Tools Of The Trade - Revovler Grips
WAIT! What is that, a dropped gun?!?!
Grips are more than aesthetics. They can significantly improve accuracy, comfort and well, your grip. Yes I know, they can also be very stylish and be entirely aesthetically pleasing; just consider different materials are used for different functions. Some grips do combine the best of both worlds, style and function! Grips can also be textured (checkered for plastic/wood grips or ridged for antler grips) for form and function. One must consider all pros and cons when choosing a set of grips.
Grip materials can be summarized into 2 common types; plastic/synthetic and natural material. Plastic is one of the most basic material sources. It is available in a variety of styles, colors, textures with even custom options available. Plastic/synthetic options can mimic natural materials at a fraction of the price. The negative of plastic/synthetic grips are the grips become slippery when moisture (human perspiration, rain, dew, etc) is present. This is true even when the grips are checkered. Plastic/synthetic grips are not encouraged within the cowboy society as they are not a traditional material. Some plastic/synthetic grips that enhance grip too much or are of a modern design are not allowed within the sport of CAS. Some positive factors of using plastic/synthetic grips are many color/style options available, including companies whom will make custom grips, price range (low price options available), availability, and others. Plastic/synthetic grips are available at many online and local retailers. CGC does not have a recommendation regarding manufacturer or retailer for plastic/synthetic grips.
Natural grips are usually made of wood or antler (stag). Wood grips are available in many different species of wood. They can also be checkered in many different patterns. Rosewood grips are common from the Ruger factory on their New Vaquero line. All of my New Vaqueros came with rosewood grips. Many companies offer different options of wood grips. One option that can help shooters is thickness of the grip. I ordered two different thicknesses of rosewood checkered grips from Eagle Grips (https://www.eaglegrips.com/). One was slightly thinner for Lightn'n Liz and one thicker for me. I still use the grips from Eagle Grips on my back up Vaqueros. Eagle Grips is not affiliated with CGC nor did they provide us with products for testing. If you are looking for a moderate priced wood grip, I have not found anything wrong with Eagle Grips product. We (Lightn'n and I) have used their products for over 4 years without issue in performance or aesthetics.
The other option of natural grips is our preferred material, antler! Both Evil Dogooder and I have antler (stag) grips on our competition revolvers. They are even from the same manufacturer Grashornsgunworks.com. They are beautiful and very sturdy in our hands. The grip enhancing feature on an antler grip is called "barky". I ordered my grips extra barky. These grips are made from elk (stag) antlers. Patrick and his wife Rose Grashorn hand make the grips. Evil and I purchased our grips from them well before we founded CGCs. Patrick sells his grips at a very reasonable price and typically has a quick turnaround. Evil and I highly recommend his product to those of you looking for what we consider the best grip option available.
