What a crock. What a dishonest write-up, too. ("Gee, I don't recall the details of its history.")

Have you guys called him on it before?

 

Here's the previous auction for those that don't remember.
I wonder what the reserve is for such a rare gun.... ha ha ha

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117517990


Jeff (GUNKWAZY)

 

He hasn't fired it. Huh -- wonder why? Maybe he just likes having both his hands. He's got 4 bids so far and has not hit reserve yet. It is sold "AS IS." Gotta love the twisting of the wording in his discription. Seems like his momory is getting more foggy as he gets more desperate. This will be a fun one to watch.

 

If this is not a 41 Python, then what is it?

 

With my tongue firmly planted against my check I offer this as the only viable explanation: http://www.coltforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17330

 

Are you saying someone just "made" a gun that looks like a python but isnt a Colt? And its in 41 mag caliber?

Hate be naive but if thats true then how do I know I have a "real" trooper?
I know its possible to make anything but isnt it more expensive than buying a factory made one?

So I gather from this thread that there are "reproduction" guns out there?

 

I like the part where he says it's his "This is my first auction sale, so be gentle with me"..... check his other "1st auctions" he has listed on Gunbroker. He must have 20 different guns for sale there.... As is always listed... may the buyer beware

 

The gun has been converted by a gunsmith to 41 mag. This is unsafe. There are no 41 mag factory Pythons.

Some caliber conversions are safe, and some are not. Converting a Python to 41 mag is not. The frame and cylinder are not strong enough to handle it.

 

The way he put( Probably way too much of a collectible to shoot anyway).I wonder if he stated that so maybe if someone buy's it they want shoot it.Crazy!!!!!

 

Just curious. When a gunsmith converts this to a 41 mag, did he just put another barrel on it ? One that is stamped "colt, 41 mag,..."
Still seems like a lot of trouble....

 

Colt didn't make any .41 Magnum Pythons or .41 barrels, so there are no factory barrels for the project. The original .357 Magnum barrel was probably rebored to .41, the barrel restamped, and the cylinder bored to accept .41 Magnum ammunition. The gun was made to deceive the buyer into thinking he is getting a rare and valuable .41 Magnum Python. IMHO the seller is using deceptive language to confuse the issue and basically swindle some unsuspecting buyer.

 

That is about the shadiest thing I've seen in a while. Just look at how that ad is written. I like at the end how he says he has the right to end the auction at any time if he "gets cold feet about selling it". Ha! he's been trying to sell that thing for some time now. Sounds more to me like he needs the right to end the auction at any time if he thinks someone is on to him! Nice attempt at the rollmark, too. Too bad the *41 MAGNUM CTG* didn't end up centered under PYTHON 41. Something like this that was real would have sold in a flash.

Jim

 

If this gun is the real McCoy , why hasn't it been 'lettered'? A simple Colt factory letter would legitimize it's existance.

 

7 bids and $2700 and reserve still not met. Does anyone remember if it has ever reached reserve in the past auctions?--MP

 

It didn't last time. And when he pulled it I told him he should warn people it was fake. Needless to say he didn't reply to that email

 

I was looking at where his location is at, I been to a little gun shop there, nothing in the store at all. Not sure if its him or not, didnt see that under the counter. I'll be back there in 3 weeks, I should ask him if I can see it it person....lol

 

Howdy gents! Glad to see there is so much interest in my auction of that .41mag Python...

Here's the text of my auction on Gunbroker, in case any of you didn't really read it.

This is an 8 inch barreled blued Colt Python chambered for 41 Magnum. I don't think you will see something like this every day! I bought this a while back and have never fired it. Probably way too much of a collectible to shoot anyway.

Sorry, but if the seller I got it from told me any history about this gun, I just don't remember it. I was buying a LOT of Colt Pythons for my collection at the time. Kind of went into a sort of feeding frenzy I think, and details got blurred. I believe it came in a generic colt box, from what I can recall, so that's what it will be shipped in to the buyer here.

This is my first auction sale, so be gentle with me. I'm selling off quite a few guns from my collection for a couple of reasons. (1) My eyes aren't what they used to be, and (2) I figure I could use the money for other interests rather than having a bunch of guns in my vault that I don't shoot anyway. But regardless of my reasons for selling it, I am certainly not going to let it go cheaply. So the reserve price is pretty steep, but not unreasonable (I think) for what this is.

