Smith & Wesson No3 American Revolver

.44 S&W American. 8" ribbed barrel. SN: 8958. No finish, old bone grips. Single action break open simultaneous extraction revolver with notch rear sight in barrel catch and pinned half-moon front sight. Standard S&W barrel markings. Assembly numbers on frame, rear face of cylinder and barrel catch are all mismatched. Grips are ill-fitting and secured with a modern machine screw.

Condition
Fair. Bore fair, moderately oxidized with some pitting and visible rifling. Metal with no finish and moderately oxidized with some scattered pitting. Barrel marking is mostly visible. Mechanically functional action, needs some TLC. The action is stiff and feels like it might be full of old, dried grease as everything is sluggish. Barrel catch is ill-fitting and requires effort (or a mallet) to open and close it at times. Closing the action often upsets the timing and locks up the gun, requiring the cylinder to be manipulated in order to get the gun to cycle correctly and allow the hammer to be cocked. Grips are old and ill fitting with major wear and are secured with a machine screw.