MKIII 22/45 Grips

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GeorgeP

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Has anyone had any luck fitting Ruger wooden grips on a 22/45 polymer frame? Or any other wooden grips? Thanks.
 

Gun Fan 70

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It seems like there was a thread a while back by a guy that had modified his MKIII 22/45 non RP model to accept standard 1911 grips but I can't find it now. I think it was in the rimfire section. Anybody else remember it ?
 

GeorgeP

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Gun Fan 70 said:
It seems like there was a thread a while back by a guy that had modified his MKIII 22/45 non RP model to accept standard 1911 grips but I can't find it now. I think it was in the rimfire section. Anybody else remember it ?

I remember that but as I recall he never mentioned, even when asked, where he got the grips.
 

chopprs

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It was me. I milled the plastic flat and installed the escutcheons and standard 1911 grips bolt right on...
12268.jpg
 

chopprs

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Gun is a little wacky looking man but it shoots great and is my new beater.
I shoot the crap out of it and it maintains a level of accuracy that it astounding. A fine weapon right out of the box with just a couple tweeks!
 

GeorgeP

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chopprs said:
It was me. I milled the plastic flat and installed the escutcheons and standard 1911 grips bolt right on...

chopprs, thank you very very much for posting picture and info. Just what I'm looking for. Do you mind elaborating a little on the escutcheons? Size? Source? How you mounted them? Please...
 

chopprs

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I did it on a vertical mill but I am sure it would be very easy with a drill press or even a Dremel if you are very careful. The escutcheons are standard 1911 and I got them on eBay for a mere few bucks. I located them by simply placing the grip on the already milled gun, wiggled it around a bit until it was where I thought it should be and marked the holes with a sharp item. I then drilled the frame and srewed them in with a tiny bit of JB-Weld. Now I can literally bolt on any standard sized 1911 grips.... :)
Here is a pretty good rendition of what I did. Not my page but pretty much the same process... :)

http://www.spokanister.net/Guns_22-45_Grip_Mod.html
 

Gun Fan 70

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Great link chopprs! Ive got a Hogue Small Tactical grip sleeve on mine now that I like but I can think of some really interesting looks using 1911 grips. I particularly like those hybrids you've got on yours. Something about the wood with the black rubber finger grooves looks really cool to me.
 

GeorgeP

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chopprs,

One more point of clarification... not picking, just want to buy the right parts up front so I'm prepared to do the job start to finish... Anyway, you used the word "escutcheons" and I'm wonder if what you actually used are call bushings by gun parts suppliers. When I search for 1911 parts, "bushings & screws" are what keep popping up.

Thanks again....
 

chopprs

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Yes sir, just like this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Colt-1911-Blued-Hex-Head-Grip-Screws-and-Bushings-/300512380301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f7ef058d
 

GeorgeP

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Gun Fan 70 said:
Please post pics of the finished results if you can. I'd like to see how it comes out. :)

I will but I've actually decided to go with custom made grips by www.tech-custom.com and use bushings in the frame. The grips are machined to fit in the groove around the existing polymer grips of the frame. No milling needed, which scared me. Here's a link to a YouTube by Tech-Custom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRkiSlXdrKM
 

Gun Fan 70

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Cool link. That does look a lot safer than milling the frame. That would make me a little nervous as well.
 

GeorgeP

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Gun Fan 70 said:
Cool link. That does look a lot safer than milling the frame. That would make me a little nervous as well.

I ordered some grip bushings, both normal and thin line (not as tall). I'm going to use the recommended way of installing the new grips but will have the bushing ready if I feel threading the screws into the polymer frame isn't stronge enough. Unfortunately, grip screws/bushings are #50 thread so they aren't easy to find in your hardware store. I don't have a gunsmith near me (100 miles to nearest) so I had to order them.
 

keith81

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Jun 17, 2009
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GeorgeP said:
I ordered some grip bushings, both normal and thin line (not as tall). I'm going to use the recommended way of installing the new grips but will have the bushing ready if I feel threading the screws into the polymer frame isn't stronge enough. Unfortunately, grip screws/bushings are #50 thread so they aren't easy to find in your hardware store. I don't have a gunsmith near me (100 miles to nearest) so I had to order them.

You won't be able to use the bushings with those grips you ordered but if you drill the holes right the screws are more than adequate to hold it tight. I originally ordered those and they were an improvement for sure but I really like how the hogue wrap around grips looked. So a few days ago I started in on filing the grips down. I was a little impatient and it turned out far from perfect but I am satisfied with the results. Just got the grips mounted on today.



100_0910.jpg
 

GeorgeP

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Keith81, those are really are nice looking grips. Are they 1911 or made for the 22/45? Did the previous screw holes line up or did you have to drill new holes? And you are still not using bushings? Sorry for all the questions but I love playing/hacking with my 22/45 and you've shown me another way...Thanks.
 

chopprs

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They look like Pachmeyer (copy) grips for a standard 1911. The grips on my gun are Pachmayr American Legend grips that I bought for my Gold Cup and they fit perfect on my 22/45.
 

keith81

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GeorgeP said:
Keith81, those are really are nice looking grips. Are they 1911 or made for the 22/45? Did the previous screw holes line up or did you have to drill new holes? And you are still not using bushings? Sorry for all the questions but I love playing/hacking with my 22/45 and you've shown me another way...Thanks.

They are Hogue Colt 1911 wrap around grips. I found them on Amazon for $30 or so.

You have to use the bushings with these since the 1911 screws are barely long enough to touch the frame. It was fairly easy since the holes from the other grips are in the right spot. I just drilled the holes larger till I was able to thread the bushings in and then used a little JB Weld to make sure they wouldn't pull out when tightening the grips. The worst part of the whole thing was getting the grips filed down.
 
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