Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

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JimT
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Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by JimT »

I took the H&R to the Range today. Considering what it looked like when I started on it, the gun is now beautiful in that it actually shoves projectiles downrange in the general direction you want them to go!
BEFORE
1.jpg
TODAY
IMG_5057.JPG
I shot the round ball load .. the 96 gr. Bear Creek bullet (.361" diameter) ... and the Bear Creek 124 gr. 9mm bullet. I used 3.0 gr. Bulllseye and 10.0 gr. FFg Black Powder with the 96 gr. bullet and 2.5 gr. Bullseye with the 124 gr. bullet. All targets were shot at 20 feet offhand.
Lazarus 1.JPG
IMG_5062.JPG
IMG_5063.JPG
IMG_5065.JPG
I had real issues trying to see the itty bitty front sight .. and the so-called rear sight notch.
IMG_5066.JPG
It hits quite a ways to left ... but at the ranges it was intended it don't make a lot of difference. Considering where it came from until now and how pitted the bore is I believe it is doing right well.
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gamekeeper
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by gamekeeper »

All things considered that's pretty neat.... :mrgreen:
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Pisgah
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by Pisgah »

Pretty nice results! I know what you mean about the sights -- a pimple up front and a faint wrinkle in the back...
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by AJMD429 »

Pisgah wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 4:43 pm Pretty nice results! I know what you mean about the sights -- a pimple up front and a faint wrinkle in the back...
….it needs to see a dermatologist… :lol:
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Jim, this has been a really fun project. Thanks for seeing it through.
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by GunnyMack »

Jim , you did one heck of a restoration on that old shootin iron ! It's certainly happy to go bang again.
So is it your new carry gun?
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JimT
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by JimT »

GunnyMack wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:31 pm Jim , you did one heck of a restoration on that old shootin iron ! It's certainly happy to go bang again.
So is it your new carry gun?
Only to play with. I would hate to have to trust my life to it. :lol:
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Ysabel Kid
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by Ysabel Kid »

What a transformation! :) Well done!

Do you know when the gun was originally made? I doubt you'd shoot it enough that the smokeless loads would be a problem, but a lot of those pocket top-breaks were never rated for smokeless powder, as I am sure you know.

Happy Shooting!
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JimT
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Re: Range Time With The Old H&R .38 S&W

Post by JimT »

Ysabel Kid wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 8:27 pm What a transformation! :) Well done!

Do you know when the gun was originally made? I doubt you'd shoot it enough that the smokeless loads would be a problem, but a lot of those pocket top-breaks were never rated for smokeless powder, as I am sure you know.

Happy Shooting!
I am not sure when it was made. Definitive information on these old cheap guns is hard to nail down and I haven't taken the time to do so. I have old reloading manuals going back to 1940 and the load data even then for the old top breaks was pretty light. I plan to stick with the round ball or the 96 gr. Bear Creek bullet. They will do everything I want it to do.
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