Musings on Revolver Grips/Stocks

Pistolero

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Great point, Ian. I have two BP revolvers, the 1861 Navy was bought because I did and
still do think it is purely beautiful. HOWEVER, the grip on my 1960 Army is far superior,
and the grip on the SAAs seems to mirror the 1861 Navy, and would do much better to mirror
the 1860 Army.

Lucked into a set of sambar stag grips on my .45 BH convertible. The LGS owner
mentioned that the grips on the gun were worth almost what I was paying for the
used gun......... I had no idea and found he was right. Shot it with them, gave it
no thought other than they are not my favorite look. Later loaned some ".45 Magnum"
loads to a friend for his stock BH, he liked the loads when fired in my gun. He
found that he hated the loads when fired in his gun. Difference? Grips. The
stag have about 3/16" on each panel which matches the backstrap, making it
double width, effectively. HUGE recoil reducer. Wouldn't trade for the world, but
if you want to cut recoil on a BH, make or buy some grips which widen the back
strap flat area.
 
smokeywolf

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Those stag grips are the real deal; at least 70 years old and possibly as old as 90. I've always enjoyed the look and the feel of those grips.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Bill, you can't see it in the picture, but that's exactly what I did with those Mesquite stocks, they come off the back of the grip frame with a very large radius, filling the palm better. The only issue I have with that is it makes the center part of the grip almost round in cross section and thus a little squirmy in the hand.
 
Pistolero

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Hmm. Mine are kinda flat, so there is a 3/4" or so wide flat with the backstrap
centered in it. No expert and giving this description from memory, so it may be a bit
off, but it sure works. Spreads the recoil over the hand very well. Grooves in the
stag may be why it sits so well - not squirmy. Never had been a fan of stag grips and
never would have even considered ordering a set, but now that I have and have tested
them, they are quite nice, will definitely keep them.
 
smokeywolf

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Ian, the mesquite grips are really beautiful and you did a wonderful job. I've gone back and looked at the picture several times. I've seen some extraordinary mesquite furniture, coffee tables and the like. I see now it also excels at firearm furniture.
 
D

Dale53

Active Member
>>>Over the past almost 6 decades I have bought , sold and traded for many hundreds of grips in search of what works well for me. I have learned that I must put aside nostalgia, romantic notions and aesthetics and concentrate on function. Too many people have the wrong grips because of these reasons. The good grip is the one that enables you to shoot the handgun effectively the way you shoot handguns.<<<

Charles:
I, somewhat like you, started shooting handguns in the fifties. Early on, I learned that I have a base of the thumb problem and ANY hard grip on a revolver causes pain. I have been through the custom grip phase (still have a couple of pair) and I came to the conclusion that only rubber grips work for me in a handgun with most any recoil of note. My old PPC revolver has custom grips and with the light loaded .38 Special there is no problem. These grips were made for me by Don Rainey as I stood alongside him "trying" as he progessed:



However, for any shooting with a handgun with most any recoil I do best with Pachmayrs, including my beloved single actions (sob-b-b:():

Here's a pair of Colt SAA Pachmayrs on my Ruger Lipsey Special (.44 Special):



When I was shooting the BPCR Silhouette circuit, they had side pistol matches for black powder fixed sighted handguns. My choice was my Ruger Bisley Vaquero with (gasp, ivory checkered micarta as we did "dress the part"):



I admit that, in general, I am a "form follows function" type of guy and shooting well is my prime consideration. I am not much for "bling" but will go to great lengths to shoot better.

My most used revolver these days is my 625-8 Jerry Miculek Special with Pachmayr grips (and in deference to my "Certified Old Fart" status fitted out with a Red Dot sight):



Obviously, there is more than one way to skin a cat but my choice is function - if I can regularly hit with it, to heck with the esthetics...:D

Dale53
 
Charles Graff

Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
Years ago I bought a 3 screw Ruger Single Six because it was very cheap. Having no need for another 22 LR, I hunted us a 22 Magnum cylinder on Ebay. These things were made before CNC machining and the cylinder WAS NOT a drop in fit. It took a little fitting, but when done locks up like a bank vault. The hammer was removed and placed in a vise. I made the sign of the cross and took a file and stone to the full cock notch and reduced it's depth to give a fine and light trigger pull with no creep. This is not a plinking pistol with the cost of 22 Mag ammo, so throwing nostalgia to the wind, I fitted a pair of bulky vintage Mustang grips. This is a very accurate combo for that one carefully aimed shot. The grips do cure the problems associated with traditional single action grips. In due time, I may have to rig up a red dot sight, but thus far with lenses I can still shoot factory sights.

