The gun was not new or in the box as previously thought. Details get all tangled up when they trickle down from person to person.
The gun does looks to be in exceptionally good shape. No rust or pitting and the bluing looks great. There is also no evident wear inside the chamber. My guess is the gun saw very little/light use during the war. I did find some sandy grit in the 2 clips it came with. It also came with a nice holster which I have yet to locate on any of the photo gallery pages.
From what I gather the top of the gun has parts numbered 16 and the bottom portion is all 51. My guess is its 2 guns in one. When that was done and why I'll never know.
I will post pics and write all numbers down asap.
I plan on taking it to a gun guy I know to have him inspect it and perhaps clean and oil it. I don't want to clean it so it looks like brand new, I just want it cleaned of any dirt and oiled to prevent rusting etc.
Also not sure on the holster. Should I oil it with something to help keep the leather "alive"? I'd like to use something that does not change the color.
Thanks for all the help. Allot of interesting history on this site.
-GB
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