[Jim K]

I have been checking agaiinst an 1873 and it looks to me like both the lever and the lever latch have been cut down. (They normally don't engage by very much, only about 2mm.) It was not uncommon for folks to remove the latch or make it inoperative so it wouldn't engage accidentally, but it looks to me like someone wanted to make sure.

As to that lug behind the hammer, beats me. That is where there should be another screw hole (many, if not most '73's were factory drilled and tapped for tang sights).

I am puzzled by what looks like a hole just behind the left sideplate. It is too far forward for the sling ring staple, so I wonder what it is for.

Jim