I just received a 38 perfected that I bought online, knowing it had some problems and was advertised as parts only gun. Paid a ridiculously low price and got it home to find it a pure 100% gun. No marks on the recoil shield, no burn rings on the front or back of the cylinder, but had one missing part. It was missing the ejector rod and have located that part, but the bigger problem is it does not lock up properly. I can get the barrel to close with some force, engaging the top latch, but it will not engage the center pin into the hole in the recoil shield. It also binds up the cylinder on the bottom frame. Thread is found at
Bargain or Bust? - post #10.
The 38 Perfected revolver has two latches, one is the standard top latch found on top-break revolvers and the other is a thumb release center pin that is found on hand ejectors. It appears to me that someone tried to forcibly open the action without using the thumb release, bending the quill. I have not figured out how to straighten the quill, so the action closes properly. The top strap on the frame is not that beefy, so I do not want to use it as the anchor to try to move the quill. Any suggestions are welcome.