Does anybody have an original Smith & Wesson 44 Russian?

[44minimum]

I have a question about the front sight on one of these. Is it machined into the top rib running along the barrel or is it pinned in or what? What I would like to know is that if a gunsmith back in the 1800s chopped the barrel down to 4 inches, how would he reinstall the front sight?

[rintinglen]

The early Russian Model 3's had pinned sights. However, some of the later ones were made with the sight integral to the barrel.
A gunsmith of the day could easily cut a slot in the shortened barrel, either on a lathe, or else by drilling a series of small over-lapping holes and then filing out the slot with a set of needle files, and then drilling and pinning the sight. he could have just as easily filed a dovetail and then dovetailed the front sight in, or he might have brazed or soldered the sight. His skill and experience would likely have been the determining factors in his choice.

[44minimum]

Thank you for the information