I'm listing the gun as being USED, although it doesn't really look like it has been fired at all to me. But I could be wrong. I would rather err on the side of being conservative about my guesses.

I am also listing the return policy as "AS IS - No refund or exchange" simply because I don't want a gun of this type and shape returned to me when it got damaged in YOUR hands. If the photos don't show the condition well enough, let me know what you specifically want to see and I will try to accomodate your request.

Please note that I am a private collector, so consequently I will be shipping to your FFL as a private party. If your FFL guy will NOT accept shipments from a private party, then please do not bother bidding on this auction. That is the way I need to ship the gun.

I may append to this auction as necessary once I see what I have forgotten to include within it. Sorry... Hopefully I'll get better at this in my later auctions.

Speaking of which, if you are interested in Colt Pythons and some fairly hard to find modern military style firearms, it may be worth your while to check on any other auctions I set up in the future.

Oh, just one other note. If I should get cold feet about selling this gun, this auction can be withdrawn anytime prior to the reserve price being met.

So for those of you who apparently don't UNDERSTAND what my words meant, let me elaborate....

This is an 8 inch barreled blued Colt Python chambered for 41 Magnum. I don't think you will see something like this every day! I bought this a while back and have never fired it. Probably way too much of a collectible to shoot anyway.

Anything intrinsically false or misleading about those sentences? The gun is definitely a Colt Python, and definitely chambered in .41 magnum. Do any of you ever see one of these every day? I bought it in 2002, which I guess some people would justifiably consider as "a while back". And yes, in my opinion it is too much of a collectible to shoot.

"Collectible"? Well, I don't know. How many of them have you all seen? I know there is some controversy about the origination, but regardless, how do YOU define a "collectible"? How many of these do you suppose exist in the world today? If you say you have a complete Colt Python collection and don't have one of these, is your collection REALLY complete? I mean, really, if you collect guns to have conversation pieces, or to have something that is unusual and not commonly seen, does this or does this not fit that description?

Sorry, but if the seller I got it from told me any history about this gun, I just don't remember it. I was buying a LOT of Colt Pythons for my collection at the time. Kind of went into a sort of feeding frenzy I think, and details got blurred. I believe it came in a generic colt box, from what I can recall, so that's what it will be shipped in to the buyer here.

Yep, that's exactly what happened. During the same time period, I purchased roughly 37 Colt Pythons plus various forms of Colt Diamnondbacks, Colt Anacondas, various assault style rifles, and other various and sundry guns and accessories. Sorry if I just don't remember the details on all of them. If you feel that this is somehow a flaw in my character, then so be it, but that's just the way it is. I was collecting these things because I liked them, and nothing more. I really had no intention of selling them, or at least not in the foreseeable future, so such details (and unfortunately a lot of original boxes) meant little to me. I cannot remember the details of MOST of my purchases, and nor do I really care that I don't. I will state in my auctions what I do know about them, and a prospective bidder can either bid or not, as they feel comfortable doing. If the guns don't sell, then I have no problem with that either.

Heck for that matter, my FFL guy in Crystal River would often hold all my purchases shipped to him over a few months, and my wife and I would drive down there when my business would allow, and I would pick them all up at one time. And yes, I have had a visit from BATF trying to determine why I was buying all those .357 revolvers at one time. But once I showed the agent the inside of one of my vaults, it was pretty obvious to him that I was in fact a bonafide collector. End of story....

This is my first auction sale, so be gentle with me. I'm selling off quite a few guns from my collection for a couple of reasons. (1) My eyes aren't what they used to be, and (2) I figure I could use the money for other interests rather than having a bunch of guns in my vault that I don't shoot anyway. But regardless of my reasons for selling it, I am certainly not going to let it go cheaply. So the reserve price is pretty steep, but not unreasonable (I think) for what this is.

Yep, that was in fact my first auction on GunBroker. I decided to list this .41mag Python for a couple of reasons. Not the least of which I knew it would get a lot of attention for not only this gun, but for the subsequent auctions I was planning on listing. Just for your info, here's what is listed on Gunbroker as of today with much more to follow:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SellerAuctions.asp?User=12463

So did my plan work?

