Harrington & Richardson Arms Company (H&R) is an American brand of firearms and a subsidiary of JJE Capital Holdings. H&R ceased independent production February 27, 2015. JJE - H&R, LLC continues to offer a variety of H&R and H&R 1871 products which are manufactured at their headquarters and production facility in West Columbia, SC.
History The original H&R firm was in business for over a century from 1871 to 1986."About Us" () by Harrington & Richardson at the H&R 1871 website
Frank Wesson, brother of Daniel B. Wesson who co-founded Smith & Wesson, started a firearms manufacturing firm in 1859, sharing an early patent with Nathan Harrington. Wesson produced two trigger rifles and spur trigger pistols and pocket rifles/shotguns popular for short length holster models such as the discontinued Topper compact pocket shotguns. He started a brief partnership in 1871 with Harrington's nephew Gilbert Henderson Harrington, as Wesson & Harrington, until Harrington bought him out in 1874.
In 1875 Harrington and another former Wesson employee, William Augustus Richardson, formed the new Harrington & Richardson Company. In 1888 the firm was incorporated as The Harrington & Richardson Arms Company. Their original capital investment was $75,000. Harrington was president, Richardson was treasurer, and George F. Brooks was secretary. After the deaths of Harrington and Richardson in 1897, Brooks became the manager and the company was held by heirs Edwin C. Harrington (Gilbert Harrington's son) and Mary A. Richardson (William Richardson's wife).
In 1894 the company opened a new facility on Park Avenue in Worcester, Massachusetts. The factory was expanded again after a few years. Original rifles and shotguns from these dates are scarce because of their limited production and discontinued parts.
In 1950 the company opened a new facility on Cockburn street in Drummondville, Québec, Canada.
In the 1960s H&R was acquired by the Kidde corporation and run by the Rowe family. Warranty cards were sent to 'Industrial Rowe', Gardner, Massachusetts. The original H&R company went out of business in 1986, and the building was demolished.
A new company, H&R 1871, Inc., was formed in 1991 and started production of revolvers, single-shot rifles and shotguns using original H&R designs. H&R 1871, Inc. assets were subsequently sold to H&R 1871, LLC., a Connecticut LLC owned by Marlin Firearms Company in November 2000. H&R 1871, LLC. did not extend their product warranty to H&R guns made prior to the LLC's takeover.
Marlin, including all its H&R assets, was later acquired by Remington Arms Company in December, 2007. H&R 1871, LLC production was moved to Ilion, N.Y. (the site of Remington's original manufacturing plant) in late 2008, while their corporate offices are co-located with Remington Arms in Madison, N.C. (HR1871.com and Remington.com). Remington, along with its Marlin and H&R subsidiaries (New England Firearms and L.C. Smith), were now part of the Remington Outdoor Company. H&R 1871 production ceased 27 February 2015.
In the bankruptcy auction of Remington Outdoor Company the company was sold to JJE Capital Holdings, LLC. As of September 2020, this sale, however, still needs court approval. JJE currently owns several firearms manufacturing companies, including Lead Star Arms and Palmetto State Armory. Palmetto State Armory social media, website and a recent article in Guns Digest, Palmetto State Armory has been offering semi-automatic variations of H&R's AR-15 type rifles, and will soon be offering a semi-automatic H&R M14 type rifle for sale.
Locations The Wesson & Harrington company was at 18 Manchester Street, Worcester, Mass., from 1871 until 1877. The Harrington & Richardson company was located at 31 Hermon Street, Worcester, Mass., from 1877 until 1894. William Richardson lived at 921 Main Street in Worcester.
Some of the other factory addresses that Harrington & Richardson has used:
Harrington & Richardson Arms Co., 243 Park Ave, Worcester, Mass. Harrington & Richardson Arms Co., 320 Park Ave, Worcester, Mass. Harrington & Richardson Arms Co., 439 Park Ave, Worcester, Mass. Harrington & Richardson Arms Co., 484 Park Ave, Worcester, Mass. H&R 1871, Inc., 60 Industrial Rowe, Gardner, Mass. H&R 1871, LLC., P.O. Box 1871, Madison, N.C. 27025 (corporate offices) H&R 1871, LLC. 14 Hoefler Ave, Ilion, N.Y. 13357 (production facilities)
Military contributions H&R built flare guns during World War I and a variety of military firearms during WW 2 including the Reising submachine gun, and a .22 cal training rifle for the USMC called the Leatherneck in several models. H&R was granted a contract to produce the M1 rifle during the Korean War, but the first deliveries of the rifles were not made until after the armistice. H&R was the exclusive manufacturer of the US test version of the FN FAL, designated the T48 rifle, in the trials to select a replacement service rifle for the M1 Garand, but the US Army Ordnance Department instead adopted the M1-derived T44 as "US Rifle M-14", awarding H&R one of three contracts to produce the M14 rifle during that rifle's production cycle (1959–1964). H&R also manufactured M16A1 rifles during the Vietnam War and is one of only four manufacturers (along with Colt, Fabrique Nationale, & GM Hydramatic Division) to have ever made an official M16 variant for the U.S. Military. Due to their relative scarcity, all H&R military weapons are considered highly desirable by collectors.
Miscellaneous The firm was named sole North American licensee for England's Anson & Deeley double-barrel hammerless shotgun. In 1932, an H&R pistol was used to set a new U.S. pistol record and went on to become the most famous firearm of its kind—the U.S.R.A. single-shot target pistol. This pistol was so accurate that it was adopted by the U.S. Army Pistol Team.
