How can you determine the age of a 410-44 Harrington and Richardson shotgun patented Feb 27 1900?
The short is you can not. There are no known company records for these guns. However, the chambering gives a clue. From about 1900 to 1915 they were chambered for 44 shot. In 1916 that changed to 410-44. Note the 44 is the 44XL / 44GG. Do NOT fire a 44-40 with a normal load in this gun. They changed the chambering again around 1920 to 410. The model 1900 and later 1905 were tremedously popular. In the course of 5 years, Harringto & Richardson had to expand the factory 3 times to meet the demand.
