I recently purchased a 3rd.Model .44 Transitional Target, shown previously on this forum. This drew an offer for another of the same. It was presented as a mint, unfired gun. A guy can't pass that up!! So, I sent my money/FFL out and the pics show what arrived. The gun looks like a 99% gun, except it's a little too shiny. A look at the bottom of the grip frame, no star. Next inside the ejector housing. No diamond. That elusive diamond appeared on the back of the cyl. The real fun started when I removed the grips. The gun was refinished in Oct.1978.(1078) and the R-S stamped on the left grip frame tells all. Remember, if a seller won't let you remove the grips on a questionable gun, PASS it up! This one is going back.

Richard

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All the Transition guns I have seen had the post-war satin finish with the exception of the 357 Mags. Even the 357s don't equal the pre-war finish nor the later high polish of the mid 50s, but they are brighter than the satin finish.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

What does the R-S mean?

Richard,

I am sorry to hear this. Hopefully, the seller will make it 100% right.

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On the Oak Savannah

I believe R-S means "Refinish Standard".

Bill

What a bummer. I bought an Outdoorsman transitional about two years ago from GB and thought it was a fantastic deal given the condition and buy it now price. I paid the seller and waited for my FFL to let me know he got it.

Upon receipt he checked it over, no refinish marks, checkered barrel/topstrap, nice case colors on trigger and hammer, all serials match including the stocks. So I drive the 30 min to pick it up and before transfer, I gave it another once over. Noticed some fouling/leading in the barrel, typical sign of cast/reloaded ammo being shot through it at some time. We grabbed some Hoppes and wire bore brush and ran it a few times. Surprise!

Barrel bulge.

You really couldn't see it from the exterior of the gun until you KNEW it was there by looking down the barrel. Luckily the seller was understanding, refunded my money promptly, and less paperwork for me/my FFL. I was pretty bummed as I'm sure you are as well. Luckily, these are not 1 of 1 guns and maybe lady luck will grace us again in the near future.

Cheers
SVT28

Sent from my LM-V450 using Tapatalk

Under the heading of for what it's worth, I once sent in a gun for refinishing (late 80's-early 90's), and instructed them to omit any factory service/refinishing marks in their entirety--------knowing, or at least hoping they would refuse to do so. Alas, the gun came back a thing of beauty with nary a mark on it---------sad, but true.

Ralph Tremaine

Last year I bought a 3rd model single shot on GB. The photos did not show, & seller did not know or did not reveal a factory refinish. The good news, a Jinks letter revealed it was owned by Victor H Wesson. I also recently learned the custom target grips were done by Gagne.