Triple Lock franken gun

[gmarshall99]

I recently purchased this triple lock on an online forum It looked ok in the photos. When I got it home I found the following:

It had been refinished. They did a good job tho.
The action was sluggish. I took it apart for cleaning. Lots of black residue and tar like gunk.

What I found was:
The refinishing polished all the lettering on the barrel and the butt.
The serial numbers on the various parts are:
6094 on the frame.
3849 0n the cylinder.
6094 on the yoke.
B3949 on the barrel. 3849 on the ejector.
6049 on the side plate.
Boy are these numbers tiny!
Now's the time where some will call me stupid for buying this pig in a poke.

I'm assuming 6094 is the true serial number and the cylinder and barrel were replace at some time. I am going to letter this gun soon.

I'm having trouble removing the bolt and its parts. There is a small screw on the bolt that I've not seen on any other S&W I have. The pin is D shaped. I've tried removing the screw and rotating the pin but it is too tight in the frame. See photos attached.

Hoping our Gurus add their insight to this handgun. Thanks for your contributions.

 

[gmarshall99]

Photos were too big. resizing.

 

[cgt4570]

The yoke numbers are meaningless post-factory. They were only used to reunite parts after final finish.
Odds are that the barrel, cylinder, extractor are original to the gun. THAT is the SN.
Now the bad...
You have a serious problem!
The only LEGAL serial number is the one that you say is missing from the bottom of the grip frame. If I were you, I would contact the seller and politely ask them to accept a full return. If they give you grief, talk to their field agent. This happened to me with a 1917 once. Even if they unknowingly committed a felony by selling you a gun with a defaced SN, it's STILL a felony.

Now I've heard that 'sometimes', the ATF will assign you a new SN to be stamped on the frame by a licensed GS, if you can convince them that the original SN wasn't removed for nefarious reasons. Coin flip there.

Your only other options are to hold onto a potentially illegal gun, that you will have difficulty selling (illegally) in the future, or to part it out and destroy the frame.

Best of luck!

 

[Retired W4]

Defaced SN

The other day a friend call for advice on a 64-1 that had a butt swivel install that obscured the last digit. He went back to the shop to have them remove the grips to look for the ATF approved SN on the side of the grip frame. It was not there. The gun was on lay-away and they returned his deposit and canceled the deal.

 

[gmarshall99]

The yoke numbers are meaningless post-factory. They were only used to reunite parts after final finish.
Odds are that the barrel, cylinder, extractor are original to the gun. THAT is the SN.
Now the bad...
You have a serious problem!
The only LEGAL serial number is the one that you say is missing from the bottom of the grip frame. If I were you, I would contact the seller and politely ask them to accept a full return. If they give you grief, talk to their field agent. This happened to me with a 1917 once. Even if they unknowingly committed a felony by selling you a gun with a defaced SN, it's STILL a felony.

Now I've heard that 'sometimes', the ATF will assign you a new SN to be stamped on the frame by a licensed GS, if you can convince them that the original SN wasn't removed for nefarious reasons. Coin flip there.

Your only other options are to hold onto a potentially illegal gun, that you will have difficulty selling (illegally) in the future, or to part it out and destroy the frame.

Best of luck!

Thank you VERY much for your advice. I have contacted the seller, with whom I have had a long term relationship,