My take is that if the barrels had been worn out or out of proof it wold have been a near record money pit. The "as is condition" often is a sign that the seller, who claims not to know exactly what he has, is trying to sell a gun he has found out is a major money pit.
Most of the times we are saved from our dreams by events beyond our control. I have failed to buy several of these money pit projects and still regret it, even though I know that one of them ended up being one of those nightmare guns we all hear about. Last count the owner had seven or eight grand in a gun which is worth five, on a good day. True it fits him perfectly with its new stock, new sleeved barrels, which were screwed up so badly by one smith that they had to be sleeved, new hinge pin, repaired ejectors which work most of the time, new screws, one mainspring and an entire check list of things to be repaired that never seems complete. The action still needs the engraving picked up and then a nice case coloring. Yeah that was what could be a ten grand project that I missed. Sometimes we get lucky even when we do not know it.
