H&R 1871 Buffalo Classic Rifle
For many decades, hunters across the country—indeed, around the world—have used the economical and simple break-action rifles from Harrington & Richardson (now H&R 1871 and New England Firearms) to harvest everything from squirrels to deer, black bear, elk and moose. As a general rule, the overriding appeal of these arms was their robust, uncomplicated utility.
The resurging interest in 19th-century arms in the 1990s brought the H&R single-shots, which were inspired by Frank Wesson’s tip-up rifles of the 1850s, to the attention of Old West aficionados. With such shooters in mind, in 1995, H&R 1871 introduced the Buffalo Classic, a rifle reminiscent of the long-barreled big-bore buffalo guns of the 1800s.
The Buffalo Classic is available only in .45-70 Gov’t and features a medium-weight 32" barrel, adjustable sights and an American black walnut schnabel fore-end and straight buttstock. Nostalgic touches include case coloring on both the receiver and crescent steel buttplate.
Locking is accomplished by means of a horizontally sliding locking bolt that engages a bite in the barrel underlug. Depressing a lever just to the right of the hammer retracts the locking bar and allows the barrel to be rotated downward. As the action opens, the automatic ejector snaps rearward, propelling the fired case or live round out of the chamber. There is no active safety on the rifle, but the action includes a transfer bar mechanism that prevents the hammer from contacting the firing pin when the gun is in the hammer-down condition.
The Buffalo Classic’s 32" barrel allows the extraction of all the velocity possible from the .45-70 and provides an extra-long sight radius for more accurate shooting with iron sights. The rear Williams receiver sight with its 0.09"-diameter peep is adjustable for windage and elevation; in the front, a Lyman target globe sight is mounted on the barrel by way of a transverse dovetail. Eight different sight inserts are provided with the front globe.