My father came to the conclusion that we needed a handgun in the house for "protection" when I was a kid back in the 60's. After looking over a few pistols and revolvers at a local shop, he chose a H&R 999 6". Back then, one had to get a permit to just purchase a handgun in the city we lived in...A medium sized city in Virginia. It took several weeks to get the permit and pick up the revolver. I thought the time would never come. I had never fired a handgun before but got fairly good with it when shooting it single action. The double action trigger was pretty heavy and rough.

I still have the revolver and its been fired a lot over the last forty five or so years. It is slightly out of time and the plastic collet that keeps the mainspring in place broke making the hammer strike too light to reliably fire all cartridges. It needs some TLC but it has been a pretty decent gun and I don't plan to ever get rid of it. It is somewhat less refined than the S&W and Colt .22 revolvers but it was a much cheaper handgun. If I came across a nice 4" at a decent price, I would consider buying it.