Vaquero grip ideas

[KWYJIBO]

I have a Stainless .45 Vaquero with original factory imitation ivory grips (in other words, white plastic).When I bought the gun last year I did not love the grips, but I thought they would grow on me. They haven't.

Now I am fixing the gun up a little bit. I removed that hideous paragraph of safety info. from the barrel and will try to restore the polish. (Hey, if I can't get it to look right, I know I can always put a brushed finish on the whole gun!) I have a few other touches in mind, and I really want to try some different grips. I think the Bar-S tru-ivory looks really nice. I like the aged and antique colors. Do you have experience with tru-ivory? How durable is it? And what about holly wood?

I am trying to decide what would look best on this gun and what will hold up to real use--I don't abuse my guns, but nor do I leave them in the safe. I appreciate any input you can give.

 

[41 mag fan]

I may be biased but I make wood grips and prefer them. There are several hard wood ebony, Chechen, laminates, and many others i would definatly go for wood. Steve

 

[contender]

If you look around here.. you'll see a LOT of us really like the Holly stocks on our guns. I think it is THE closest thing to real ivory we can get.

 

[AzRebel]

For an "ivory" look, I'd choose Holly over all else. I really like some of the Holly grips I've seen.

But in truth, I prefer a nice set of wood grips over all else. I made the set that's on my stainless .45 Vaquero out of a chunk of mesquite stump, and they look almighy fine to me for a working gun.

So far, they've held up really well. Finished with "Tru-Oil", they're easy to fix if they happen to get scratched.

I need to make one more set for another .45 Vaquero I have. Might have to go dig through the wood pile again and see what I can find to match the first set.

It's a fun project, and I think the hardest part is convincing yourself to do it and then actually get started. I learned a lot, and I've no doubt that the next set will turn out even better.

Daryl

 

[contender]

Uhh Holly is wood. And they are nice. Add a little truoil,, and they take on that aged ivory look.

 

[Flash]

Can't beat American Holly for it's likeness to ivory. I recently saw that it grows wild in Delaware and some of the trunks are 5" caliper. I may have to look for blowdowns this summer.

 

[AzRebel]

Uhh Holly is wood.

Gee, who'd a thunk it?

Most folks don't choose holly for the "wood" look though. They like it 'cause it looks like ivory. I think you know what I was talking about.

 

[KWYJIBO]

AzRebel, those grips look really nice. I'm impressed.

Thanks for all the replies. This is what I was hoping for--so far, holly is being recommended much more than tru-ivory. I haven't ruled out a darker hardwood, i.e., walnut, ebony, mesquite, etc., but I do like ivory-looking materials. I just don't like the Ruger plastic ivory-esque ones.

CaryC and PvtShultz, I've been browsing your websites for ideas--thanks for putting up so many good pictures of your products. Some of the grips you guys make are TOO pretty! I don't know if I'd want to shoot a gun with grips that nice. We'll see, though. Does anyone know if 41Mag is still in the grip making business?

 

[jmfc606]

Jim (41 mag) was sick a little while ago and posted he was under Dr's orders not to go out to his cold shop and breath in sawdust particles. Shoot him a PM to say hi and ask. I've got three sets of Cocabola grips from him that are beautiful.