Has blue left in protected areas and CCH left in non-exposed areas (under the wood, etc). Though the metal doesn't have much finish left, it is in nice shape - no big pits or anything like that. Bore is about as close to new as one sees on a 86, particularly a first year gun. All matching numbers, all correct. Mechanically excellent. The gun actually looks nicer in hand than in the pictures. The lighting when I took the pics makes the metal look worse than it is. I was thinking of shooting it and CAREFULLY taking a deer with it this year. A dealer I know is extremely interested in it, though, which has me curious what it is actually worth. When I bought it, I figured it would bring somewhere between $2500 and $3500 (big range, but a correct 3-digit gun might bring some additional money out of the woodwork even with little finish left. Of additional interest, the name "P. Istas" is stamped under the buttplate. Istas, from what I can gather, is a Cheyenne name and most of the Istases I've found were from Kansas to Colorado. Seems fitting for an 86 to have a previous owner so-named.
The only real bugaboos are a non-factory hole in the upper tang for a tang sight (no biggie) and a non-factory hole in the lower tang for some unknown reason. The dealer I know thinks some knucklehead put it there to be able to oil the insides without disassembling the gun. The tang sight hole in the upper tang doesn't go all the way through the upper tang, so we know the lower hole has nothing to do with it. Thankfully, the lower tang hole is small and under the lever.
Anywho, curious on people's opinions of the gun, who P. Istas might have been, and the value. I'm currently trying to decide what to do with it and group think sometimes helps.
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