Bought an ugly duckling :)

[jimmyraythomason]

$65 and 3 hours very well spent!

 

[madcratebuilder]

A working girl, now that is cool. Great buy.

 

[CK]

Looks great.

 

[19-3Ben]

Love it. Absolutely love it.

 

[Jbabbler]

I did a little more work to her last night. Here she is with her new bobbed hammer.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Okay,now you're just rubbing it in!

 

[MCgunner]

Probably in the evidence locker and no longer needed, my guess. I bet they found it ditched somewhere, LOL. NICE BUY, though. I have owned 7 Rossi revolvers, all Interarms era, still have a 68 and a 511(.22 kit gun). The Taurus era ones seem to be more consistently quality fit and finish, though your finish wouldn't reflect that. LOL!

I think I'd be tempted to try some fancy tough coating or something on it. At the price, I think it's worth spending a few bucks on for a good finish. I'd wanna keep it to a C note, though. You can get a new Rossi at Academy for about $260 last time I looked, stainless for around 300. You done a good job on 'er, though, and I like the bobbed hammer. Great find!

 

[ev239]

Very nice find Frank! Where's Ed's? Is that the place that changed it's name to Nick's over in Marietta? A working .357 for $65 is a steal! Good thought on bobbing the hammer too. It's a perfect stash away gun.

 

[Dimis]

Frank now that is a piece of art i love guns with "character"

wish i could find stuff like that within 100 miles but all our local shops sell overpriced junk

 

[Jbabbler]

Thanks for all the kind words. This gun has great character and probably has an interesting history. I can't wait to get a new set of grips on her. I really need to find some ammo as well so I can run her through her paces.

EV239: Ed's Public Safety aka Ed's Pawn is located in Stockbridge. They're a great bunch of guys. They sell Glocks for $398 with the Point-of-sale GSSF signup or $498 retail. They always have interesting trades and such. They have the RIA 1911's for $350. During their sale on Monday they had tons of police evidence guns from Clayton County. They had Lije-New Hipoints in any caliber for $50. They had a nice j-frame style Taurus in great shape for $100 and several no-name ghetto-blasters for $40-$50. They also had a good deal on new guns. I almost grabbed a NIB FEG hi-power clone for $175. I also liked the Para-ordanance 1911 officers model double stack for $450 NIB. I tried all of them but kept coming back to the ugly duckling .

 

[smilin-buddha]

I always like the aged looking ones. That will serve you well

 

[frankiestoys]

Kinda like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree
Well done ,some new grips and an inexpenive re-finish
Who's better then you ?
Good luck, dont forget to send us pics when shes done.

 

[ev239]

Thanks Frank! I will have to check them out.

 

[Camjr]

Nice save! I will start off my new year being extremely jealous of you, and resolving to spend more time trolling guns and pawn shops looking for "a find"

Cheers!

 

[goodtime]

I'd leave it just as it is, and maintain the overall economic advantage rather than spending any further dough. The finish looks good exactly as it is now! A few months ago there was a pic thread entitled something like "tough looking revolvers," and this piece certainly would qualify. What a great deal!!

 

[Backpacker33]

Ugly Duckling

“Ugly Duckling”

Here’s my $150 Colt Trooper Mk III.

Note the bubbling on the cylinder. The backstrap is rusted, the finish on the right rear shield is brown rust, the right grip is very worn, the left one is chipped. The cylinder is dotted and worn all the way around and it, like the barrel, shows major holster wear. The action is loose but the bore is clean and bright. Even the ejector shroud is rusting inside. Oh, and the front sight has been filed down.

Frontstrap, trigger and trigger guard are in fine shape. Very light cylinder bolt ring. Obviously carried a lot, shot very little.

Now for the kicker: it belonged to a LEO! He must have drug it behind himself on a rope!

It’s going back to Colt for refinish and a tuneup.
- Backpacker

 

[Mike J]

Good Catch Frank! I have heard about great buys when Ed's has their yearly sale but I have never made it to one. Too broke to do anything this year anyway.
Are you planning on doing the hot blue yourself? The guy at the True Value (he sells guns & does gunsmith work) in Jackson told me he would reblue my old Dan Wesson for $100 dollars but I'm not in a position to do it right now.

 

[Jbabbler]

That'll be a keeper when you finsih with her Backpacker33. Keep us updated.

Thanks for the tip Mike. I'm definitely going to let someone else do the hotblue if I ever do it.

 

[martialartsblackbelt]

Score Man, Nice job

 

[farscott]

Wow, that Trooper Mk. III is one poor abused revolver. It will be interesting to see what Colt can do with it.

 

[doc540]

there's always the DuraCoat option

 

[Warhawk83]

The before pics and the price make me think they fished that thing out of a lake.
After seeing it cleaned up, you got one hell of a deal! Great find!

 

[Jbabbler]

Ok Doc540, so what's the story on that one? Looks great now.

 

[harmon rabb]

for $65, would make a great truck gun. if it functions well, why bother making it prettier?

 

[Jbabbler]

for $65, would make a great truck gun. if it functions well, why bother making it prettier?

Agreed.... but I do want to make sure it has a durable finish to prevent rusting. I have already stripped it down to the last spring, pin and pawl. Th trigger probably feels better than it did from the factory and the cylinder locks up tight and rotates smooth. If I can invest an additional $50 or so to ensure that it is a functional weapon free from rust and corrosion 10 years from now I feel I be remiss not to do so.