Walnut Grips Really Make A Difference !

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I decided to jazz up my Beretta 92 FS 9 MM with some nice Walnut factory Beretta grips, and a little gold fill in the lettering on the slide. The bottom photo show it the day I bought it. I really like the way it turned out. I got this gun a few years back at Cabela's on sale. Plus I had one of those "$50.00 Off" coupons they sent me in the mail. I never really liked the cheap plastic grips, so I found these on Amazon for $42.00 and ordered them. They came in just 3 days.

The original screws fit, but I couldn't use the star lock washers they had installed from the factory with the plastic grips. The gold fill was from a Bonanza Gold fill kit I ordered from Midway, and had used on some other guns. It's easy to do, and it really lasts and isn't effected by cleaning solvents or oil. I did the receiver on my Remington 1100 Trap gun in silver about 40 years ago, and it still looks like the day I did it. I like doing this to plain Jane factory guns. It kind of personalizes them, and they look a lot better.



 
Well done - nice work - looks great
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The one problem I have with wood is the checkering wears down more quickly than on plastic. Looks good, just wish it lasted better.
 
I got excited as I was reading 'decided to jazz up my Beretta.' Then i was deflated. Didn't see what forum this was in. I own, and like Beretta hanguns, but not as much as the '88 Chevy Beretta I once owned.
 
Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
How did you REVERSE the gold letterings? It's black on one photo and gold on the other photo.
Or - is it the light reflection cresting an illusion?


The bottom photo is a picture of the gun the day I bought it. The top picture is AFTER I added the gold fill to the lettering on the slide, and installed the Walnut Grips.
 
Held a .22 from the 1800's/early 1900's the other day at cabela's. Wood gave it serious character, as did the old rifle scope, I think it was date-stamped 1917 or something. Insane how far optics have come! The glass was VERY dark (maybe 50% light transmission?) and magnification was something like 1.5x, irregardless of it being almost a foot long.
 
Beautiful!

Make mine goncalo alves or rosewood if you must :)(goncalo alves was the factory S&W material from the 1960s up through the 1990s). Granted I have some absolutely beautiful 1910s S&W grips that I don't know what they're made of-I suspect that much of the color is patina, as they are quite dark.

I have a friend who brings a "bag of grips" to every gun show, and I've seen some jaws drop when he starts rummaging through it and casually pulling out grips from it. "You want some N frame gold medallion service grips? Here's a set but they're not very good-let me find you a better one" while passing through a few sets of coke target grips, pre-war Magnas appropriate for a Registered Magnum, and some like the Elmer Keith special edition smooth wood target grips.

Wood+blue always makes for a beautiful combination in my book.

I will say that I think wood quality from the major hand gun makers has gone pretty far downhill. Ruger single actions seem to have some of the nicest looking wood these days, although they're overall pretty plain and nondescript. The laminated wood that S&W is using now is just plain ugly.
 
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Everyone talks about "function" when the subject of synthetic grips come up. (There really isn't much else to discuss regarding them). When wood grips are discussed, the first word that usually comes out is "beauty". Yes, function is important. But the problem is most guns with synthetic grips have no "soul". There is nothing to distinguish them from the next. Much like a wife, you can still have function, along with beauty. It's not a requirement to give up one, in order to have the other. It's quite possible to have both. Centuries of wooden grips, and wood stocked rifles and shotguns have more than proven that.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Everyone talks about "function" when the subject of synthetic grips come up. (There really isn't much else to discuss regarding them). When wood grips are discussed, the first word that usually comes out is "beauty". Yes, function is important. But the problem is most guns with synthetic grips have no "soul". There is nothing to distinguish them from the next. Much like a wife, you can still have function, along with beauty. It's not a requirement to give up one, in order to have the other. It's quite possible to have both. Centuries of wooden grips, and wood stocked rifles and shotguns have more than proven that.


Could not possibly agree more.

In the past, there were companies which specialized in making huge varieties of handgun grips. Roper is one of the names that comes to mind. They're not a one size fits all deal, and I've held some Ropers that were uncomfortable and some that fit my hand like a glove.

Stocks fitted to the shooter are common competition guns as well as a lot of the bespoke shotguns and rifles. As you said, they are both beautiful and functional. I've never had the privilege of shooting a gun with grips/stocks custom tailored to me, but I've handled some that were a pretty darn good fit and they really transform the handling of the gun. On the other hand, shooting a rifle in particular with a stock that fits you poorly can be quite painful.

One of the beauties of wood grips is that no two will look the same even if they are made to the same pattern. Grain is random. Earlier I mentioned my friend with his "bag of grips." I've seen him buy engraved guns at shows and then go digging for a set where the grain complemented the engraving well.

There are other options that are both beautiful and functional, but they seem to have mostly disappeared from gun show tables in the past year since new regulations came into place. My friend won't even bring them to shows anymore. I'm speaking specifically of ivory, which is infinitely customizable, is beautiful on the right gun, and makes for a very comfortable grip material.
 
I had some Ruger factory wood grips on my Ruger 45 colt but gosh those things HURT with heavy loads. I now have packmeyers back on which were the factory original that came with them. I love the looks in the gun safe with the factory Ruger wood grips but they just are not functional for the shooting I do.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Did you have that 586 Nickel plated, or is it a 686 in polished Stainless Steel?


586's came in Blue or Nickel. 686's were stainless.

I love me some wood grips. I have wood Hogue's on my Smith 1066 and Ruger Blackhawk.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Everyone talks about "function" when the subject of synthetic grips come up. (There really isn't much else to discuss regarding them). When wood grips are discussed, the first word that usually comes out is "beauty". Yes, function is important. But the problem is most guns with synthetic grips have no "soul". There is nothing to distinguish them from the next. Much like a wife, you can still have function, along with beauty. It's not a requirement to give up one, in order to have the other. It's quite possible to have both. Centuries of wooden grips, and wood stocked rifles and shotguns have more than proven that.


I think the main issue with "function" is for an EDC that will be in a sweaty or humid environment for 12-14 hours at a time, or a precision rifle that humidity shifts will cause POI shifts with, when using wood stocks. It is legitimate. That said, I otherwise agree. Nothing looks nicer than a wood stocked weapon with character...and it is priced accordingly.
 
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