And yes, I am liquidating most of my gun collection for the above stated reasons. That and the fact that I came to the realization that if I were to kick the bucket suddenly, leaving all this stuff for my wife to have to deal with certainly wouldn't be doing her a kindness.

As for the reserve price, it is set at $5,000. If it sells at that, fine. If not, then it will still be up on the site attracting attention and bringing people to my other auctions. But in any event, based on the rarity of this piece, I felt the reserve was reasonable enough.

I'm listing the gun as being USED, although it doesn't really look like it has been fired at all to me. But I could be wrong. I would rather err on the side of being conservative about my guesses.

Well, this is truthfull enough. Although it doesn't look like this gun has been fired, I just do not know positively, so I would rather play it safe and list the gun as being "used". I guess a lot of other sellers would rather list their guns as being brand spanking new, whether they are or not, just to garner a sale, but I'm not comfortable with that aspect of this auction stuff.

I am also listing the return policy as "AS IS - No refund or exchange" simply because I don't want a gun of this type and shape returned to me when it got damaged in YOUR hands. If the photos don't show the condition well enough, let me know what you specifically want to see and I will try to accomodate your request.

Yep, that's my policy, which I have used in every subsequent auction I have run and am now running. I really don't want someone else manhandling my gun, perhaps dropping it or taking it out and shooting a few rounds through it, then sending it back to me. This is stated up front, and with the full expectation that if someone doesn't like this stipulation, then they are completely free to NOT bid on my guns. Seriously, how many of you have purchased guns at a gunshow and gotten a return guarantee on them? I know I never have, so perhaps you frequent a different flavor of gunshows than I have been able to find.

And as mentioned (and I have done for several prospective bidders), I will take photos to show any detail someone wants to see on one of my guns. Up to the point where I believe the asker is just being ridiculous about it. Which hasn't happened so far.

Please note that I am a private collector, so consequently I will be shipping to your FFL as a private party. If your FFL guy will NOT accept shipments from a private party, then please do not bother bidding on this auction. That is the way I need to ship the gun.

Anyone have a problem that I am a private seller as I claim? Well if so, I'm sorry about that, but that's just the way it is. If your FFL guy doesn't want me to ship to them direct, then sorry about that. Now if you are willing to pay the additional expenses if I can find a local FFL to ship to you, and you are buying a bigger ticket gun to make it worth my effort, well sure, I'll take a stab at that. But honestly, I have had run-ins before with FFLs who got a bit cranky thinking my selling guns to someone across the country was somehow competing against them. So I would just as soon avoid bumping heads with these kinds of people again, if you don't mind.

 

Part 2,

Sorry, got a bit long winded and my response wouldn't fit all in one post....

==========================

I may append to this auction as necessary once I see what I have forgotten to include within it. Sorry... Hopefully I'll get better at this in my later auctions.

So far I haven't had to append the auction for that .41 mag Python. Yeah I know some of you would like me to post some sort of disclaimer detailing your issues with the actual history of this gun, but what would that be, exactly? I would have to put something to the effect like "Well I got a few emails from some people who have zero credibility since I wouldn't know them from Adam, saying that the gun is not a Colt factory made item...." So? Does it not being a factory made gun make it any less collectible to EVERYONE? Again, how many of these do you believe are out there? Just because YOU may insist on a factory letter doesn't absolutely have to mean that everyone will insist on such a detail. It certainly doesn't mean a hill of beans to me, and didn't when I bought this gun. Matter of fact, when ever I would show someone my Colt Python collection, this was ALWAYS the gun I would pull out to show them first. And I have a NICE collection to choose from.

So as for cluttering up my auction with controversial speculation from basically anonymous sources, sorry, I'm just not inclined to do that. And that goes for all my auctions regardless of what someone else might think about them. Not trying to seem rude, it's just really mostly a waste of time flooding readers with a bunch of stuff that most won't read anyway. I started listing my reserve price in a few of my auctions and STILL get people asking me what my reserve is via email.

Speaking of which, if you are interested in Colt Pythons and some fairly hard to find modern military style firearms, it may be worth your while to check on any other auctions I set up in the future.

Yep.. Check out my existing auctions. I think that will pretty much prove that statement. At least until they are sold and the auctions are removed, anyway. But I still have a BUNCH of guns to list, so that may take a while...

