The cylinder on H&R’s 929 held nine rounds of .22 LR ammo. A “safety rim” around its rear circumference protected the shooter and bystanders in case of head separations of the rimfire cartridges. Pushing on the ejector rod extracted all nine spent cases simultaneously.

In 1874 Gilbert Harrington and William Richardson established a company to produce firearms in Worcester, Massachusetts. The post-Civil War era saw skyrocketing demand for firearms, and the gun makers located in the Connecticut River valley rushed to meet it. The westward migration had created an insatiable demand for arms by homesteaders, cowboys, and merchants who were attempting to civilize a wild, lawless land. And even in the "civilized" eastern United States, many citizens went about their daily labors carrying arms as protection against muggers and footpads. This resulted in a large demand for small, concealable handguns--a market that H&R hoped to capture a share of.

H&R's first revolvers were called the Model 1½ through Model 4½ and were chambered for the .22, .32, and .38 rimfire cartridges. These handguns were extremely simple designs, so much so that to eject spent rounds you had to remove the cylinder center pin and punch them out one at a time. But they were rugged and of better quality than many similar revolvers on the market, earning H&R a good reputation.

In 1884 the American Double Action was added to the line and was chambered for the .32 S&W (six-shot cylinder), .38 S&W, and .44 Webley centerfire cartridges. Additional models of the American Double Action were the Safety Hammerless Double Action (a spurless hammer design) and the H&R Bulldog (rimfire cartridges only). The Young American Double Action came in two frame sizes for .22 and .32 cartridges.

The Safety Hammerless proved to be very popular and was offered in .22 Short (seven shots), .32 rimfire, and .32 S&W (both five shots) with barrels of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 inches. All had round-butt grip frames with hard rubber grips.

While H&R began producing hinged-frame revolvers in 1885, the company continued to promote its solid-frame guns on twin merits of simplicity and inexpensiveness. They were extremely popular with trappers, farmers, woodsmen, and younger shooters.

Between 1905 and 1907, H&R introduced five new solid-frame designs, including the Model 4 in .32 and .38 S&W, the Model 1905 in .32 S&W Long, and the Model 1906 in .22 LR. All of these came with a choice of 2½-, 4½-, and 6-inch octagonal barrels and full-sized grips.

The solid-frame Victor in .22 LR, .32, and .38 S&W was introduced in 1913, and while its unfluted cylinder; 2½-, 4½-, and 6-inch barrels; and small grip made it an ungainly looking handgun, it was quite popular and remained in production until 1942. The Trapper--a nine-shot .22 with 6-inch octagonal barrel--was introduced in 1924. H&R revolvers remained steady sellers during the interwar years because their inexpensive prices made them attractive to Depression-era customers.

When the U.S. became involved in World War II, the government purchased 3,000 .22- and .32-caliber H&R revolvers for training purposes and for issue to couriers, undercover operatives, and the OSS. The London Metro Police bought 23,000 .32-caliber Auto Eject revolvers.

The Sidekick Joins The Line
After the war, handgun production resumed, and 1956 saw the introduction of the Model 929 Sidekick, the first H&R solid-frame revolver to use a swing-out cylinder.

Early 929s locked the cylinder in place by the use of a spring-loaded ball detent in the front of the frame that mated to a notch in the cylinder crane and helped to hold the cylinder crane in the frame.