Personalizing Your Handgun

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

In the past I have almost always changed out the grips/stocks on my handguns. Usually done with more of an eye to function, although form was also a consideration. In my ongoing transition to collector, I've been more discriminating about what I install. I recently found a maker of Elk Stag Horn Grips that does really nice work and is reasonably priced. His name is Ken Driskill out of Colorado. I have thus far purchased two sets of his grips and plan on purchasing a third set for a recently acquired 1950 S&W K22. I have to resist the urge to put them on more guns, but that would make my collection too homogeneous - although a set for my Ruger Bisley Flat Top in .44 Spl might be appropriate.

In the meantime, here are the two i already have...

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S&W Model 28-2 S-prefix serial

 

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S&W Model 25-14 Number 62 of 250

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[kc17 622]

Looks slick, in a good and bad way.

[Maksim 1,504]

Very cool, and a great discussion point.

So generally I am a shooter but do have a small collection going of certain firearms.  My personal take on it... I want guns as they came off of the showroom floor, original, or in current condition.  Not so sure on customization.

What do you think Bob?

[Underdog 1,593]

Might be nice to accessorize those grips with a Wrangler.

I like customization and sometimes it is necessary.  A .357 Magnum with wooden, smallish grips is not too much fun to shoot, but with Hogue overmolded ones, etc. it makes a big difference.  For smallish hands a thin grip on a CZ 75 might make a difference.  A lot of times stock sights are not so great and upgrades make a difference.   I would agree that functionality is key to making changes, although looks play a role.  If you are going to make a change improve the form and function in one fell swoop.  If I was a collector, I would tend to keep things original.  

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

50 minutes ago, Maksim said:

What do you think Bob?

As I said, for a lot of years I was oriented toward function over form, but that doesn't necessarily preclude functioning grips that also look good.

For the two guns shown, the 28-2 is desirable because of the "S" prefix, but it came to me as the gun only, and while it had diamond Magnas, they were not numbered to the gun, so it cried out for some really nice grips.

The 25-14 I found at the Oaks show last year. It survived the entire show because some idiot had put K/L frame target stocks on this N-frame. That just looks horrible, like there is something wrong with the gun - which is probably why it didn't sell. Once i did some research (at home) and found out how rare it was, I called the dealer up, offered him less than he had it tagged for at the show (which was about half its value) and told him he could keep the grips. As you can see, he went for it. I've had several different grip arrangements on it, but when I found the stags, I knew they were meant for each other. As for maintaining originality - on the 25-14 it came originally with Altamont laminated Magnas which I could have purchased and installed, but I think they cheapen the gun.

I have a S&W Model 544 that I bought ten years ago as a shooter (it's a .44-40). It was the gun only - these were commemoratives and came with a custom case, which this one lacked, but I didn't care. I took off the beautiful S&W smooth target presentation grips and installed a set of wooden Hogue's (function over form). With my perspective changing, within the last 3 months I have obtained the presentation case and reinstalled the correct grips. Likewise I have a PASP 75th Anniversary Commemorative with everything it came with originally - including the outer shipping carton - it will remain intact.

So it depends on the gun and the circumstances. I don't buy commemoratives because they are commemoratives - usually you can buy them for the same price as the non-commemorative counterparts. The PASP gun (a 19-4) I got for what you would pay for a good shooter grade 19. In the case of the 544, there is no non-commemorative counterpart, but the total I have in the package (buying the gun and the case separately at different times) is a little more than half of what they currently bring. While I'm not buying these guns as an investment, it would be silly to ignore costs and potential for future appreciation - some day these will be going to my boys.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

PS: @Underdog - you would have as much in the grips as you would the gun, with stags on a Wrangler.