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S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


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Old 11-24-2010, 01:14 AM
stantheman86 stantheman86 is offline
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Default Mershon vs. Pachmayr grips

Just looking for info on when Mershon was acquired by Pachmayr, I have an old set of Mershon K-frame rubber grips and also an older set of Pachmayr Presentations stamped "#2 Small K-square" on the inside.

I had read Mershon started making grips in the early 70's, and didn't last long as they were bought out by Pachmayr in the mid-late 70's but this conflicts with others saying they were buying Pachmayrs in the 60's........
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Old 11-24-2010, 12:53 PM
BUFF BUFF is offline
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I have a 5 inch .38-44 made in 1933. It has walnut service stocks with the large silver medallion and an unusual, stepped front sight blade called by Jinks as a "U.S.R.A." sight blade and a "millitary target sight blade."

If interest is the grip adapter. It is marked as "Fray-Mershon" and is plastic on a metal piece, similar to a Tyler.
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Old 11-24-2010, 05:43 PM
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The Mershon grips were listed in the back of the Gun Digest's from 1959 thru 1982. That should give you a rough idea. They might have been available before 1959.
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Old 11-24-2010, 06:49 PM
ImprovedModel56Fan ImprovedModel56Fan is offline
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According to John Lachuk's biography of Frank Pachmayr, the Mershon company was bought out in early 1958 by Pachmayr, who continued to operate it as a separate entity. Lachuk seems to indicate that Pachmayr started selling his own designs around 1968, which sounds about right. Clearly, consulting some old Gun Digests or magazines would pin this down, but I no longer have these. The Mershon design LOOKS like a good design, but it was either for pretty large hands, or was intended to be cut down by the user. The Pachmayr Presentations mostly came in two sizes, which was certainly an improvement.
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Old 11-24-2010, 07:40 PM
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In the 1951 Gun Digest on page 116, there is a referrance about the Mershon Co. making grip adaptors (hard rubber). This is in the same paragraph that mentions Sanderson, Roper and Pointer stocks made by Southwest Cutlery & Manufacturing Co. as stock makers.

It would be my assumption that Mershon wasn't making the stocks then although there is always the printing time consideration.
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Old 11-24-2010, 08:52 PM
stantheman86 stantheman86 is offline
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Thanks for the great info!

I am looking for "correct for the era" rubber grips for my 1978 production 64-3,it came with badly fitting woods on it, and I want to put rubber grips on it that would have been around in 1978......... and I have Mershon and Pachmayr "small" and "large" grips on hand to choose from........looks like the Pachmayrs are the best choice! I may save the Mershons for an earlier K-frame Smith.

I also have a set of Mershon N-frame grips and they are very wide fore and aft, I have long hands and I have a hard time getting a grip on them!
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Old 05-29-2012, 10:34 AM
robertsontradingpost robertsontradingpost is offline
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We do have a Model 28-2, S320,000 range number, ca. 1968-1969 manufacture, that came to us with a set of Mershon 10 Point Grips, similar to SN/S Pachmayrs. I believe the revolver and the grips are roughly contemporary. We have a pretty good set of 1960s Gun Digests, but alas, no time to study them!
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Old 02-04-2013, 02:25 AM
bill1917 bill1917 is offline
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I have a copy of the 1939 Stoeger catalog that was the predecessor to the Shooters Bible. It lists the Mershon grip for S&W and (the other brand) revolvers, and the text does not read like it was a new product.
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jinks, k-frame, n-frame, pachmayr, roper, walnut

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