Originally Posted by BC38

Well, I appreciate the advice - though I didn't take it I'd already bought it by the time I saw your post.

I went and checked it out again yesterday and it has been reamed for 45 Colt. The round chambers perfectly, though it doesn't headspace tightly against the recoil shield. I checked the firing pin and when it strikes it definitely protrudes far enough through the recoil shield to ignite the primers - even with the extra headspacing. I doubt that I'll shoot any 45 Colt rounds in it anyway. From what I' seeing they are about 3-4 times the cost-per-round of 45 ACP with very similar ballistics.

I laid it right next to a nickel plated Model 36 and I'm more convinced than ever that it has been chromed. The nickel is WAY more yellow than the finish on this gun - which looks even more blue in color when they are side by side.

I talked the seller into letting me take it home for $255 OTD, plus he threw in 100 rounds of fired brass he had lying around. I know this one isn't going to interest any collectors, but that's OK with me. I'm into shooters, and this one is still mechanically sound enough to be a good shooter, even if the pitting is ugly.

I figure I'm not going to find a cheaper way to try out 45s to see if I like the round. I've looked at other 1917s & Brazilians on GunBroker and the shooters are all going for 2-4 times more than I'm into this one. I figure I'll buy a few moon clips and a couple of boxes of 45 ACP to give it a try. If I decide I like 45's (as if I ever shot a round I didn't like), then the next step is getting a set of dies and some bullets to reload.

If for some reason I decide I don't like the 45s, then I'll wager I can at least get my money back out of this one.