Elk Antler Grips

[ButlerFord45]

Sambar Stag has gotten almost as expensive as Ivory.  I've never met a set of elk antler grips personally but the online pictures look pretty good and are another option to wood.
How porous are they? How well do they hold up to use?  I would imagine they need to come off to clean the gun.  Do they change color with age? Darken? Yellow?  Any other comments or thoughts very welcome.
I've ordered a set for a Blackhawk from William Jennings ( http://www.stag-grips.com/staggrips.html ).  I guess I should have ask before ordering but I just didn't think of it.

[williamlayton]

Butler
I think you will be pleased.
I have two sets from him----One he picked out of his lot when I gave him a description of the gun----They are good and I have found him to be good to deal with.
Your judgement is always good---except fer me.
Blessings

[Dee]

Several of the older officers in a dept I worked in years ago had elk antler grips on their revolvers. They looked good, and didn't feel too bad, but I was, and am, an ivory grip man. If you like the look, you will most likely be pleased, and in the end, that's all that matters.

[ButlerFord45]

Dee, I like ivory as well, I just can't justify $4-500 grips on a $300 gun.  I remember my first cap pistol (Matel Shootn' Shell) had "stag" grips and I've always had an appreciation for Sambar stag on single actions since then. 

Thanks Will'em.

[Bigeasy]

I have several sets of elk stag grips, and while they are nice, I still prefer Sambar Stag or Red Stag.  Sambar is a little harder, usually has darker bark, and often shows more color in the grain.  Most elk stag I have seen tends to have brown barking, where Sambar tends to be darker.  The link below has a good selection of both ready made Sambar grips, as well as Sambar and Red Stag crowns / material for making your own.  Not that hard to do with simple hand tools, just requires a little time and patience.  I made several sets for my 1911's that came out well, and took a nice polish.  If you like ivory, you can get a set of stag slabs with minimal barking, and sand them down to remove the barking, then polish them,  Ivory like with lots of character, and not that expensive.

http://www.elenhunting.com/

The Bearcat is typical elk, the 1911's are sambar from slabs purchased from Elenhunting.

Larry

[Dee]

Dee, I like ivory as well, I just can't justify $4-500 grips on a $300 gun.  I remember my first cap pistol (Matel Shootn' Shell) had "stag" grips and I've always had an appreciation for Sambar stag on single actions since then.  

Thanks Will'em.

Well I certainly can't afford ivory, but I can afford ivory, or (linin micarta) when I can find it, and Ajax makes some pretty nice polymer ivory grips which I use. The micarta ages like ivory in color without the cracking, and Ajax looks really good to me, but lacks the aging.

[ButlerFord45]

Dee, I had back to back bad experiences with Ajax grips then with Ajax.  I'm glad you enjoy them but my shadow will never cross their threshold again.
I kept going back and forth between the elk and tru-ivory ( http://truivory.com/images/06_xtralarge.jpg ) and it was literally a toss of the coin.  I still have one stainless old model Vaquero that I hope to trade for a blue Blackhawk in the next few days.  Should that trade come to pass, I'm going to give the BarS grips a try.

Bigeasy, some of the best RIA's I've seen.  Hope you'll remind me to ask about the Bearcat!

[hunman55]

I have a set of grips from William Jennings on a Colt clone Regulator in 44Spec., birdshead grip frame. They are really nice. I recommend him for his work and also price. Hunman55

[ButlerFord45]

I have a set of grips from William Jennings on a Colt clone Regulator in 44Spec., birdshead grip frame. They are really nice. I recommend him for his work and also price. Hunman55

This is reassuring.  Thanks.  I felt comfortable with Mr Jennings, it's just that I know NOTHING about elk antler!

[Greeenriver]

I had 5 sets of Elk Horne grips, and still have 3 sets. Sold two of the guns with them on a few years ago. Have a pair of Uberti SA's in .45 Colt with them, and a Ruger Bearcat with Elk on it. Got Sambar on the other Bearcat.  The Elk is a little lighter color than the Sambar, and a little more porous, but I like them a lot.

I put Ivory on my real Colts and love it, but, like many, I can't afford Ivory for everything, and the Elk Stag is llight years ahead of any of the fake ivory or plastic stag grips on the market.

Greeenriver

[williamlayton]

For durability it is hard to beat Micarta and they come in so many different flavors. I have a set from ?? and they are good and grip really well.
I bought a Colt custom from Collectors firearms mainly because of the old ivory grips. They are georgous.
I prefer stag. They grip and they are classic.
Blessings

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a few sets of elk stag. They arent as tough as sambar as there a bit more pourous. Most do fine but consider asking the grip maker to use a set with less bark as the ones with alot of bark tend to be more pourous. I have one set with alot of bark that the grip screw actually pulled through the grip and ruined them. Its ok by me though as i even like them with no bark. With no bark they look alot like ivory. Pat Grasshorn does some nice elk and moose stags.

[ButlerFord45]

I thank you for the wisdom and experiences.  Here is the picture of the grips I bought and my logic for choosing them: I'm right handed so the outboard panel, the one that rests in the palm, is basicly smooth with no knots or bumps where pressure from recoil or roll might become uncomfortable.  The inside panel has bark where my fingertips
will rest to allow for good purchase much like checkered grips.

