I stretched the gas ring. It didn’t stretch perfectly straight & had a tight spot when rotating the cylinder. Put it in the lathe & got rid of the high spot. Seems to work fine now. It doesn’t get shot a lot so I think it will be good for a while. I think I’ll look at the hammer rebound also. If I understand correctly the rebound may be robbing the hammer of power prematurely?
Answer
Correct on rebound. Ken