Handcuff patents Patent #1984677 Patented December 18, 1934; assigned to H&R Arms Co. Patent #1572262 Patented February 9, 1926; assigned to H&R Arms Co. Patent #2388766 Patented November 13, 1945; assigned to H&R Arms Co.
Products Cartridges
In the mid-1880s, Harrington & Richardson developed the proprietary 32 Harrington & Richardson (.32 H&R) cartridge for their large frame 6-shot .32 cal revolvers, specifically the Manual Ejecting and Automatic Ejection Double Action Revolvers. The 32 H&R cartridge was dimensionally longer than many other contemporary .32 caliber pistol cartridges, including the .32 S&W, .32 Short Colt, and .32 Long Colt, and was loaded with a stout 15 grains of black powder over an 88 grain projectile (compared to the 10 grain charge of the contemporary .32 S&W, or the 13 grain charge of the contemporary .32 Long Colt). This hot loading at the time made the .32 H&R almost as powerful as the .32-20 Winchester rifle cartridge. The cartridge can also be identified by a distinct groove cut into the lead bullet just outside of the neck of the case.
Like the .32 Long Colt, The black powder .32 H&R was eventually rendered obsolete by the popularity of the .32 S&W Long introduced in 1896 and the development of smokeless powders. Note that the black powder .32 H&R developed in the 1880s should not be confused with the modern smokeless powder .32 H&R Magnum, developed over 100 years later in 1984.
In 1983, Harrington & Richardson worked with Federal Cartridge Company to jointly develop the .32 H&R Magnum. The .32 H&R Magnum is produced by lengthening the .32 S&W Long case by .155", to 1.075".
The .32 H&R Magnum offers substantially more performance than most other .32 caliber handgun cartridges, such as the .32 ACP, and is considered an effective small-game hunting cartridge. Its higher velocityBallistics By The Inch .32H&R results. offers a flat trajectory, while the light weight of the bullet results in low recoil.
Revolvers Model 1 .32 caliber 7-shot or .38 Caliber 5-shot, spur trigger single-action revolver, 3-inch octagonal barrel, fluted cylinder, flat frame, saw-handle square butt, plain walnut or black checkered rubber grips, marked HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON, WORCESTER, MASS. PAT. MAY 23, 1876. Approximately 3,000 were manufactured in 1877 and 1878. Model .32 Caliber spur trigger, single-action revolver, 5-shot cylinder (10,000 were manufactured between 1878 and 1883) Model same as model but 3.25-inch barrel and 7-shot cylinder (5,000 were manufactured between 1878 and 1883) Model .38 rimfire Caliber 3.5-inch barrel, 5-shot cylinder (1,000 were manufactured) Model 1880 Double Action .32 S&W, or .38 S&W cal; 5- or 6- shot. Solid frame revolver with removable cylinder and fixed ejecting rod under barrel, hard rubber grip panels with Floral design, nickel finish, marked on top of barrel with company name and address only, in. barrel, modified American Double Action mechanism and frame. Mfg. 1880–1883. Young America Double Action (small solid frame centerfire revolver) Manufactured 1884–1941 Calibers: .22 rimfire and .32 Standard barrel length was inches, with -inch and -inch extra-cost options (1,500,000 were manufactured). First model manufactured 1884–1904 designed for black powder cartridge. Second model manufactured 1905–1941 designed for modern smokeless powder cartridge. Young America Bulldog (small solid frame rimfire revolver) Caliber: .32 Rimfire Young America Safety Hammer (small solid frame centerfire revolver with bobbed hammer) Safety hammer patented 1887 Calibers: .22 and .32 Vest-Pocket Self-Cocker (same as Vest Pocket Safety Hammer but without half / full cocking sear) NOTE: Some trigger guards installed on this model had cutouts which would allow the installation of the half / full cocking sear. Early models had a -inch octagonal barrel with front sight, later models incorporated a short 1-inch round barrel, no front sight. Calibers: .22 and .32 Vest Pocket Safety Hammer (small solid frame centerfire revolver with bobbed hammer and shortened round barrel) Safety hammer patented 1887 Calibers: .22 and .32 Victor (Unfluted cylinder, round barrel) Available in both small and large frame. Calibers: .22, .32 and .38 The American Double Action (large solid frame centerfire revolver) Manufactured 1883–1941. Calibers: .32, .38 and .44 (850,000 were manufactured). H&R Bulldog (large solid frame rimfire revolver) Caliber: .32 rimfire Top-break Shell Extracting Revolver (Manual Ejecting Model) .32 S&W, .32 H&R, or .38 S&W; 5- or 6- shot. Build on the same frame as the Second Model Auto Ejecting, and features a spring-loaded center pin protruding under the barrel that is used to manually actuate the ejector star. 3 1/4 in. barrel, hard rubber grips with target logo, nickel or blue finish, one patent date marking. Mfg. 1886–1888. Top-Break Automatic Ejecting Model 1 .32 S&W, .32 H&R, or .38 S&W; 5- or 6- shot; hard rubber grip panels with floral design, in. barrel, modified American Double Action mechanism and frame, nickel finish, First Variation marked on top of barrel with company name and address only and two guide rods for ejector (1885–1886), Second Variation patent date 10-4-87 marked on top of barrel along with company name and address, extractor does not have extra guide rods (1887–1889). Mfg. 1885–1889. Top-Break Automatic Ejecting Model 2 .32 S&W, .32 H&R, or .38 S&W; 5- or 6- shot; improved ejector mechanism and hinge, new frame, nickel finish, hard rubber grips with target logo, in., in. 4 in., 5 in., and 6 in. barrel. Marked with patent dates Oct 4 '87, May 14 & Aug 6 '89. Mfg. 1889–1896.