[coyotejoe]

I made one set of elk horn grips for a Schofield revolver and they looked pretty nice. It takes an unusual set of antlers to provide an area large enough and flat enough to make revolver grips. I've used all sorts of antler and horn for knife handles and nothing compares to Sambar stag. Our North American antlers are rather like corn cobs, a very thin hard outer shell with a large porous core, if you cut through that outer shell you have no strength at all, just a soft, crumbly porous material. For knife handles you have to select a piece with the right curves to be used pretty much as is, you can't do much reshaping without cutting into the core. Sambar is nearly solid, with just a small hole down the middle, you can reshape it greatly without any loss of strength. A stick of Sambar will weigh twice as much a similar stick of American deer antler because of the thickness of the core. While I did like the looks of the elk horn grips on the Schofield I considered them rather fragile and I can see where the grip screw could very easily pull right through, the hard outer shell just isn't thick enough to allow for sinking a screw head very deep and the inner core is nothing at all.

[mrussel]

I have several sets of elk stag grips, and while they are nice, I still prefer Sambar Stag or Red Stag.  Sambar is a little harder, usually has darker bark, and often shows more color in the grain.  Most elk stag I have seen tends to have brown barking, where Sambar tends to be darker.  The link below has a good selection of both ready made Sambar grips, as well as Sambar and Red Stag crowns / material for making your own.  Not that hard to do with simple hand tools, just requires a little time and patience.  I made several sets for my 1911's that came out well, and took a nice polish.  If you like ivory, you can get a set of stag slabs with minimal barking, and sand them down to remove the barking, then polish them,  Ivory like with lots of character, and not that expensive.

http://www.elenhunting.com/

The Bearcat is typical elk, the 1911's are sambar from slabs purchased from Elenhunting.

Larry

 Those look nice. Ive been looking for options for something nice for my SBH and those are definitely on the short list. The more I look at them the more I like them.

[mrussel]

I have several sets of elk stag grips, and while they are nice, I still prefer Sambar Stag or Red Stag.  Sambar is a little harder, usually has darker bark, and often shows more color in the grain.  Most elk stag I have seen tends to have brown barking, where Sambar tends to be darker.  The link below has a good selection of both ready made Sambar grips, as well as Sambar and Red Stag crowns / material for making your own.  Not that hard to do with simple hand tools, just requires a little time and patience.  I made several sets for my 1911's that came out well, and took a nice polish.  If you like ivory, you can get a set of stag slabs with minimal barking, and sand them down to remove the barking, then polish them,  Ivory like with lots of character, and not that expensive.

http://www.elenhunting.com/

The Bearcat is typical elk, the 1911's are sambar from slabs purchased from Elenhunting.

Larry

So,my question is,if I take an elk,can he make me some grips from THOSE antlers. I can make a set of grips myself,but they just wont come out as nice as those.

 Those look nice. Ive been looking for options for something nice for my SBH and those are definatly on the short list.

[Hank08]

If you take a BIG Elk.  On a big 6 pointer you could get 3 sets from each antler, maybe 4 but if you wanted the best patterns of bark probably only 1 or 2 sets.  Only where a antler branches will you find it wide enough for a grip.  I've made a lot of them, Elk are thick here so antlers are no problem.  Moose antlers are also excellent for grips, big, flat areas and completely solid thru and thru but without much bark.  I love the look and the feel of stag, I have about 20 handguns with stag, some Sambar some Elk and some Moose.
H08

[torpedoman]

made my own from an elk antler they are a nice grip tools needed, bandsaw, scroll saw, belt sander, drill. finished and sealed with clear nail polish. 8 to 10 years old no color change

[dbriannelson]

I have one set each of Sambar and elk.  

The Sambar stag are on a 629 I've had for decades and have taken on a lot of color from my hand, solvent and whatever else they've been in contact with.  When I got them I carefully fitted them to the grip profile - they haven't shrunk or warped at all over time.  Generally I prefer wood, but these remain my favorite grips on my favorite handgun.  They are shaped like Magna grips, so I use an aluminum Tyler T-Grip adapter with them.

I have one set of elk grips by Grashorn.  They were shaped a bit oversized too, so I touched up the profile to fit an old Model 10-5 snubby.  Next to the Sambar they looked far too new and clean.  They have nice matched bark and appear more porous than the Sambar, but are lookers nevertheless.  I think the porosity means they may not polish up over time as nicely as the Sambar, but I don't expect to use, carry and shoot the Model 10 as much as I have the 629 either.  Just the other day I moved them to a nickeled, long barreled 10-5 that will probably end up in an old buscadero rig hanging from a bedpost.  They will look great there.  In all I think the elk are an excellent deal on great-looking grips.  I figure they're probably more durable than most woods too.

Someplace here there should be a comment on proportion.  Putting expensive grips on expensive guns is reasonable.  Putting less expensive grips on less expensive guns is reasonable too.  That old 629 has a lot of my hand work in it, a lot of rounds through it and remains my favorite handgun ever.  Maybe carved ivory would be overkill, but Sambar makes sense.  The Model 10s are just revolvers that caught my eye and were priced right.  Spending the money for ivory or high end Sambar might be overstating their worth.  Elk is an excellent compromise, not breaking the bank yet looking and feeling good.  I like having the option.

-Don

P.S.  Here's the Model 10 with elk grips:



And the 629 with Sambar stag, well aged:

[lakota]

I have had a set of elk grip panels on my Ruger SP101 for the past 3 years from Sach Peterson. They are holding up very well and they added a lot of much needed character to what I felt was a rather sterile and souless looking sidearm out of the box. I do carry this gun concealed quite a bit and I have noticed the panels are ageing different. The panel against my body seems to be polished by my undershirt while the panel away from my body is starting to get a nice patina

[alacharger]

I have five sets of Elk grips, made by Patrick Grashorn.  They are a bit more porous than Sambar, but they wear well and look great.  I would highly recommend them, especially considering the cost.

[coyotejoe]

"A bit more porous", like sandstone is to marble.