Ruger GP100 - Abysmal Aftermarket Grip Availability?

I've been contemplating adding a 3" Ruger GP100 to the stable sometime in the near future, but I have a strong dislike for the way that the Hogue Monogrip looks. Especially in the standard rubber configuration - I always thought they were fairly hideous (see below). I'm not much of a fan of Ruger's panel-insert grips either.

There seems to be a distinct lack of available compact grips, and aftermarket grips in general, for the GP100. Pachmayr doesn't even make their traditional Gripper or Compac grips with bronze medallions for it. Does anyone make a grip like the standard compact GP100 grip, but as one piece without inserts? (Crimson Trace's lone offering comes close, but it's a bit pricey.)

If I'm going with wood grips I prefer them not to have finger grooves. A grip similar to an Eagle target grip, but compact/shorter would be great. Or even something analogous to the aforementioned Pachmayrs would be swell too. Ruger does have a nice Target style grip through a few of their TALO special editions, but ordering the grip direct through Altamont won't get you the Ruger medallions on them. And they're still too long to look right with a 3" barrel IMO.

You may not like the looks, but the old compact Lett style grips would be perfect. They are being made again (now by Altamont, I believe) and are for sale on Shop Ruger and other websites. Some folks even prefer them on 4" GP100s At the very least, they would work nicely until you found another option. There are also plenty of outfits that make inserts to spruce up your revolver.

JWintergreen said:

You may not like the looks, but the old compact Lett style grips would be perfect. They are being made again (now by Altamont, I believe) and are for sale on Shop Ruger and other websites. Some folks even prefer them on 4" GP100s At the very least, they would work nicely until you found another option. There are also plenty of outfits that make inserts to spruce up your revolver.

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Would you happen to know if the SP101's inserts will fit the compact Lett grip? I think I can deal with the look of them with the SP101's stock black plastic inserts until I can find something better.

NY-1 said:

Would you happen to know if the SP101's inserts will fit the compact Lett grip? I think I can deal with the look of those stock black plastic inserts until I can find something better.

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They can be made to fit, but they will need to be drilled for a larger locator pin. Just type in "SP101 panels in GP100 compact grips" in any search engine and various threads will come up that discuss how to do this. The black panels would blend right in.

The Hogue grips on the GP are an abomination, especially on the 3” gun. Totally out of proportion. The Ruger Compact grips, now made by Altamont and sold on ShopRuger are the way to go. If you really don’t like the wood contrast I’m sure you could find other inserts or convert an SP101 grip if need be.

I've never seen a grip for a GP100 that would rate above a C-grade. It seems only a hand full of grips have ever been made for the GP100 . With all the talk of the fact that with the grip frame being adaptable for all kinds of possibilities it is for nothing so far. Why on earth doesn't Ruger come up with a grip that is useable? Maybe they are afraid it might boost sales.

I just ordered a set of the compacts, but Pach has one for it there, also....

Grips-ShopRuger

NY-1 said:

Would you happen to know if the SP101's inserts will fit the compact Lett grip? I think I can deal with the look of those stock black plastic inserts until I can find something better.

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They do and that's exactly what I've done in the past.



But I got bored and went back to the original wood panels.

JWintergreen said:

They can be made to fit, but they will need to be drilled for a larger locator pin. Just type in "SP101 panels in GP100 compact grips" in any search engine and various threads will come up that discuss how to do this. The black panels would blend right in.

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No modifications were necessary for my gun. The SP101 panels fit in the GP100 Compact grip perfectly without any modifications.

The SP101 panel is the same as the GP100 panel. Depending on the year of manufacture, or the gun model, the locator pins for the grip may be a different size. Ruger for some reason used two different sizes along the way. My SRH Alaskan uses the small pin.

I had an original set of Lett Compacs, but no locator pin. After getting the GP I wanted to install the Letts. Since the OEM setup on the new GP grips doesn't use a locator pin I had to fabricate one. I used the chop saw to cut a correct size piece of poplar dowel the exact length of the aluminum locator pin and used that. Worked like a charm. The locator pin is held in place by the grip panels. The Compac Letts are night and day compared to the OEM grips.

