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Shouldn't the British proofs show, at a minimum, finish distortion, if not being bright? My experience with these is minimal, but would the proofs normally have been finished-over?
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Correct. Now that I'm in front of my computer really looking this gun over, I'm positive it's a reblue, and I can note a few more things.
You saying that made me think about the .38 special marking as well. As noted, that gun was not originally .38 special. So whenever the barrel was stamped .38 special, it had to be reblued over because the inside of the stamping is blued.
You can shoot .38S&W or special out of your gun, but it won't likely do either particularly well. Expect spent cases to be in poor condition and accuracy to be below standard.
I'm curious what happened to the US Government property markings on the topstrap. Sometimes markings are wiped out on a buffing wheel, but that would be a lot of material to remove. I'm curious what that looks like up close. The finish does appear to have been done on a buffer, and I don't think the grips are original. The hammer and trigger are probably unaltered.
It's a nice gun, and still has plenty of character. I don't want to rag on it, just passing along some information.