Before I say anything else here I should note that part of why I made this reply is because I think you bought yourself a heck of a gun Matthew, a treasure really. I love it, and I think you did exceptionally well in buying it. Much of my interest here is that if I was in a gun buying state financially, I might have fought you a little bit for it at auction


If I might pull on your experience a little, what led you to believe it wasn't a factory refinish when you saw it in person?

In this case I look at the pictures and what I see is; case coloring on the hammer/trigger, a third lock that is not blued, nice wear in all the right spots, and a beautiful bright blue that doesn't seem to be something anyone really puts on guns in the post war period.

I'd personally look at these pictures and think that it was likely a pre-war factory refinish, and maybe get myself a little excited and say that when they refinished it they put some upgraded stocks on there for good measure.

Of course pictures don't usually really show you what is there, and you are undoubtedly experienced enough that when you say you don't think it's factory I would count myself lucky to know why.

It's one of the funny things about buying guns these days for many of us who have to do it online, without being fortunate enough to handle the gun in person. I personally decided a while back that when I bought a gun online that even if it wasn't exactly what I thought it was, that I should still be happy with it for whatever price I paid. Still, I've been burned a couple times (my own fault really), yet learned something each time by comparing the pictures to the actual gun.

I think as time moves forward I always want to be picking up valuable tidbits of knowledge about original finish vs factory refinish, vs non factory refinish (high grade as this one is to the obvious almost destructive reblues that are all too common). I look at this and I see a wonderful opportunity to learn something new.