Altamont grips

S

shafter

New member
I've been wanting to get some grips to replace the horrific black ones on my stainless steel New Vaquero. I've been considering super walnut or bonded ivory from Altamont's website.

My question is, does anyone know what the super walnut looks like? If anybody has any pictures that would be great.

What do you prefer? Ivory or wood?
 
Altamont's "super walnut" will look like any other brown laminate. The only problem I have with Altamont is that they do not make it clear that their "super walnut" and "super rosewood" are laminates. I've encountered several discussions where people thought they were getting real rosewood.

I like ivory (or quality substitutes), stag and wood. Due to variations among Ruger grip frames and the typical poor fit of aftermarket grips, I prefer to have mine fitted by a gripmaker.

http://www.clccustomgrips.com
 
CaryC does indeed do some nice work...

I prefer oil finish (BLO) over hard gloss coats...I like to feel the wood, and have it absorb the natural oils from my hands over the years...
 
What I'm wondering is if the wood grips are made from an actual piece of wood and if so does it have a finish on it? Is it glossy or flat?
 
shafter said:
So Altamont's walnut grips are not a piece of solid wood? I'm not sure what you mean.
Click to expand...
They are not. They are laminate, therefore stacked pieces of wood held together with epoxy. It gives them that striped look.

I really like the Altamont stocks. They were OEM on Smith and Wesson Lady Smiths in the 1990's.

Here is a picture of Altamont Rosewood Laminate on my LS revolvers.
picture.php
 
Hogue vs Altamont

I ordered some Altamont grips, OK, but left me wanting something better. I have just installed my second Hogue uni-grips on revolvers, one S&W J Frame and the other a Taurus. Good fit, nice wood, lots of selection at the Hogue website and you can order direct.

two327swgrips.jpg
 
Why not order from shopruger.com? Reasonable price & "factory". 'S what I did to ditch the black plastic grips on my .357 Blackhawk.
 
Well my grips arrived from Altamont and I couldn't be more pleased. I ordered a pair for my stainless New Vaquero and the fit very nicely. The ivory grips are white but not like a piece of paper. There is a slight creaminess to them which I like. The coloring is all uniform. They are a bit thicker than I was expecting and are not the same width as the plastic factory grips. I don't mind but for those with really small hands you may want to keep this in mind.

All in all I think I made the right choice in selecting the ivory for the stainless Vaquero. It looks more historical now.

I also ordered a pair of walnut grips for my Smith and Wesson 637 and I am very pleased with them as well. I'm interested to see how I shoot the gun now that the smooth grips replaced the factory Uncle Mikes. This Saturday will be a range day for sure.
 
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