I have had a recurrent N-frame itch the last year or so and mostly leaning toward a .41 or a .44. I would think about it and look around some, then give up and forget about it for a while. Around the end of last year, I started to look around a little more and passed on a few for one reason or another, but ran into a couple of things this past weekend that grabbed my attention.
The first was in a pawn shop that also sold a few guns. It was a Model 29-2 with a 5" barrel, rear sight assembly missing and frame drilled and tapped for a mount (also missing). There were some finish issues (the usual holster wear, etc.), but in addition the mount must have been one of those with the flanges that fit down over both sides of the barrel where it is screwed into the frame. This left some pronounced deep scratches about 1/4" long by 1/8" wide...the same on both sides. As usual, I hold a revolver up against a bright background and check for cylinder/barrel fit. This one was out of square and was binding slightly at the top of the barrel. Sad and intriguing at the same time.
I'm not against taking on a little project now and then, but this didn't seem like it would be something I would want to tackle.
The next day, I dropped by another place that I would describe as a gun shop that takes some of the usual stuff in pawn. This one has always had a good selection of guns and this time was no exception. This 29-3 Silhouette might be packing a little more barrel length than I had in mind, but the price seemed good, so it had to go with me. I haven't reloaded .44 Mag for a number of years, but maybe it will come back to me