Question for all you gunsmiths out there - both professional and amateur.
I suspect I know the answer, but I'm going to ask anyway.
Introduction =
I very recently acquired a lovely 1917 manufactured Colt Officer's target revolver in .32 Police (aka .32 S&W L) - pictured below.
It came with a letter from the Colt Archives confirming date made, and where it was first shipped etc.
Problem =
The Colt letter states that this was made with the standard 7.5 inch barrel, but the gun's barrel measures 5 inches. So, in the past 105 years, it appears that the barrel was shortened to 5 inches.
My Question =
Is it possible, or feasible, for a skilled gunsmith to attach a 2.5 inch barrel segment to the 5 inch barrel so the extension work is undetectable?
Or to make a new barrel identical to the original, including rifling, twist rate and even the font used to stamp the revolver's model and caliber details on the side of the barrel.
It turns out that this is quite a rare revolver, with only 20 known to be made in .32 for this model and series.
I really like the gun, have no intention of selling or misleading anyone, but would like it to look original.
This is what it's supposed to look like.