As far as what's been mentioned about the reliability of the Officer's Rifle - the only time I ever heard anything about that was when parts were being used up to produce as many saleable weapons as possible when H&R was closing its doors.
From what I remember - these weren't supplied with the big foam box or the small handout - they were supplied as-is.
Numrich bought tons of spares - as did Pedersoli - who had been buying complete Officers Rifles for a couple of years before, from what was said among the dealers, and this was before they started producing Trapdoors.
Find an eyecup and reinstall that rear tang sight - the originals all had them, and though somewhat difficult to adjust - once adjusted to particular loads and the appropriate mark filed on the 'ladder' - they work well.
I believe that the piece was originally sighted at 100 yards when at the lowest position - the aperture being 3/4" up from the receiver line.
Your 'using' rear sight should be marked with an 'R' - since all of the originals were 'Rifle' sights and not 'Carbine' and the accuracy derived is from that data, when using an issue service load.
If you want a copy of the little manual - go to
www.rediscovered-shooting-treasures.com.
It isn't much, but it was what was supplied when the rifle first came upon the scene in 1971.
If you get tired of the metal pistol grip - mine was lifted some years back and I need another H&R one, since originals are 1/4" wider to accomodate the wrist, and I'd be interested.
Vaya,
Scouts Out!