Originally Posted by
70ish
I looked at the listing this morning for the first time and I see some of the paint you mentioned. I wouldn't feel right about offering specific advice for you unless I knew more about you. I will try to offer some general advice for you, though, and I would start with being patient. In the old days, you could buy an 1873 for only a few dollars, so it didn't hurt so much to get something that wasn't want you wanted and it wasn't so hard to pass it on to someone who was okay with the thing. Nowadays, it's not so easy to find the things you want, but they will show up eventually. Living where you do, it might be harder to come across examples to choose from. There are many carbines out there and some are still fairly priced. Almost all of them have been touched, tweaked and otherwise altered to suit the needs of the seller. The best thing you can do is read. Read about the things that interest you and learn about the details. I'm exaggerating - a little - when I say that you will never know it ALL about the things that interest you, but you can at least learn enough to anticipate those details that turn out to be truly important to YOU. Since a couple of days after the first carbine left Springfield Arsenal, there have been changes to the design. Every piece, small or large, seen or unseen, wood or steel, has been tweaked, twisted and altered by the Arsenal or the folks that used them. Updates and upgrades will drive you nuts unless you learn to accept the logic for the changes. You only need to please yourself about your purchase. Don't worry about others stuff. Many of the changes that have been made may be good ones, others not so much. But you can change things too, if you must, but the changes themselves are a part of the history of the piece. We are just stewards of our things until they pass to others
All this in mind, I think the carbine you have been looking at is not really all that bad. If this is what you can afford then enjoy it. Take care of your family first, then understand that, like classic cars, these carbines can be money pits. As Dick advised, the paint can be handled. In fact, doing so is part of the fun. You feel like you're saving something from the past And that's worthwhile. In looking at the carbine on Gunbroker, the rear sight is of a later date - probably about 1886 or 7, but whoever changed the sight also updated the barrel band to match the sight. Those are things the State might have done and the Buffington sights are what went to Cuba with these carbines.That's good stuff and part of the history. The cartouche looks to be strong. and the whole thing will probably look better with a good cleaning. If you can get it at a proper price (for you), and understand what could be potentially ahead, then maybe it would be okay to scratch your itch. That's how a collection begins.
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