I recently purchased a Colt Officer's Model Target, six inch barrel, 99% finish. The only visible modification was aftermarket rubber Hogue grips, so I thought at $450 I had gotten a real bargain. At the last gun show, I found original style wood grips to replace the rubber grips. Imagine my surprise when the rubber grips were removed, I discovered some previous owner had cut some of the grip frame to install, what I believe, were Fuzzy Farrell grips...now I can't stand to even look at the thing. Am unloading it at the next show.

Got any pics?

Sent you a PM....we may be able to help each other out.

Maybe a nice set of factory or after market targets?
I hate when sellers hide things like that

They leave an obvious "open face" at the interface of the two pieces at the front strap. Thanks, though...too bad I am honest...could probably unload it for more than I paid.

Does it effect how it shoots? Good price shoot it.

You paid for a shooter grade OMM.You still have one.You could have been snookered far worse.Your downside,if any, isn't that much.At 450,even with Goodyears,almost too much of a good deal/yellow flag,in a marketplace which doesn't favor Colts in that way.
Sellers of everything,(and former husbands),know more about the product that they put back into the marketplace than any prospective buyer.

This was my first and only Colt purchase to date. I went into the gun show with absolutely no idea as to Colt prices, but it was love at first sight (and proved to be a tack driver at the range, to boot). Research determined it was the third version of that model. What caught my attention was the beautiful deep bluing, heavy factory barrel, the aftermarket jeweled wide spur hammer and matching jeweled trigger, and micro rear sights. Whoever used this previously was a pretty hard core shooter

Now all you have to do is find some Fuzzy Farell grips and you will have a period correct setup.

They are around and sometimes reasonable, because who wants to chop up an old Colt now?

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

Fuzzy Farrants might be good to look for too.;-P

The name is Fuzzy Farrant, he was a LAPD officer that made a lot of grips as a sideline. His grips are very collectible by themselves, and often bring in the $100 to $200 price range.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Still an amazing shooter, I'd keep it.

I'd try the Farrants on it before buying any. No mail orders. The grips are hard to find.

Maybe you could buy a set of wood Hogue grips if you don't like their rubber ones. If those fit, call Hogue and ask if the wood ones have the same dimensions.

But the frame cut may be unique to that gun and the set of stocks it was altered for.
Still, the rubber Hogues seem to fit...

I'd have passed on this gun as soon as I saw the jeweled hammer and trigger. Never buy a gun that 's not in factory configuration unless you know very well who did what to it. And always check for rust under grips. Had you done that, you'd have seen the cut frame.

A similarly modified K32 sold recently for WAY under the value of an unaltered gun in comparable condition. If I didn't already have one, I would have been very happy to put it in my collection with a set of factory targets.

Bob

....or Stark, Hurst, original Hogue.

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Good shooting.

Herrett grips are a dime a dozen now on the used market. I reshaped and refinished a $7 flea market pair for an N frame Smith. They looked just like the grips on the Diamondback here below them. They look semi retro now and like lots of other grips, they hide that deformed grip frame of yours. So there are options. I think you did OK, even if you had to pay a couple hundred for a pair of elusive Farrant's later. Might make for a fun treasure hunt.

Some good advice on this thread. Nevertheless, it's awfully hard to like something after you've made up your mind that you don't like it. In this house, 'rationalize' is a dirty word. If you absolutely can't live with it (despite that it shoots well), sell it and move on. I've done this at a loss more times than I care to admit.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Me too. That would bother me more than the modified frame. After all,you can always look for a correct set of Fuzzy's,and even if you don't,at least you can't SEE that particular modification. If the gun is in otherwise very good condition,you certainly didn't get hurt. JMO,FWIW.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

In any case,don't feel bad.Many of us would have purchased it,just as it was,without pulling the grips.And those that pulled the grips,would have only been looking for rust,not a mod.The notion of a mod wouldn't have entered my mind.Round butting a Smith is one thing,but a Colt OMM?
A good point made by others here however..Once you see a little creativity applied,such as the jeweling,you should consider that something else might have been done too.

Yeah, as a newbie it never occurred to me to have the seller remove the grips for evidence of rust or what have you. Thanks for the tip.

Well, cheer up: that's a good small game gun as well as a target piece.

You can look for grips by Fuzzy Farrant, John Stark, Hogue, and Hurst (forgot his first name) on shows like the old, Adam-12 police drama. They had them in some episodes of the series, on S&W M-15 .38's. Martin Milner's .38 was sold last year, I think, as the actor is now dead or in bad health. It was his own gun, not a prop house item.

Not all of those stocks required cutting the frame for the area where the little finger grips the gun. Various stocks were offered.

Like John Bianchi (holsters), those grip makers were all cops. They did some nice work, sometimes in splendid woods.

I had to look it up!

Ron, I feel your pain. I have been in the same position that you are in right now with the similar revolver. The Officers Model Match is a fabulous revolver. Many made, all beautiful, magnificent shooters. Now in your case, you have a modified frame for a special set of grips. While very discomforting, you still have a great revolver. Yes, finding a set of Farrant grips will be difficult and spendy, you will then have it as it was "back to what it was." Maybe this isn't what you want now, but perhaps it can be if you care to try for the Farrant grips (which, as has been said, are really neat grips).

You say it shoots very well. That is something that should be very gratifying, and, something that could be the thing that makes you overcome the reluctance to keep it. In my case, I bought from Gunbroker. Had great pics and was described as "locking up 'bank vault' tight." And it did, in single action...... It was very much out-of-time in double action. So, I felt as you did right now. Angry at being deceived by an unscrupulous seller and very unhappy that my desirous Colt was not what I bought. I wound up trading it to my local gun store for an in-the-box Model 10 standard barrel with some pitting at the muzzle. AND, I had to fork over cash to boot...something around $50-$75. Yes, I was a little peeved.

In your case, if it shoots well and is "in time" and the grip modification isn't too radical and you can find grips that fit it, it may turn out well for you. I understand how you feel. I think that I would have much rather been in your situation than mine. I decided that trying to find someone to fix my OMM was going to be more problematical than my time and effort would warrant. People just don't or can't work on old Colt revolvers because parts are difficult to locate then fashion the way they need to be (hand-fit) because they were made that way. I wish you good luck. I am very sorry for your disappointment. I know how you feel.

Not to make your situation sound worse but that 99% finish doesn't mean anything because you can assume that the gun was at least partially reblued after any metalwork was done.

That said, I'd take it for what it is and have fun with it since you don't have to worry about hurting a near pristine gun. As has been pointed out it would make a great small game gun and how many folks have an OMM that they can carry as a woods, hiking, or fishing gun? You could use it to teach young folks how to shoot, teaching them something about the history of the revolver and Colt workmanship at the same time. And then one day, when the right deal comes along, you can use it for trading fodder if you want to, assuming you haven't grown so fond of it you end up wanting to keep it around.


So, how about posting some pics so the rest of us can see this beautiful abomination?

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