This one is a hair different...
The grips are about the same profile, but black "hard rubber" a bit like some old SAAs.
Trigger and hammer are jeweled.
The big shock is the sights. Both front and rear are on a single rail grafted onto the gun, following the contours of that same barrel and topstrap. It appears to be a factory setup; at the rear there's no hint that there used to be a different rear sight underneath the rail at the rear of the topstrap. The whole thing looks very "clean", not like some heavy barrel target-sight S&W 10s I've seen with a big clunky top sight rail. This Colt part seems to taper properly with the barrel, it doesn't appear to be aftermarket.
Front sight is totally fixed, and is a pinned blade. Just inboard of the front sight is an angled mirror aimed to direct light at the back of the front sight(!). The front sight "slants backwards" in a fashion that might hang up trying to clear leather - it wasn't meant for fast-draw, that's for damnsure.
Rear sight is fully adjustable, windage and elevation. There's no marks on either front or rear sight, plain black unless you count the probably effects of the mirror outdoors or in strong light.
Trigger is simply to die for, both DA and SA. Lockup is like an anvil, cylinder gap is around .003 - appears unfired, or VERY lightly shot. Perfect blue.
Is it worth $550? If it shoots like I suspect it will, probably
.
Because the front blade is pinned and the rear adjustable, I suspect it'll be no sweat to pull the front blade and put something like an Ashley Big Dot Tritium from mebbe a Glock with the post shaved and drilled, or perhaps the new pinned front sights on newer S&Ws will be close enough for easy adaptation
. As long as I keep the original front blade and grips, restoring it to original layout will be easy so I don't think we're talking about serious blasphemy in such a "modernization project".
The hammerblock safety is intact and working.
Again, I'm told this critter is a Colt Custom Shop product. It simply reeks of quality and doesn't appear "retrofitted" in any way.
What are the odds it'll shoot straight with .38+P 158 LSWCHPs? Winchesters clock mebbe 950fps from a 4" tube, this is a 6", even if they see the other side of 1,000fps they won't be going TOO much faster than the target loads the old puppy was meant for? Something like a CorBon 110+P JHP doing 1,300+ is another matter, "wrong twist rate" is a believable issue at that point
?
It'd make a SICK CCW piece
. And I'll have CCW soon, can't go into details yet but the opposition in my case is just toast, obliterated, and they're starting to figure it out
. One more way to give ol' Sheriff Rupf the runs is a delightful concept and that's what'll happen if his rangemaster gets a gander at this ol' critter packing a Tritium front dot
and real grips.
Jim