Wow, the ammendment to my permit went through fast, so I took a drive to pick up my new treasure. Here are several pics.
Here she is
Trigger guard and cylinder blue wear
Muzzle blue wear
Diamond Cokes
The case, which I knew was in bad shape
This is all good news. The condition of the gun makes it a perfect candidate for a shooter, and that's why I was able to get it for the price I did. The throats measure .432, with one just taking a .433 plug gauge. I have not slugged the bore yet. A lot of what I percieved to be finish wear turned out to be dried oil residue, which cleaned off with a bit of solvent.
I knew the case was a mess, but I plan on trying to restore it. I'm pretty handy at such things. I'm embarrassed to admit it , but I thought that "speckeled stripe" down the left side of the lid belonged there until I saw correct pics of one of these boxes on this forum. It looks like a previous owner had set something on top of this box, with the left end sticking out, and then painted something nearby. The stripe is actually dried paint specks.
They clean off with a needle point and some rubbing alcohol (one at a time!!). I need to replace the satin lining, but the wood/cardboards are in good shape. Of course I need to acquire the correct tools. Does anyone on this board sell them?
The one bad thing (not really bad for a shooter) is that the top strap had been drilled and tapped for a scope mount. I can't believe I didn't notice that before. It doesn't affect the gun's shooter status, but collector value is officially shot. The really ironic thing is, I bought a gun of similar vintage (my pre 25-2 5 screw) from the very same shop about 18 or 19 years ago, and it ALSO had a drilled top strap (I noticed on that one but still bought it. Again, a shooter.) How screwy is that?
The new pre 29
My pre 25-2
I hope to have a range report either today or tomorrow.
This is what I am envisioning for my new treasure. My plan is to live with and love this .44. It will be treated primarily as a .44 special, with maybe a few moderate level Magnum handloads just to see what she'll do. It will be fed a strict diet of cast lead only. Since I only have $500 into it so far and it's collector value is already shot, maybe next year I'll have S&W do a reblue and make it pretty. I can refinish the stocks myself. I'm thinking an oil finish, or maybe I'll stick to the high gloss to keep it correct. And I'll be working on restoring the case slowly. Like I said, does anyone here have any expertise on that, or know where I can pick up tools?
Opinions please?