Speaking of which, yes, I did take down the auction on the .41 mag Python not long after it was listed. The reason for that was because I know of an acquaintance who is also a gun nut like myself, and when I was looking to buy a truck, he mentioned that he had part ownership in a Chevrolet dealership and would be willing to take guns in trade for vehicles. Well I wasn't interested in doing that at the time, and having seen the contents of his vault, I knew he was interested in assault weapons of such quality that I also had. So I contacted him through the Chevy dealership with the proposition that I would be willing to trade him a subset of the enclosed list of guns (some 150 of them) for a new 2009 Corvette Z06. I was figuring he would take the assault weapons, so concurrently I posted three Colt Pythons on Gunbroker. Well, I was pretty surprised when I got word back from the dealership that the owner agreed to take my entire Colt Python collection in trade for the car I wanted. Obviously I could not allow the auctions to continue, and fortunately none had reached the reserve price yet, so I took them down in preparation for this trade.

Unfortunately, after a few weeks of waiting and some emails passed back and forth, the deal fell through. My understanding was that the owner was trying to resell the guns to someone else, and their buyer suddenly backed out of the deal. Which then trickled down to me. So at that point, which was only a few days ago, I had to relist those guns on Gunbroker to try to sell them that way. Believe me, doing a trade of 37 guns for a car at one fell swoop instead of selling them individually would have been infinitely more convenient to do. Especially staying within the state to do so. But that just didn't happen, so that's where we are right now....

Oh, just one other note. If I should get cold feet about selling this gun, this auction can be withdrawn anytime prior to the reserve price being met.

And finally, this statement. Yep, that's absolutely true. I never thought I would be selling my gun collection. So it's entirely possible that I may decide to keep any gun at all at any time in the future as long as the reserve price is not met. Which means I could pull the auction, or if it ends without the reserve price not being met, I could just not relist it again. I recently sent off one of my Sig AMT rifles, and I do have to admit I had a pang of remorse while packing it into a box to ship it off. So this definitely COULD happen to other guns I am planning on selling now.

So have I forgotten anything you all are complaining about?

Oh yeah, the comment about the gun being dangerous to fire. Tell me, have any of you HEARD of this being the case? Has anyone seen or heard of someone firing another .41 mag Python and having it explode on them? Anyone?

As for the comments about this auction being "shady", well thanks for the belly laugh. I needed that one..... What exactly is "shady" about it? Show me in what I have put in the auction that is untrue in any way.

Oh well. I do want to thank you all for helping draw attention to this auction and my other ones... The bidding is up to $3,000 now with a week to go on the auction, so maybe someone will decide that this gun is a rare enough collectible for their Python collection to spring for the reserve price. I know some of you wouldn't think that way, and more power to you, but quite frankly, if I were still collecting Pythons and this gun became available, I certainly would buy it. I have only seen one other on an auction board (I think it was GunBroker), a year or so before I bought mine that went for $3,500 of I recall correctly. So obviously some people believe that this gun is worth having for their own collection. If that is not you, then that is perfectly OK with me. I never had any illusions whatsoever about having a gun for sale that absolutely EVERYONE would want to buy, regardless of the price....

 

Oh yeah, the comment about the gun being dangerous to fire. Tell me, have any of you HEARD of this being the case? Has anyone seen or heard of someone firing another .41 mag Python and having it explode on them? Anyone?

Tell you what: Why don't YOU load this gun with 6 of the hottest .41 Magnum rounds that you can find and fire them all off?

Scared of losing collectibility? Or scared of losing your fingers?

 

good reply

well written reply RICHZ. it's time someone spoke up. first off guns have been customized since they were first invented. a company called bowen used to convert ruger 357 into 44's and 45 acp's webley's 455 converted to 45's etc the list goes on. can any of you engineers explain to me why it is a taurus tracker comes in 357 and 41 mag. same frame same heat treating same everything but a bigger hole ? are there tons of handless people running around after they dared to fire a 41 mag from a 357 framed taurus ? now as your planning your replies to me are you pureist? or just anal ? if your pureist why drool over a boogered up gun such as a a 4 inch police postive that someone cut to 2 inches or a 45 auto the someone installed smith k frame adjustable sights to . or the ever popular ftiz specials you know cut off trigger guards. because the hole wasn't made bigger thats ok ?

