I don't have much stag, it's mostly something I pick up when I find an attractive set for cheap. This set was labeled K-L frame, was cheap, and I find the set attractive. So I pulled the trigger on them. Fortunately, my suspicion that they were N-Frame proved true, I can't say why exactly but I just don't think a set of grips like this looks right on K-Frames. I know I'm kind of a weirdo when it comes to such things, but there it is.

My question is: are these Sambar Stag? Or something else? They don't seem to look like Elk, but I'm not really very knowledgeable on what else a set like this may have been made from.

In any case, they look...gooood on my beater Registered Magnum. A little too good. I'm about to go put the Ropers back on it, but I kind of don't want to, in a way, but the Ropers belong there. Arrrg.





What I really need is to find another beat up registered magnum wearing something horrible, and rubbery, so I can put these on there.

Without seeing the backs, I vote for Sambar Stag. I think they look super nice too!
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Those are Sambar Stag and look right at home.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

Yup, look like Sambar Stag to me too

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On the Oak Savannah

I agree that they appear to be Sambar. Wish I had a beater registered magnum.

The prefix "sambar" is actually the name of the breed of deer in India, and the term gets thrown around quite a bit to describe most deer antler grips. This is a disservice to sambar as it really is a superior product (it comes down to density). That being said, there really isn't a fullproof way to tell what animal they came from at this point.

I'd look for maker markings. Short of that, you'd have a hard time doing anything more than speculating unless you want to send them into some type of lab to test specifically for density. Enjoy them, they're gorgeous.

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Ban this man,
'89

Not sure if they are Sambar or not but they look good!

I like any "stag" grip. This is what India Sambar Stag looks like.

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John

Yours may very well be sambar, but that doesn't mean that all sambar stag looks like yours. Yours could also be red stag, or they could be cow bone that's been jigged and lived in the house of a heavy smoker for twenty years, or maybe it's been dyed and jigged to look like red stag.

Here is a picture of some sambar stag grips that don't look like yours. I'm sure of their make because they are marked "Ajax" like a boss, and Ajax used sambar exclusively.

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Ban this man,
'89

Well, you could always try them on your beater Triple Lock.

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You're shy a few manners.

To start with the only true Stag comes from a special breed of deer found in only one part of the world, and that is a place in India known as Sambar. That's why it's called Indian Sambar Stag. No other species is Stag!! Only this one breed in Sambar India.....SixgunStrumpet, I think yours might be stag, but hard to tell from that picture. also there are different colors... OLDSTER your Stag is commonly called Amber Sambar Stag...…………………………………………...M*

Looks a lot like Sambar to me and I have several. Nice color and just the amount of bark I like.

Of course, smooth stag is also an option.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I'm a fan of Sambar stag also with plenty of bark. Their getting very expensive since they are banned now so, I've learned to not many anymore. I'd bet yours are Sambar stag and not the current Elks? By the way yours looks very nice!
A model 25-5, 17-5?, 63-0, and my 1917/37 Brazilian with American Elk on it.
Steve

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No. Just no.

1. There is no place called sambar India.
2. True stag comes from any male deer, because all male deer are referred to as stags.
3. Sambar stag as a breed actually exist in more than just the country of India. There can be found all through Asia. Commonly, they can also be found on the country/continent of Australia.

I had no idea there was such misinformation out there on sambar stag.

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Ban this man,
'89

Very nice grips gentlemen. The discussion led me to a fun Wikipedia read...

Sambar deer - Wikipedia

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Well, I'm glad to see I come by my confusion about Stag / Sambar Stag honestly!

Thanks for all the replies. Here's a couple more shots to maybe clarify what it is I have. I will say that they are extremely dense.






Edit:

Ok, now I am in a quandary. I looked over the guns I posses and I only feel like one gun could wear these. The problem is I can't decide which set of Stags is better on this gun.

What do you guys think

Option A:






Option B:

I'm no expert re; "Sambar Stag". The ones I've shown on this thread I purchased from a very knowledgeable forum member 7 years ago. This is the left side grip, which looks more like yours, to give you an idea; yours very well could be Sambars.

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John

I sold my beater triple lock a long time ago. The only one I have now is my factory modified "fixed sight target" Re-Re-Finished one:





Which does look pretty good with these stocks on it, although I like the Magnas it came with when I bought it.

Caleb,

I like the magna profile better than the service stocks. Either could be correct given the age of the gun.

That King Super Target is something else

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On the Oak Savannah

Hah, it's not actually a king (which I suspect you know). Also, it's one of the first of the 1917s with the grooved hammer, so I think...service would be 'correct' ish. Given when it was modified though, Magnas would make sense.

I forget the name of the gunsmith off the top of my head, the guy was very very good. As near as I can tell he was operating in the 50's through maybe the 70's. There was an article about one of his guns, I'm not sure what I did with it.

I think this particular gun was modified sometime in the early 50's. There's something about that rear sight on there that I feel like I dated pretty close at some point.

In any case, the action work the guy did on it is out of this world. But it is one of those guns that was never quite right before I threw those service style stags on there, and the magnas feel better in my hand, but I'm waffling back and forth over which looks better.

European Red Deer are known as stags "Hirsh", I've seen them while stationed in Germany. They look like miniature Elk and have fantastic antlers, the locals carve them into figurines, etc. Its easy to find German knives with European Stag scales, I have plenty. In most cases they do tend toward the reddish cast The densest "antler" I have ever come across was Caribou, it was solid all the way through with no porous center. I was given some by a friend that claimed to have recovered it from a body of water that had hundreds of antlers in it, I don't know if it was because of the water or why but that was some incredible antler, almost like ivory in texture and denseness.

Joe Lamping out of Cincinnati?

Here’s one I have I believe is from him too:



Love the Stags. I’ve picked up a couple pair and definitely prefer them as magnas.

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SWCA: 3154
SWHF: 552

I wish I had some k or n frame magna Sambar Stag grips. The only Sambar I have are for Colts, but they are quite nice.
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

They are Sambar.

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Some great stags shown..
I have favored stag and Ivory many moons.
My 29-3 and Nolan Blade.

Well shucks darn, I think you answered a question about who did the job on another one of my guns: Update: Boston (Dorchester) PD gun + SWHF Docs!

I've updated with what I found on Joe Lamping in that thread.

Regarding this 1917, the name Joe Lamping doesn't ring a bell, but that hammer does look right. I will dig around, there was a whole article about the guy I think did my gun in a magazine, and the Rib I think was exactly the same. Joe Lamping may very well be right, I just want to verify.

OLDSTER, Those are drop dead gorgeous! Beautiful Grips, Lucky Man!

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Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

Since I had a little time to start fishing around in my gun room, I realized that lately I have been coming up with a lot of stag apparently. Not entirely sure why, just luck of the draw I guess. I think its cool but never really want to pay a premium for it.

Thanks for all the information in this thread by the way guys, now I know that the stag on my Blackhawk here is Sambar for sure (as they are marked Ajax)




edit: would help if I posted both sides and not the same side twice

And based on the other information, I'm assuming the grips on the Single Six are also likely sambar?

Keep the stag on there! Very cool.

This old Model 10 looks way better with elk and it's beat up due to water and chemicals in my safe during my 2018 fire. Much nicer looking than the wood that was on there.

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Come and take it!!

Have you shot that sucker since it was in a fire? Be careful with it it, because fire notoriously ruins the metallurgy of a firearm; doesn't even need to be in the fire, it just needs to be close enough..

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Ban this man,
'89

OPTION B for sure.

I have some red colored service grip stag. I like them and shoot fine with them but think they look better on smaller frame guns. Had these on my OD until the Roper bug took over.



Here they are next to some elk

They are sambar for sure..... and VERY nicely matched side to side. They appear to fit quite well also. If they feel good in your hand you have hit the jackpot ! ... They look to be possibly made "back in the day" by "Ajax" or Eagle" . You didn't ask about value, but I think $350 for a pair like that is fair these days.
My pics are of my favorite elk antler N frame pair.

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Y. B. Ord & A. Ree

I know you work with a lot of stag/bone grip material and you seem confident. What is it specifically that you see that leads you to believe that these are sambar?

Caveat: I've been on the naughty list around here lately and I'm not ALWAYS the most sincere, but I want it to be clear that I'm genuinely curious.

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Ban this man,
'89

Here in Hawaii we have a lot of Axis deer running around on Lanai, Maui and Molokai. The deer were a gift to one of the Hawaiian kings. Axis are very similar to Sambar--adults have the dappled hides much like a whitetail fawn. They are also very, very tasty!

Axis antlers are solid bone all the way to the core--basically a narrow vein or nerve runs the length of the antler but otherwise its' solid except at the crown where it can be pithy. Many of the larger grips shown in this thread are from the crown area--the "rough asphalt" or if you're lucky, the "popcorn" grain comes from the crown. The dark, pithy grain on the insides of the grip show it's from this part of the antler.

My knifemaker friend can get 3 or 4 handles from each shed but typically there's only one pair that can be made from each crown (if you plan it out and cut carefully). Sometimes only one side of the crown is right for gripmaking and you have to use 2 crowns, that's why they're so expensive (that and India has for several decades banned the export of the antlers. The deer aren't endangered but good Sambar antler is hard to get in the US).

Most of the Axis antlers I've seen are great for knife handles but too small in diameter for anything but J frame size grips, most often the service types, not magnas.

I've got pearl and ivory stocks but the only stag I have are on my knives.

I guess it's 50 years of handgun "grip interest" experience .....specifically it's the texture ("bark") and creamy color. The clincher is the obvious full density and color from the pic. of the back. Nobody really made any elk grips until the sambar was outlawed (about 20 years ago). The style of the grips and the metal half discs all point to a time period before elk started to be used. Sambar and elk each have their own "look".

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Y. B. Ord & A. Ree

Well, Heck. I have been feeling sorry for myself since first reading this because I didn't have any N frame Sambar. All is K frame, although I do appreciate the K frame targets.
But then, I was scrolling through some photos on my phone tonight and saw that I do have at least two pair stuck back somewhere

Regards,
Bruce

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Regards,
Bruce

Here are my sets of Stag. Bottom middle came from Grashorn Gunworks while the other sets I’ve picked up second hand. They’re all N Frame and the top right are shorter magnas.

Do the top two look to be Sambar?

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SWCA: 3154
SWHF: 552

The top two sets are Sambar.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

Bruce, thanks for showing these. It reminded me I had not shown my N frame Sambar Stag target grips in this thread. You sure don't see many Sambar target grips at all.
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Over my 20 years of elk stag grip making, I have considered, plotted, pondered and strategized about making a "target" pair for an N frame.
Thankfully, after each of these "episodes", I came to my senses and didn't even start !! For every way I thought to do it, I could come up with 10 ways to screw it up. The way I figure it, I have saved myself a lot work ending only in frustration and heartbreak. Evidently, I could not apply this same analytical thought and decision making to the process of marriage (s) !!

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Y. B. Ord & A. Ree

It is very interesting seeing the thoughts of an actual grip maker. I have been collecting/accumulating guns, grips, and holsters for about 35 years. In that time, I think I have seen 3 pairs of Sambar Stag Target grips. Only one of those was for sale, and I bought them. By comparison, I have seen quite a few pairs of Ivory Target grips for sale. Unfortunately, I never pulled the trigger on a pair of them.
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I own a pair of target sambar stag for a K frame(see my photo above) and knew of another belonging to a ISP trooper from District 6 but(I remember another set at a Bloomington Il. gun show years ago), I agree N frame grips are probably too big for making any that size? Remember, the bark must be taken into account for this material. Eagle grips fabricated mine years back.
Steve