Harrington & Richardson Second Model Young America Safety Hammer Revolver

Question: I scrap-metal a lot, and when I can, I take my kids who love to look for treasures that the owner is usually nice enough to let them have. My boy found this old gun. It is unloaded and non-functioning, of course. Its value is scrap, but we were curious about the gun’s former life. It’s a cool-looking revolver being a hammerless with an octagon barrel. It’s got a picture of a shot target pressed into the grips. Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated by me and my son.

 -S.P. of North Carolina

Answer: From what I can make out through the rust and pitting, it looks like your son ferreted out a Harrington & Richardson Second Model Young America Safety Hammer revolver. This five-shot .32-caliber, medium-frame double-action was offered from 1905 to 1939. Though obviously, your revolver has seen better days, it does have a lot of character and would make a good candidate for a shadow box display. This handgun was similar to the standard Young America, but its lack of a hammer spur was considered the “safety” in that it was touted as being less liable to catch on clothing when being drawn.

-Garry James