Chiggs Grips makes many different color wood inserts for the grips. Cheap price and fast shipping.

No pics of the GP. Here's a set of Chigs on my 9mm SP.

Klyde

Did you look at badgers? They'll do a fingerless boot grip, it's buried on the options page.

I was going to suggest Badgers too.

Especially their exotic wood selection.

One of the benefits of the grip peg used on the GP100 is that a wide variety of different grip styles could be used. The same logic was behind the easily removable front sight on prior versions GP100. I don't understand why they offer these features and fail to offer the accessories that make these features a benefit.

Colt did the same thing with the front sight on their new revolvers. It's easy to change the sight out, but the replacement offerings are minimal and usually always out of stock.

VictorLouis said:

I just ordered a set of the compacts, but Pach has one for it there, also....

Grips-ShopRuger

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Fit seems to be an issue if the Amazon reviews are any indication. And generally from Pachmayr I prefer the traditional look of the bronze/gold medallions and checkering. That said, those are cheap enough that they might be worth checking out. Thanks.

Miami_JBT said:

They do and that's exactly what I've done in the past.

But I got bored and went back to the original wood panels.

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Thanks for the info, and thanks for the photos as well. That combo looks perfectly serviceable until I find an alternative.

KLYDE said:

The SP101 panel is the same as the GP100 panel. Depending on the year of manufacture, or the gun model, the locator pins for the grip may be a different size. Ruger for some reason used two different sizes along the way. My SRH Alaskan uses the small pin.

I had an original set of Lett Compacs, but no locator pin. After getting the GP I wanted to install the Letts. Since the OEM setup on the new GP grips doesn't use a locator pin I had to fabricate one. I used the chop saw to cut a correct size piece of poplar dowel the exact length of the aluminum locator pin and used that. Worked like a charm. The locator pin is held in place by the grip panels. The Compac Letts are night and day compared to the OEM grips.

Chiggs Grips makes many different color wood inserts for the grips. Cheap price and fast shipping.

No pics of the GP. Here's a set of Chigs on my 9mm SP.

Klyde

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Thanks, and thanks for the Chigs recommendation. I'll check them out for sure. They seem to be one of the only aftermarket outlets including Ruger medallions.

Transamconvert said:

Did you look at badgers? They'll do a fingerless boot grip, it's buried on the options page.

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I did look at Badger's offerings before, but I had no idea there was a customizable section where you could have a fingerless boot grip. It's a shame that the tab is practically hidden when browsing their grip inventory. Aside from a lack of checkering and medallions these are pretty much perfect for the shape I was looking for. Thanks - I think I'll shoot them a message to see if they can include Ruger medallions if I buy some and send 'em over.

reddog81 said:

One of the benefits of the grip peg used on the GP100 is that a wide variety of different grip styles could be used. The same logic was behind the easily removable front sight on prior versions GP100. I don't understand why they offer these features and fail to offer the accessories that make these features a benefit.

Colt did the same thing with the front sight on their new revolvers. It's easy to change the sight out, but the replacement offerings are minimal and usually always out of stock.

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Agreed. In theory that peg is a great idea, but it really just forces aftermarket companies to tool up for a specialty piece as opposed to carve around a grip frame like every other revolver out there. Maybe one day Ruger will come around (and offer more GP100s with partial underlugs too ).

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Thanks for the assistance, everyone. I'll keep this thread updated with what I eventually go for.

Though this may be a double-post thread resurrection, it presents a significant update. After waiting over a year for one to come up, and having to send it back to Ruger immediately thanks to a cosmetic defect on the barrel and hammer, I finally snagged myself a 3" standard GP100. The compact Ruger/Lett grips look fantastic on it and feel great too. I might go hunting for some nicer inserts with medallions on them, but 'till then these will do fine. The fixed sight GP100s are a lot nicer looking than their adjustable counterparts IMO, but still not quite as nice as an old Service Six.

Thanks for the insight, all!