Jim
I love that grip on yours! Hey, I might just do my first upgrade on the pistol I shoot the very least.
Yup, mine looks just like yours except for the grips. To be honest, the only area where the finish is bad is around the muzzle where it says "charter arms corp, stratford conn." It looks more like somebody used something too harsh to clean the finish, though.
The hammer has some discoloration, reminds me of what stainless steel exhaust manifolds look like after a few heat cycles.
The cylinder on mine does have slight play, I'm not sure if it's normal or not since I've never really handled other wheelguns, and the few times I did, I never took notice.
Yeah, mine is definately rough around the edges, sometimes it's difficult to release the cylinder. It's not too bad right after I give it a good oiling though. The main thing I'm worried about it is the hammer. Manually cocking it back, it will go back as far as physically possible...meaning the "tail" of the hammer is actually touching a part of the rest of the gun (excuse my lack of terms). I'm assuming this isn't normal since the finish is worn at the contacting points.
When I do cock it back so that it touches, I can nudge the hammer forward and it'll click into the assumed normal position of a few mm's forward so that the hammer isn't touching at the rear. Applying slight pressure on the trigger will also reset it to the "normal" hammer position.
Also, any tips on improving the sights?
Hey, not bad for a free gun.
edit: LOL, after doing a search on Packmeyer grips in Yahoo I ran across your website, Jim.