22 magnum (611x282).jpg
 
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Dale53

Active Member
In the early sixties, my lovely wife presented me with a pair of India Elephant carved grips for my 1911. I have treasured these for, Lo', these many years:





These cost her the magnificent price of $6.95. My memory is not perfect, but as I remember, these came from Hy Hunter. Now, they are probably worth as much as the gun they are on:eek:...

Dale53
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Nice pistol, Dale, now that's something that a fellow southpaw who has long fingers and a big chunk of beef in the thumb web can truly appreciate. Who did all the work?
 
D

Dale53

Active Member
Ian;
I am not left handed but IPSC required ambi-shooting in various stages.

That was my "back up" pistol for my five years in IPSC (when combat pistol was a martial art). My primary pistol only broke down once in 100,000 rounds but my back up was always there if necessary.

Harold Johnson (a retired gunnery sergeant who built McMillan's guns when McMillan was National Champion) retired to Cincinnati, Ohio and built several guns for me and my sons. He did terrific work and I value him far beyond his expertise. He was very good to me. I was extremely fortunate to find him at the right time for me. The sight work was done by Richard Heinie, a friend during my IPSC years.

Last year I presented the pictured 1911 to my son-in-law - who is a talented shooter and hunter and lives and works in the Salt Lake City, UT area. He will make good use of it - it is in good hands.

FWIW
Dale53
 
Pistolero

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Interesting. I knew Richard Heinie way back when, too, although to say we were friends would be an exaggeration.
He came to the KC Indoor Championships for a number of years. I always ran the chrono and/or was a stage
designer/range master. It was pretty neat to have 200 of the best IPSC shooters in the country
show up to your home range and run courses that you and friends had designed. And whip your
butt! :)

I, too, was noticing that nice "old school" 1911. Looks like a fine gun to me. Back in the bad old days
before Kimber made custom gun features standard items for a far lower price, nearly bankrupting Colts in
the process. I have a pair of Wilson LE Comps, one in .38 Super and an identical one
in .45 ACP. Buy a Colt for $600, ship it to Wilson and pay another $1100 for the work!
And that was back when a dollar wasn't 20 cents.
 
D

Dale53

Active Member
Pistolero;
Your comments sure bring back the memories. I met Heinie when he was visiting a long time friend in the area. The friend and I worked for the same company. I believe the first IPSC match Heinie saw was at my home range. Marshall Todd and I started the IPSC matches at the club and ended up running them for five years (over forty matches). I helped Heinie get started with IPSC matches at his home base in Illinois. He was a heck of a machinist and pistol smith and thought outside the box. His sight innovations helped an awful lot of shooters in those early days. I met Wilson in the area at the Winter Nationals in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a great guy, too! In fact, some of the finest people I have ever met came about because of the IPSC matches and my participation at the Soldier of Fortune Matches.

Rick Miller and Ken Hackathorn had a lot to do with the quality of our matches - they lived in Central and Eastern Ohio so were in driving distance. They attended nearly every one of our matches. Both were in the top ten in the World in IPSC.

Ah-h-h, great memories, indeed...

FWIW
Dale53
 
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Dale53

Active Member
Winelover;
Those are FINE lookin' grips (and revolver). I always had a hankering for a SS Ruger Old Army. It never happened for one reason or another. I live near Friendship, IN where the black powder Nationals are held and have seen many of these in action. People that are unfamiliar with these revolvers have no idea how good they are. One of my best friends, Ron Benge, is a several time National Black Powder Pistol Champion and he can do wonders with this pistol. It nearly broke my heart when Ruger dropped this handgun from their line-up.

When I was an active muzzle loader shooter, it was all rifle for me, at the time:(.

Maybe Lipsey will encourage them to make another run of these. It sure would be nice...

FWIW
Dale53
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Oddly, this one has a preference for conicals......which works for me, since Arkansas requires them for muzzle loading handgun hunting.
Front sight blade was swapped with one from a 45 LC Blackhawk to shoot to POA.
 
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