So since I am the one who sent you guys down this rabbit hole for an alloy BHP I will post some pics of a gun that a friend of mine bought. Here are the positives from what I can see. I field stripped the pistol and looked it over. It appears to be mechanically sound. I have not shot the gun so I cannot speak to accuracy. The guns shipped with the mag disconnect intact which I removed upon his request.
Positives:
- The barrel, slide and frame all match. The mag is period and contact correct but has a different rack # on the base plate.
- The rollmarks serial number etc... are all strong with no dulling or blemishes.
- The import stamp is reasonably well done. Not as good as CDI/Coles Dist but not as bad a PW Arms IMHO.
- Thumb safety shows very little wear which tells me it was not used much
- Gun passed the BHP click test.
- The barrel is coated black similar to a Sig barrel and does not show a ton of wear on the outside.
- The crown and the rifling in the barrel looks sounds. No issues that I can see. I would say the gun was carried a ton but not shot much.
- The rails look good. They have some wear but nothing that would harm the integrity of the pistol. Anodizing appears to be in tact which is important for these alloy guns.
- There are some frame dings here and there but nothing horrible that a good stippling job wouldn't erase for the most part.
- It has a little more surface wear on the gun then the one I used for my custom Alloy but not much and I would expect to get similar end results with this pistol.
- Magwell looks sound and you should be able to bevel it.
Negatives:
- The rear sight looks like the pistol might have been dropped on the sight. The right side of the sign is flattened. The sights are still usable but not pretty. This should not be an issue for my friend since he plans of replacing the sights with Novaks or Heinie sights. If you were going to shoot the pistol as is these sights would disappoint you.
- The pistols originally shipped with lanyard rings. On this pistol it has been removed so it shows two dents in the frame where the ring rode. A new set of grips and a little cosmetic work should cover it up.
- There is a slight ding in the sharp corners of the tang of the guns grip area but it should bevel out nicely.
- Grips are trash.
- There is finish wear on the underside of the trigger guard but it will go away with a good refinish.
- There is a slight ding in the hog nose bushing but nothing that will effect accuracy.
All in all this is a great base gun. I would be reluctant to purchase one of these sight unseen if you want to leave it stock and keep it as a vintage piece. Their pics are not that detailed. When I compared the GB pics to the gun the negatives were there but very hard to see due to the below avg pics. You might get lucky and get a super clean gun but you could just as easily miss something important. That said if you got this gun you could restore it as a vintage piece by replacing the rear sight, redoing the anodizing on the frame or refinish in something like Black T or Black Cerakote and then re-bluing the slide.
Where I really think these guns are useful is as a base gun for a full house custom. The barrel, slide and frame are all matching and in good condition. The defects in finish, dings and wear can all be corrected. New sights, custom thumb safety, stippling of the front and rear grip strap, new hammer, sear and trigger with good refinish will make these guns look and run like new. IMHO I recommend using hard chrome or Robar NP3 on the lower and or the complete pistol because they will add strength to the frame and will be as hard or harder than the original anodizing, at least that is what I have been told. Hopefully down the road this gun will end up as a nice custom carry piece.
