I think $25.00 sounds like an excellent price. From what you describe it wouldn't be impossible to restore it. Ribs can be re-soldered and even remade if necessary. When I've had no other choice I've filed hammers from blocks of mild steel, an easier route is to put the original aside for safekeeping and buy a new set of castings that are close enough to be fit to the gun. This works very nicely, don't lose the original though. Find a copy of Brockways book on building muzzleloader shotguns and you will have a good time with such a project.
Actually I have been very lucky with Cabelas, I find they make more mistakes than you would think possible when pricing their guns. I bought a Pigeon grade Smith a few years ago from them for under $300 and also an early Smith hammer gun for $65 because it had a broken buttplate and cracked stock. Just so you don't think I'm a total jerk I told them what I thought about the prices of these two guns and gave them the opportunity to retract them, they just plain didn't think enough of them to change their prices. The Pigeon grade was not mint, but they were convinced that because it said Hunter Arms on it that it couldn't be all that valuable. The manager that was running the gun department at that time transferred to another store and her replacement is much more knowledgeable about older guns, there haven't been that many steller deals around since than. Still, as my Deane shows, there is the occasional super deal waiting to be found. I do frequent the store a lot and get to know the people at the gun counter so they know what I like. I also give them a lot of help identifying some of the stranger things that they acquire when I can. This keeps me in good with them and probably doesn't hurt when they get something interesting in since they tend to call me before putting it out on the floor.
Last edited by Alex Johnson; 06/22/07 08:40 PM.