Todd, i agree on fraud. And fraud would be defined as a person who has knowledge of something and communicates something different. And then there are the unfortunate folks after the fraud who are left holding the bag. Sometimes multiple parties if something changes hands multiple times.
My intention in mentioning serial numbers in the wood is that yes, it is a pretty good way of determining originality, 99.9% of the time. But... As people always say, never say never. Heck, the gun could have been a factory restock, not aftermarket.
In regards to gunsmiths and restoration work. Not everyone keeps every gun that they restore until the day they die. I personally am surprised at the turnover rate sometimes.
A gun has some restoration work done to it (whatever it may be) then a couple years later it has changed hands a few times and it is seen sitting on a dealers table being advertised as original. Is it the Smiths fault that something got lost in translation along the way?
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B. Dudley
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