H&R 32 Gauge Special

Question
I have acquired an H&R 32 Gauge Special which I originally thought was a break open 32 gauge single shot shotgun, but it has very shallow rifling in the barrel and a rear sight. On the left side of the receiver it says "Mfd. By Harrington & Richardson, Inc. Pat. No. 2676576". On the right side is the inscription "Cap-Chur Powder Projector Palmer Chemical & Equipment Co. Inc, Douglasville, Georgia, U.S.A. Pat. No. 3022785. I cannot find any literature or information regarding this Shotgun/Rifle. Would you be able to enlighten me as to the nature of this firearm, what it is and what it was use for? It looks brand new. Thank you in advance for your reply. April 7, 2008.

Answer
Elwood,

What you have is a tranquilizer gun designed to administer drugs in sufficient dosage to bring an animal down without injuring same. It is used widely by animal control officers, wildlife officers, and by some police agencies.

Some of these rifles are gas powered and other are powder charged. It delivers the drug via a automatic syringe that injects the animal upon impact. The dosage is such that it is adequate for the approximate target animals estimated weight.  The dosage is usually between 1cc and 20cc of the chosen drug.

"Palmer" is the company that that markets the "kit" to include the rifle, chemicals, sights, and darts.

It is a .32 gauge "Special Tranquilizer Gun" made by Harrington and Richardson Firearm Co. (and some others) but retailed by Palmer Chemical and Equipment Co. Inc. They generally utilize a .22 blank in the powder version to propel the "dart/syringe".

I hope this clears it up for you and thanks for the question Elwood.

Sid Lark

You are welcome Elwood, I'm glad I could help.

As a side note, "once upon a time" I actually carried one of these in the trunk of my police cruiser and had to use it many times over the years. I'd almost forgotten all about it....... interesting to have actually received a question on it.

Good luck and take care. Sid Lark