I'm a big fan of 1902's. Yours has had a somewhat rough life, but its
far from terminal !
The 7.42 was probably for something having to do with extractor
star, but it could have been more than that. There is no easy way
to know what was done by the service department. You might check
the assembly number - its sometimes stamped in the yoke area, and
also sometimes on the inside of the sideplate. See if that corresponds
to the number under the extractor.
The factory will not work on guns that old. That includes refinishing.
Your best bet is someone like Dave Chicoine.
I have no idea what someone might have put on the surface - I would
remove it, if it comes off easily when cleaning the gun. Then you will
know more about the real condition of the gun.
The thing about refinishing is that if the gun has any surface damage,
such as dents, rust pits, scars, etc, you'd probably want those removed
first, and the filing will often remove a lot of the roll markings, which
on that gun, are somewhat faint and fine.
You might want to consider sending the gun to Dave C., to have him
look it over. If it needs any machanical repair, he can do that, and
get the gun timed up properly.
Also, it looks like the stocks have warped, or are not the original
pair. They were numbered to the frame, by a scratched number
inside the right grip panel.
I have a feeling that the barrel has been replaced, even though it
has the right serial number. The end of the roll markings, on the
top of the barrel, are too close to the frame. At the very least, the
barrel may have been removed, and then moved one whole turn
closer to the cylinder. This might have happened if they replaced
the cylinder, which is what it looks like, to me. The finish on the
cylinder is totally inconsistent with the condition of the rest of the
gun.
Mike Priwer
