Got kind of lucky at a local auction a little while ago, and came home with 3 new (to me) ROA's. Luck was enhanced by the fact that all my competitors outbid me on some other really fine stuff early in the auction, so when these came up, they didn't have any money and I did.
Also, my position was enhanced because they didn't have any grips. It seems the auction company had sold off the inventory of a woodcrafter in an estate sale, and part of that inventory was a large box of pistol grips. Sometime later they were commissioned to sell his guns separately, and lo and behold when they opened the boxes, none of them had grips. Surprising how unloved a gun without grips can be.
Anyway, I got 'em, and I also have access to some ROA grips, so we set about to give the guys some new pants. Here's the results - top to bottom:
1987 with American Holly, brand new from Bill Murrell of Republic, MO. Absolutely superb fit and finish, top notch in every way.
1985 with 'bonded' ivory from gungrips.com. Fine finish, lousy fit. Lines are good but they stand proud of the frame by quite a bit in a few places. Ok for mass produced, I suppose.
1994 OEM Ruger walnut, but not the original grips for this gun. This is the one I owned before this latest auction. I'm looking at spalted maple for this one.
1978 OEM Ruger rosewood, originally from the one above. This was apparently a match gun: it has a lightened hammer with a lowered spur, lightened mainspring and trigger spring and a trigger shoe. The front sight has also been modified. I will probably put some checkered walnut or rosewood on this gun someday.
American Holly - the grips on the first gun above are brand new. They will eventually darken like ivory. Here's a comparison between that gun and my Single Six, which had Holly grips installed 5 years ago:
Finally, some detail on the 'match' gun:
Also, my position was enhanced because they didn't have any grips. It seems the auction company had sold off the inventory of a woodcrafter in an estate sale, and part of that inventory was a large box of pistol grips. Sometime later they were commissioned to sell his guns separately, and lo and behold when they opened the boxes, none of them had grips. Surprising how unloved a gun without grips can be.
Anyway, I got 'em, and I also have access to some ROA grips, so we set about to give the guys some new pants. Here's the results - top to bottom:
1987 with American Holly, brand new from Bill Murrell of Republic, MO. Absolutely superb fit and finish, top notch in every way.
1985 with 'bonded' ivory from gungrips.com. Fine finish, lousy fit. Lines are good but they stand proud of the frame by quite a bit in a few places. Ok for mass produced, I suppose.
1994 OEM Ruger walnut, but not the original grips for this gun. This is the one I owned before this latest auction. I'm looking at spalted maple for this one.
1978 OEM Ruger rosewood, originally from the one above. This was apparently a match gun: it has a lightened hammer with a lowered spur, lightened mainspring and trigger spring and a trigger shoe. The front sight has also been modified. I will probably put some checkered walnut or rosewood on this gun someday.
American Holly - the grips on the first gun above are brand new. They will eventually darken like ivory. Here's a comparison between that gun and my Single Six, which had Holly grips installed 5 years ago:
Finally, some detail on the 'match' gun:
