and have just as much fun collecting them as I do the guns I put them on. Shown below are a few of the interesting ones I have collected over the years (all are S&W factory stocks). The pair is made of birds eye maple and dates to 1972. The second pair is made of Goncalo alves and does not have the relieved area on the left panel even though these stocks were made around 1970-72 (only pair I have seen like this). The third pair is made of rosewood and dates to 1956-1958 (it is probably my favorite pair). The fourth pair is made of walnut and dates to the mid-70s. Smooth or plain walnut target stocks are not seen that often. The next pair is made of Goncalo alves and is an early pair of smooth stocks made with the relieved area on the left panel (58-59). The next pair is figured rosewood and dates to the mid-70s. The last N-frame pair is made of highly figured Goncalo alves and dates to the early 70s. The last two pairs of stocks are for K-frame revolvers...the first is checked, rosewood that dates to the 1960s (rare in the checked variety) and the next is highly figured Goncalo alves that dates to the early 70s.

Bill

I like the maple ones, I don't see the rest your talking about but would love to see the rosewood ones, Merry Christmas

Troy

I think I was in a hurry and did not wait for the photos to upload. The rosewood grips are a knockout.

I have a thing for stocks, too. I've been known on several occasions to buy a gun just to get the stocks.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

What's not to like as all those are beautiful and I love the Maple pair. I bought a set of Kurac Maple grips with medallions and they are my 25-2 with 6 inch barrel and they are breath taking.

Merry Christmas Bill to you and yours as you inspire all of us.

Art...Thank you and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all the participants on the S&W Forum. Looking forward to a fantastic 2010!!!

Bill

I too, like the rosewoods the best but they are all exquisite.

So Bill, do you like the smooth presentations the most? Or is it because the smooth ones show off wood better?

I like the standard look of checkered stocks, but really beautiful wood, for me, shows best on smooth presentations.

As usual, thanks for sharing and add a Merry Christmas to you and yourn from me also.

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Barry, youngest son of Claud

I traded a guy named Lee for a set of Plastic Jay Scott grips at the Louisville National Gun Day show. He said they're rare.

But seriously Doc, your collection show years of knowledge, dedication and most importantly Class.
Merry Christmas.

Gail

The grain of the wood in the presentation stocks is just beautiful,You have a great collection.

Bill,
Do you know if the rosewood K-frame checkered stocks were a special order item and were they available in any certain time frame during the 60's? Just curious as I bought a set a few months ago and wondered what model they may have shipped on. Wonderful photography as usual.

Mike

I also love collecting the olg grips/stocks especially pre war stuff. I just scored a couple of pair of old N frame service grips on Ebay for a real decent price, they need some work but will clean up nice. Part of the fun for me is the restoration of them when I put them on a gun that was missing the originals. I will post a few pics later.

Does S&W still make stocks out of custom woods? And, are these for collecting purposes only, or do you swap them on and off your different guns? I also think the birdseye maple stocks are fantastic.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I have always favored plain (smooth) stocks because they show the grain in the wood and for shooting as the checkering can be tough on your palm. I move these stocks around (at least, most of them) to different guns. S&W always matched the halves of plain stocks, but rarely did that for checked stocks.

I believe dark, Brazilian rosewood is best when it comes to putting beautiful wood on a nickel or bright blue revolver. I rarely pass up purchasing a pair of dark rosewood stocks (if they are in good shape).

Checked, rosewood stocks have always been available from S&W, but Goncalo alves and walnut were dominant when it came to making stocks. The K-frame pair in the photo was purchased from a forum and S&WCA member several years ago.

Bill

bill, gonna have to raise a little more money now for an additional wing on your museum just for stocks. those are all great looking pieces of wood. i love the figured rosewood. lee

Here are a couple of pics of my extra stuff, probably have two more boxes of later modern stuff too. Most of the real nice or rarer and or Rosewood grips are on guns in the safe:~)
Matt

NICE handles guys. Thanks for posting and....

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Roger

A splendid grouping. Perhaps I missed something, but did S&W make the maple stocks with any regularity, or could they once be custom ordered?

Were there other woods available, as well? I have always been surprised that figured walnut was not used more in recent decades.

Thanks for sharing,

Dyson

Merry Christmas to you and yours Bill, and to all myfellow forum members as well!

Thanks for all your posts Bill. We always get an education to go along with all the beautiful pictures. I don't have near the wood collection of some here, and have sold off quite a bit of it lately, but I love the presentation stocks, and have been collecting some decent examples. I just picked up a nice old S prefix 29-2 with some very decent smooth Rosewood stocks on it. I have several sets of smooth Rosewood stocks now. I'm not sure how that happened, because I have always been drawn to nicely figured Goncalo Alves more.

These are rather poor pictures of the gun I just picked up, and don't show the Rosewood stocks as well as I would like. The mark just behind the trigger on the right side is only a relection of the prop rod.

So your the one that sniped them from me at the last second. I knew it had to be someone from here.

Just kidding, although it is cool to find some from time to time to fix and mount up.

These are my favorite non-walnut factory grips:

Rosewood


Goncalo Alves

Man I got sniped so much in the past I had to learn what they were doing and now thats the only way I bid, on Ebay at least. I was really happy to get the pair of concave N frame service grips, now I have all the different style service grips they made. It seems like the concave service are the hardest to find in any kind of decent shape.Also needed the gold medallion N service pair for a used gun of that vintage I have, after a little clean up they will match the gun nicely.
Matt

Here is another pair of maple stocks, early enough to not have the
extractor cut. These are on the 44 smoothbore shipped to Congressman
King. Someone had darkened them - this is how they look now, after
cleaning with acetone , and oiling. This wood is suppossed from an old desk
of D B Wesson !





Later, Mike Priwer

One might wonder what became of the remainder of that desk. Interesting history on the wood grips there.

I have a pair of the smooth rosewood stocks (your # 3) that are on a short barreled 27-2. They are beautiful becaue they don't eat my hand.
Charlie

A set of my favorite traditional grips, if I can share the pic. Guess I like these so much because they sport a nice 14-1 with 8 3/8" barrel.

Attached Images

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Mike:
Those bird's eye maple stocks are spectacular. Interesting, the dark tone the eyes took on with the prior dark oil / stain. Beautiful.

By the way, my brother-in-law tells me he has a great set of laminated pine stocks made from DB's wooden leg.

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Mitch
SWCA 2438

Ther is nothing neater than the Diamond checkered Rosewood, I have several pair but none of the older diamond ones. Beautiful! Jeff

Rosewood K's

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"NUTS"

Thanks for sharing these beauties, Bill.
I've had a few rosewood stocks but sold most of them. I think that for sheer "purtiness" the rosewood can't be beat.

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John

I never really thought Maple would make a good looking revolver stock until I got these beautiful kurac stocks for my 25-2

Those Maple stocks look great on that deep blue 25-2,really nice grain.

Fyimo, now THAT is a work of... well.. ART!!!

GF

Thanks for sharing.I confess to being more of a wood nut than gun nut,and I use some of my pistols and too many of my rifles as excuses to indulge in nice or custom stocks.

Wow! beautiful wood.