The wife and I got away for a few days and we always like to stop in the pawn shops and gun stores whenever we get to a new area to see what "bargains" can be had. We went into this one small gun shop and guy was real friendly and bought a couple of misc. items and looked at some S&W's and Winchester 22's. Went 1 block to another larger store with fishing, camping, hunting, etc. Eureka, he had seldom seen items everywhere. Rem. model 66 brown in the box, and a "green" one that was new ! Next saw 2 Colt Diamondbacks, one nkl and one blue in 22 LR. I'm in heaven !! Then I saw it, a 3.5" pre 27 blue that looked nice in the case and it had target diamond stocks and it appeared they were cokes. Had to see it, so the guy removed it from the case and handed it to me and I almost cried in front of grown men. Some knuckle draggin mouth breather had taken a rasp to the bottom of the cokes and shaped them to fit his hand and not a good job at that with just a little wood to cover the bottom of the frame. The rest of the grips were just super. Gun numbers matched, S80xxx range. Oh did I mention that it was only $1499.00. Guy asked if he could square up the bottom and they would be OK? What the heck are you talking about. They are gone and aren't coming back.Other items were a Win. model 42 solid rib, 60% finish for $2195.00, a Win. Model 94 early 1900's gun in 30-30 with octagon barrel a gray gun $1200.00, and oh yeah, the Diamondbacks were $1699.00 each. Anybody got an itch to scratch,, PM me for info. Still can't get the sight of those grips out of my head.

Sometimes we tend to forget that many of our prized collector items original purpose was a working tool. And really would you have paid the asking price if grips had been perfect? It appears to me that the reason this store had so many "treasures" is the inflated pricing, but that's just me YMMV.

He was a little high . I walked into a shop and their was a 27 3.5 mint with diamond grips for 425 I left with out it and could not sleep since he was a big winchester shop and was not into hand guns . Also a 4inch colt diamond back 22 with out orig grips 499 at another shop for a long time . I still kick myself . I was buying to much other stuff and was short on bucks

I walked into a shop and their was a 27 3.5 mint with diamond grips for 425 I left with out it

Dang I'd have been in debt for that one
would have had some splanning to do

Jimmy's new plan on "Splanning" for buying something that blows the budget is " But Honey, I don't remember. I am old and senile, forgive me?
I love you!"

This line gets me out of a lot of "Lumps".

Was that in this century??

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James Redfield
LM #497

Might be just me but I don't generally put the word "only" in front of $1499. I know all guns are expensive and the 3.5" 357s are highly sought after but $1500 strikes me as VERY high. If they were "Cokes" (I wish we had a better name) they would increased the value as they are worth $400+ in good shape (and since they could not have been original to this gun their value would be considered separately), but as described, the price is ridiculous, IMO.

That's right. He shaped them to fit HIS hand. I doubt he gave one seconds thought to rather some guy "X" number of years in the future would like them or not.

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John 3:16 .

How about S&W targets modeled after Ropers.

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James Redfield
LM #497

I think we need to be a little more charitable than that!

We do need to remember that when they were new, these stocks were a $5 (more or less) option. Of course, money could buy more then, but even so $5 was not exactly a king's ransom in the '50s & 60s.

The guy may have thought it was no big deal to see if he could make them more comfortable, little realizing that 50 years later his actions would reduce someone to tears (or nearly so).

It sounds as if you consider the job too amateurish. If they had been more skillfully customized, would that make you happier? Altered is still altered.

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You're shy a few manners.

The way I look at it is....It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

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NRA Benefactor/Cert Instructor

stu1205-exactly. or don't have the problem in the first place.

Gents and ladies, some of the posts seem to point out my harsh criticism and description of the person with the wood rasp or file who worked over the stocks. My description of that individual as a knuckle draggin mouth breather may have been a little harsh. Chalk it up to a burst of emotion when I saw the desecration before me. I am a traditionalist and make no apologies for the view that if you want it different than it came, do some research for goodness sakes instead of just wading in on a nice gun and doing damage that cannot be reversed, even in the name of personalizing it. I liken it to drawing a mustache and goatee on the Mona Lisa so that it appeals to a particular viewer. To each his own and that is why there are horse races and elections. So if I offended any of you that are over sensitive, I apologize. And leave the darn stocks alone !!!!!

Back in the Jurassic period when I first started studying guns, there were a few articles in the gun magazines of the time showing how to modify the factory stocks to fit your hand. The tone of the article was, why buy new custom stocks when you can grab a file and some sand paper and create your own from the stocks you already have. No one back then thought the original stocks would be of any extra value in the future.

The same occurred when the rubber grips came out in the 70s. I remember one gun shop with boxes full of factory wood grips behind the counter. Most people buying a revolver promptly pulled the wood off and installed rubber before leaving the shop. If only I had the sense to offer the gun shop folks ten bucks a box for all those brand new take off S&W and Colt grips.

Amen brother !! Ain't hindsight great !! It can keep you up at night.