I bought this gun sight unseen. I knew it had the holster, and box, but when I picked it up yesterday, I got a pleasant surprise. The gun is a SBH made in early 1970. It has been converted to a transfer bar by Ruger, and the original parts were not returned. The gun was described as 90+ percent, but after pulling the cylinder pin, and checking every thing while at the gunsmiths, we discovered the gun is unfired.
The holster is a fancy tooled Cathey Enterpises fast draw type rig. It has never been worn outdoors, as it is absolutely perfect with no wear. It has 30 cartridge loops.
The gun has some blueing wear on the left side of the muzzle, I assume the previos owner did som fast draw practice. The cylinder has a faint line that is hard to see. The grips have a couple minor marks. The gun was cycled, but never fired.
My diemna is, I bought this gun intending to cut the barrel to 4 5/8ths to carry while upland hunting. Is this gun something to alter, or leave it as is?
Should I try and sell this rig, and just buy a new 4 5/8ths .44 special? I am not a Ruger collector, and the gun will only have value as a shooter to me.
Here are a couple pictures.
The holster is a fancy tooled Cathey Enterpises fast draw type rig. It has never been worn outdoors, as it is absolutely perfect with no wear. It has 30 cartridge loops.
The gun has some blueing wear on the left side of the muzzle, I assume the previos owner did som fast draw practice. The cylinder has a faint line that is hard to see. The grips have a couple minor marks. The gun was cycled, but never fired.
My diemna is, I bought this gun intending to cut the barrel to 4 5/8ths to carry while upland hunting. Is this gun something to alter, or leave it as is?
Should I try and sell this rig, and just buy a new 4 5/8ths .44 special? I am not a Ruger collector, and the gun will only have value as a shooter to me.
Here are a couple pictures.