Well, I got 4 really good guns out of a huge estate sale (guy had over 200 good quality and rare old milsurp guns), two of which arrived today, I have to pick the other two up at the post office tonight.
The first was a Bodeo 1889 Officer's Model in 10.4mm, made by Glisenti in Brescia in 1905. This is a very early production model with the external hammer connector. This is in really nice shape inside and out with a surprisingly nice bore - it's missing the axis pin retaining screw, which is a commonly lost part of Bodeos (I think maybe intentionally - it's not necessary to hold it together and the gun strips much easier without it). I'm absolutely amazed at how the trigger guard improves it's handling characteristics compared to my Trooper's Model (purchased years ago) - the angle, location and side of grip and trigger are the same but the Officer's Model points much more naturally. And although the trigger pull on both could best be described as awful, it seems more manageable on the Officer's Model.
Right along with it I bought a Dutch East Indies (KNIL) 1891 revolver in 9.4mm Nagant (or 10mm Soerabaja depending on which source you go with). I was very pleased to find that this one was dated 1924 and part of the 3rd Contract, which was originally made by Vickers subcontracting out to the Birmingham gun trade, and then reworked by FN after the initial quality wasn't up to snuff. The external conditions is better than expected, considering the 30 or so years it spent riding in holsters in tropical conditions, and the bore is very decent. Unforunately it doesn't function reliably in double action - that said, single action works fine and it locks up tight. I'm ok with it anyways - it's a rare gun known for being hard to find in good condition at a very fair price.
