Well, I just got home from the gun shop and, sadly, I did not buy it. I intended to take pictures, but I came so close to buying it that I didn't bother, figuring I'd take good pictures once I got it home.
So let me describe the gun so that you can all (hopefully) tell me that I did the right thing by walking away.
The barrel was clearly shortened by a very skilled machinist/gunsmith. It was done so well that I would display this gun proudly. I make my living as an Inspector in a machine shop and I was very impressed with the work. The crown/muzzle looks exactly the same as that of an original barrel. I know this, because they had a 29-3 there and I did a side-by-side comparison. There was one screw, visible from the top, in the land between the sight ramp and the rear portion of the sight base. It was blued and the coloring perfectly matched the rest of the sight. The hole in the sight was countersunk so that the screw sat flush with the top of the base. The guns bluing was in good condition, with the exception of some muzzle wear consistent with a gun that had been carried in a holster a fair amount. The rest of the barrel and frame were in very good condition. The trigger and hammer both had very nice case coloring - much nicer than what shows in the picture I posted. The gun passed all mechanical tests flawlessly - lockup, timing, end shake were all very good. There was hardly any marks on the recoil shield. I'm guessing that this gun was carried plenty, but fired sparingly. The Cokes had minor dings along the sharp corners at the butt - nothing too terrible - again, consistent with a gun that was carried in a holster, though the checkering was still surprisingly nice and sharp.
This gun was hard to put down. I wanted it so badly, if just for a super cool shooter grade 29-1.
Looking at the $1,695 price tag, I knew I'd have overpay to get this thing. I asked if their was any wiggle room and after the salesman called someone else on the phone, he said he could take $1,600 + tax. I told him that I'd be a buyer at $1,500 and that was the best I could offer. He declined the offer. I walked away and was looking at used guns in a different area when the salesman came back and said that he had called his guy back and got the price down to $1,550 + tax (Michigan's 6% sales tax would bring the final price to $1,643). I stuck to my guns and told him $1,500 + tax ($1,590) was the best I could do. He said that he couldn't go any lower.
Before I left, I asked to look at the gun one last time. By now, my self control was reaching dangerously low levels. Upon a thorough (second) inspection of the gun, I found a pretty big flaw. There was a hairline crack in the right grip panel, starting at the top and going down about an inch or so. It almost looked like a scratch, but I'm sure it was a crack - I could feel it when I scraped my fingernail over it. I took that as a sign from above that I shouldn't buy the gun.
Thanks again for all of your help.
