Last year my wife bought me this as one of a pair of top-breaks, the other in .38. I liked this little gun, but after shooting it and finding it shoots VERY low despite the really short front sight, and the fact that it's obviously not stock led me to put interest n this gun on the back burner, so to speak.
Re-examining it the barrel has obviously been shortened; the second photo shows the new front sight hard up against the text; there is no room for a stock front sight. The barrel now measures 2-5/8 inches. Examining the muzzle it looks like a professional job; it's been properly re-crowned and is nickel plated. Serial Numbers all match (frame, cylinder and barrel) and the gun does not show any overt signs of refinishing.
The bore is bright and nice, likewise the cylinders. Action is heavy but silky smooth and ignition is reliable. It's a rather nice little gun aside from shooting six inches low at 7 yards. I've considered mounting a rear sight on it that would compensate for this, but am hesitant. I'm wondering what the likelihood is that this gun was modified by S&W? If that seems likely I'd be loathe to interfere with it further.