An interesting project. A few years ago I was selling off some guns that just didn't fit my collecting needs. David Carroll took one look at a postwar 44 4" and had to have it. It was a spectacular condtion gun, looking as if it was factory new. Then he sold it back to me because it wouldn't letter as a 44. He'd called Roy and got the bad news that it shipped as a 38/44. David is about as good as anyone at inspecting a gun, sometimes for an extended period and seeing anything there was to see.
Sometimes I make my inspections too brief, but this one, to all appearances was a 44. So David called Roy back and wanted to discuss it. Roy was just as adamant, that it shipped as a 38/44 in a group of guns that were also 38/44s. David spent some time with a magnifier on the barrel and barrel pin and was certain it had never been touched, there was no indication at all the barrel had been removed from the frame. One of those mysteries of the gun world.
But then he noticed the cylinder. All numbered and perfect as you'd expect, no carbon or recoil shield indications of it ever being fired, even at the factory. Then another look disclosed the bores were "in the white". The gun had apparently shipped as a 38/44. Someone had discovered the factory error of it having a 44 barrel on a 38 cylinder gun. So they did what anyone would do, they just rechambered it to 44 special, as is should have been originally.
Everyone was upset. David was upset, his customer was upset, and I was upset. I hate it when I get a perfect gun and it turns out to be a lemon. I sold it to a friend because I was so mad at the gun. He was overjoyed at getting a 4" 44. It filled a hole in his collection. I should have kept it. I'm pretty sure he sold it to someone here on the forum (but he doesn't disclose his customers to outsiders.)
If we get a vote, I'd go with reaming the cylinder. Find a postwar Outdoorsman. Make it into a weird 4" target gun!