 

can any of you engineers explain to me why it is a taurus tracker comes in 357 and 41 mag. same frame same heat treating same everything but a bigger hole ? are there tons of handless people running around after they dared to fire a 41 mag from a 357 framed taurus ?

I agree to a well written response from RichZ. Although it's not stated anywhere in the auction that this is NOT a factory made gun and it may be a little misleading to a buyer that is not knowledgable of this. Especially since the Blue Book states that some Pythons were made in 41 magnum. It's deceptive to people that do not know any better because key words are left out.
If you are a new Colt collector and see this gun and your description, you can easily think you've found the Holy Grail of Pythons.
Odds are that buyer that spends $5K is going to be pissed off ( maybe even a little sick) when they try to spend another $75.00 to letter it and it comes back as a 357 magnum 8 inch barrel on the expensive piece of paper from Colt.

***As for the engineering question from Revolverguy56: Because those guns have been tested and or designed to work with those pressures and with-in those guidelines set forth by the ammo its shooting.
It's safe because of the diameter of the cylinder, thickness between bores, type of steel used and or heat treating process used to create a safe environment for the shooter.
The Python was tested and failed to work with the pressures of the 41 magnum, that's why Colt put a halt to the production of such a gun and it was never released to the public in fear of the handless people dialing the phone with their nub to call the lawyers at 1-800-BLO-WNUP.
I hope that makes sense.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)
Sorry, not an engineer, but just 15 years of machining various steels and materials.

 

I question the use of the "COLT" name after its been altered. I would think you would have to indicate that its a customized piece.

And I think if the fact that this was a customized piece was included in the ad description then nobody could complain. And I dont know if that would lessen the value. Might increase it!

 

15 years of machining various metals might make you smarter than an engineer.

 

It's very funny you say that.
I've had to prove many engineers wrong through those years.
Engineers don't make mistakes, if they can draw it, it can be done.
Until, it's actually proven that something cannot be done, they won't believe it.
I almost got fired on my first day many years ago, by looking at my very first blueprint and telling the shop manager and engineer that the design would not and could not work as drawn.
They both told me make the part as drawn. It would have taken about a week to make the 2 parts they needed.
After squaring up the raw material, I managed to skip right to the part I knew would not work and machined that first.
It still took me a few hours and I completely ruined hundreds of dollars worth of raw materials.
I then took it to the engineer and showed him the flaws with the design. The shop foreman was pissed.
The owner was on his way to fire me when I asked if I could explain the money I saved the company. He said explain away.
I simply told him that it was 3 hours work and I ruined some raw stock instead of 1 weeks worth of machining and ruined raw stock. My savings to the company was 4 1/2 days labor and tooling saved because I was told to do it the way it was drawn.
The owner saw my point (thank God).
Shortly after, I managed that shop and the engineers ran the prints & plans through me before machining ever began production. I managed 3 machine shops after that and had many years of fun dealing with engineers that could do nothing wrong (at least on paper).
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)

 

?

ok another qustion . i read that colt tested the python as a 41 mag and they were unable to withstand the force ? there are some wicked 357 loads out there corbon hunter comes to mind 200 gr hard cast bullet @ 1150 fps with 587 ftlbs of energy. thats damn near 41 mag numbers. avg 41 mag 175 gr @ 1275 with 620 ftlbs

 

ok another qustion . i read that colt tested the python as a 41 mag and they were unable to withstand the force ? there are some wicked 357 loads out there corbon hunter comes to mind 200 gr hard cast bullet @ 1150 fps with 587 ftlbs of energy. thats damn near 41 mag numbers. avg 41 mag 175 gr @ 1275 with 620 ftlbs

Good question.
Quid pro quo Clarice, Quid pro quo (sorry, sounded good)

