Trying to assess a used model 97 in 357 mag...

[EdK]

The gun is a mod 97 in 357 mag as the subject line says (Premier grade, of course). I'm familiar with operation of the model 83 but not the 97, which I understand has a bit different lockwork, so I'm not familiar with them.

The gun has no added options that I can see - adjustable sights/5.5" barrel/winewood grips.

The gun has no significant cosmetic deficiencies - it looks very good with the following exceptions:

• Screw head at muzzle end of ejector rod housing is messed up (no others anywhere else on the gun)
• The cylinder has a faint line most of the way around. The cylinder stop drops way early. Lock up is tight but not as good as my mod 83. My other SA revolvers are timed to land into the leade. Is this a potential problem?
• The front sight has permanent marker or some type of sight black-type material on it. This should remove easily but I don't understand the purpose. Isn't the ramp already black?

The owner took the time to clean the powder fouling off the gun before trading but not the lead - the hard part. I do not get the feeling it has had any modification to it's internals since leaving the factory but do not know for sure: the trigger seems "normal". It is a trade-in at a reputable dealer so there's no way to get really burned. Still, no point in wasting time on something I could rule out before laying down the cash. I love my premier '83. It has spoiled me. The only other SA I now own is another quality piece in 45 Colt from USFA.

So what do you think guys, would you go for it at $850?

[scott williams]

$850 is a great price and i would jump on it. i have a friend that has one and likes it.
its very accurate but some bullets such as commercial semi-wadcutters will not chamber due to
fa's tight chambers. he uses round nose bullets.
the cylinder pin has to be removed frequently for cleaning which may be why the ejector rod
housing screw is messed up.

[farscott]

The messed up screw does not concern me, but the less than solid lockup would concern me.  The screw being marred makes no sense as there is no need to remove the ejector rod housing to remove the cylinder for cleaning.  I occassionally tighten screws that come loose from shooting, but that never mars the screw heads.  In any case, a new screw would not be much of a hassle, so this one is really not a concern.  The front sight, while black, on my .22 LR M97 does "shine" a bit in some lighting, so the sight black makes sense.

I have a 5.5" .357 Magnum M97 with fixed sights as well as the .22 LR M97, and they both lock up just about (but not quite) as tight as my M83.  The .357 does have a bit of a turn line after several thousand rounds, but the lockup is tight.  Something to check after getting burned on my .22 LR M97 used purchase.  With the hammer at half cock, check to see that the bolt stays in the "down" position in the frame.  It appears the previous owner of my .22 LR M97 tried to give it an action job, and he messed it up, causing the bolt to try to lock up prematurely.  I wonder if your turn line and the timing issue are indications of some kitchen table smithing.

[scott williams]

the ejector rod housing needs to be removed to remove the cylinder pin which makes it easier to clean. a dirty pin binds up the cylinder. bullet lube and powder residue build up on the cylinder pin making the cylinder hard to turn.

[STJ]

For $850 buy it and send it in to FA.  I am familiar with the issue Farscott had with his 97 22.  This happens when a 'kitchen table smith' shortens the sear engagement on the trigger too much during the attempt to get the sear to break as wanted.  If shorted too much, when at half cock that surface on the trigger is then too short and does not allow the hammer to stay back far enough, in turn, the bolt is not held down enough and will drag on the cylinder...I know exactly the issue...I happened to be one of them 'kitchen table smiths' that learned the hard way 

If the bolt is fine at half cock, it is most likely a simple fix.

The cost to send in the gun and to have it fixed (if it was due to the previous owner) should be around $150 at the most (this includes shipping to FA) unless you want a trigger job also which is an extra $90

So figure the total cost of the gun to be $1000, and make your decision on that.

BTW my 97 is tighter than my 83.

[EdK]

Decided to let this one go. A call to the factory confirmed:

1. No gun leaves the factory timed like this.
2. Worst case repair bill could run $250-300 after shipping and all is said and done.

The clincher was when I called to speak with my most favored person at this shop who was not there a couple of days ago when I first spotted it. Not only did he concur that there may be hidden issues but he was able to look up the gun on their system and see it was sold (used) a couple of weeks ago and is back already 

Thank you for all of your input. I'll keep looking.