Anyway, if you're going to feed me with info on the maximum load of a 357 magnum, you will also need to feed me info on the max charge of a 41 magnum.
When the factory loads up guns for testing, they take into consideration many loads.
If you had a 38 special revolver, is it assumed you can fire 38 special +P ?
Sorry to say, many people buying ammo don't even know what the hell a +P load is and buy it and shoot it anyway, just because they don't know any better.
Most revolvers are warrented from the factory when shot with normal factory loads as per the type of ammo it (the revolver) was intended.
The warranty is Void if you decide to come up with some home brew of your own to test the strengths of your brass and your balls.
Many a gun have gone Kablooey by people experimenting. (It's a guy thing)
We have to test things to see how far we can take them don't we ?
We never trust others oppinions, we want to know the facts.
Didn't you ever see what happens when you incinerate a can that warns "DO NOT INCINERATE" right on the label ?
Didja ever see if your car can go faster then the speedometer said you should or wind up the revs past the redline indicator just to see if it can hold together ?
Could the Python hold up to a 41 magnum load if bored out to do it ? Probably.
Would it be able to sustain hours and hours of shooting 41 magnum loads ? Obviously not.
Hence the reason it was never brought into regular production.
Why did S&W drop one of their biggest sellers, the model 66 after years and years of making them ?
Rumor is that the modern loads were getting hotter and lighter than when the 66 was first developed and people were actually cracking barrels, especially when constant use of light weight 357 magnum loads were being used. 125 grain or lighter. So, instead of telling the public, you can buy a model 66, but don't shoot a lot of lightweight magnum loads, they elimated the risk altogether and dropped the gun from their line up. The 686 (L) frame gun does not have that problem.

I hope that makes some sense, it did in my head when I typed it.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)

 

ok i give up, after recalling the times ( yes that reads times as in more than once) i tossed a spray paint can in a campfire. i now have nothing more to say

 

Funny, my first one was when I duct taped an M80 to the side of a full one and set the field across the street from my house on fire.
The label should have read, Don't incinerate or blow up near other flammable stuff.
They just aren't specific enough sometimes.
Big mushroom cloud of flames= Unhappy neighbors.
Man, I'm glad I've grown up and still have all my fingers and toes.

FYI: I'm sitting here laughin' as I'm typing. Good thing Mitch is a cool moderator.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)

 

This is my first time posting an opinion on this forum but I thought I would add some observations on this concoction. Fortunately good photos were posted.

1. Barrel obviously re-bored and rifled, forcing cone very thin.

2. Barrel re-ground, if you look at the shot of the muzzle you can see that the outside contour to the right is markedly different from the contour on the left and indicates re polishing after removal of the original marks

3. Barrel remarked possibly with a pantograph, as indicated by the obvious dots at the end of every line or hand cut with the dots as spacing marks although I am leaning toward the pantograph .

A very nice job of polishing and re-bluing.

I think this seller's brain fade regarding the pistol's history may be as real as the pistol. He claims to be a first time seller but he has feedback is from 2001-2005.

 

I think this seller's brain fade regarding the pistol's history may be as real as the pistol. He claims to be a first time seller but he has feedback is from 2001-2005.

Just a reminder, feedback can be from buying, not just selling.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)

 

My error, he is listed as buyer on those feedbacks.

 

Well, if seller is an upfront fellow, I am sure he will add to his ad: "Please note that 41 mag is NOT a Colt factory Python caliber. The caliber has been converted from .357 to .41 mag by a gunsmith after it left the factory."

Put that in there and I, for one, would think more highly of him.

Why? Because it is honest and forthright to state that fact so that naive buyers are not duped. if there is no intent to deceive, make the statement.

 

A description can be accurate and still misleading. When I listen to testimony, it is not uncommon to hear a witness very carefully avoid lying without revealing what the question was intended to elicit. That may be the case here. Or not.

As I have stated each time one of these .41 Magnum conversions comes up, the guns will NOT blow up when fired. What will likely happen is that the forcing cone will eventually fail at some point if fired enough with powerful enough ammunition. As someone stated, the forcing cone becomes very thin when the barrel is rebored to .41 caliber. That is the weakest point in the conversion, not the cylinder strength (which is of course reduced, but not to the same extent as the forcing cone).

Like the seller, I find these conversions desirable. I would like to have one for the novelty, but I would not pay anywhere close to $5,000 for one, since I know it is just an altered gun. Others may disagree.

 

This guy will eventually sell it! Sad that he has is as good as a used car dealer with his tactic. It is just plain wrong. He could be getting other people to bid on it. I think anybody would see right through his description. Glad I found this site. That auction will be a good one to watch.