Altamont Grips -

[ImDrRich]

This post is a slight rant so prepare yourselves. Mods, if you believe it is in the wrong place please move it, and thanks in advance.

With the exception of J-frame grips, I have had particular trouble with this brand of grips. They rarely fit exactly and there can be both play and slippage with fit. My range guy suggested I use a shim to tighten them up, but I find that goes against the entire purpose of a good set up grips. Of particular concern are the K/L - sized combat/banana styles. You can tighten that screw all day long and the grips still have some play in them. - Yet, the woods and finishes are beautiful.

I'm wondering if others here have had similar experiences?

Thanks -

Rich

 

[BigMuddy]

Yep!

But not just Altamont. Haven’t found too many “non” custom mass produced grips that don’t need a bit of tweaking.

Dan

 

[armorer951]

I have never dealt directly with them about a fitting issue, but based on the popularity and quality of the grips and stocks made by Altamont, I would expect them to take solving these kinds of fitting issues very seriously.
If the grip panels move around after being positioned properly and tightened down, then something is certainly wrong. Perhaps a call or e-mail to the company Customer Service people would be a good start?

 

[Pine_Worker]

I have several sets, both K and L. My problem is the fit is so tight that they are difficult to remove, which is a good thing. No play or slippage here.

 

[IrishFritz]

I have a set of Roper N frame conversion grips for a Model 29. The fit is excellent and I have not experienced any slippage or movement under 44 magnum mid range loads. However, the checkering is too shallow and too fine to be functional and the finish is ultra smooth and slippery in its own right. I find these grips to be hard to hold on to under recoil, particularly if your hand is wet, and I question their utility for this application. All in all, I would not purchase these grips again. Here's to a better year ahead, IrishFritz

 

[kreuzlover]

I have several sets, both K and L. My problem is the fit is so tight that they are difficult to remove, which is a good thing. No play or slippage here.

My experience with them, also. I have always gotten grips that fit perfectly, and like you, sometimes too perfect!

 

[cmansguns]

Chock me down with Pine_Worker and Kruezlover. The Altamont Combats have been on my 637-2 since the day it was first sold in 2002. This gun has been my EDC ever since.

The Altamont grips are very tight fitting, very comfortable in my hand, just the right amount of palm swell, no snag points at all, good feeling with full load +P ammo and fast DA shooting.

The OP did say with the exception of J Frames, so I really can't help much about the fit or feel on K, L, or N Frames because I just don't have any Altamonts on any of those guns....all whatever S&W had when they left Springfield.

 

[jeffrefrig]

This post is a slight rant so prepare yourselves. Mods, if you believe it is in the wrong place please move it, and thanks in advance.

With the exception of J-frame grips, I have had particular trouble with this brand of grips. They rarely fit exactly and there can be both play and slippage with fit. My range guy suggested I use a shim to tighten them up, but I find that goes against the entire purpose of a good set up grips. Of particular concern are the K/L - sized combat/banana styles. You can tighten that screw all day long and the grips still have some play in them. - Yet, the woods and finishes are beautiful.

I'm wondering if others here have had similar experiences?

Thanks -

Rich

OP, did you at least try the shims as your range guy suggested? Maybe not as a permanent fix but as a temporary just to see if it works? I'm only curious, as I have an N frame with the factory rubber grips that I bought preowned, 4 years old. The threaded bushing that the screw goes into just won't stay tight, and wood seems to look better anyways, so I was looking at replacements. I suppose aftermarket grips would be okay (for me) if a shim would keep them tight. I was just looking at some online yesterday. My shooting hand says keep the rubber, but I bought a decent pair of gloves for this purpose; I just need to cut off the trigger finger part of the right glove. Thanks.

 

[GypsmJim]

The thaicrap almost always gave me problems. Then I switched to Altamont and have been a happy camper ever since.

 

[CH4]

I ve never had any problems with Altamont, in fact all mine have fit well. Eagle grips, on the other hand, were warped, left the back strap standing proud or required fitting. Too bad because they have some nice looking grips.

 

[lppd4]

I bought a set for my Colt Python they look great, but when I put them on there was significant slippage and I was afraid to tighten the screw any tighter. Over all I was disappointed with the grips

 

[Tytan01]

90% of the non-factory wood grips I get for my revolvers are from a couple of sellers on eBay who are located in the Malaysia area of the world.

With the exception of a pair for an SP101 that I couldn't get to fit right no matter what I tried, they have all been excellent fit and quality.

I do have Altamont grips on some of my L and N Frame S&W revolvers but they came with the guns when I bought them. They are holding up nicely and fit very good.

 

[rockquarry]

More than ten years ago, I bought four or five S&W stock sets from Altamont. I think it was a mixture of N-frame and K-frame sizes. I kept one K-frame pair and sent all the rest back because of poor fit. I should have returned the pair I kept. While the fit was better than the others, it was not all that good. I figured Altamont had improved since then.

 

[PuertoRican]

Have a set on my 1927 Colt Army Special. Fit & finish perfect.

 

[UncleEd]

I have no specific proof about the
fit of Altamont grips but I think the
company is caught in the trap that
S&W GRIP FRAMES VARY IN SIZE
AND CONTOUR. This was especially
true with revolvers back in the 1950s
through the 1990s.

The Altamont grips seem to fit
tightly on the newest Smith revolvers
made with the newer machinery. I
suspect the company is making those
grips to fit the newer grip frame contours.

With Magnas back "in the day" I
sometimes noted variances in the
backstrap frame contours, some a little
more pronounced than others. This
was in the day of hand finishing, some
hand fitting which so many hail as
a benchmark of quality. So you have
to live with those old time variances.

 

[dave1918a2]

When I got a set of Altamonts that didn't fit My old 29 I simply used Accra Glas gel.

 

[Narragansett]

I ve never had any problems with Altamont, in fact all mine have fit well. Eagle grips, on the other hand, were warped, left the back strap standing proud or required fitting. Too bad because they have some nice looking grips.

Not to steal the thread, but I have 2 sets of like new Eagle Heritage. One rosewood, and one walnut. No problems. Love em!

 

[75Vette]

My opinion on Altamonts is they're made to look at, not shoot. The ergonomics to me is horrible, especially with magnum loads. Their low cost is probably what won them the contract with S&W. I sure do hate that Ahrends went under. They understood fit-to-hand.

 

[Lou_the_welder]

My opinion on Altamonts is they're made to look at, not shoot. The ergonomics to me is horrible, especially with magnum loads. Their low cost is probably what won them the contract with S&W. I sure do hate that Ahrends went under. They understood fit-to-hand.

The fit of Ahrends are great! And real wood too..

 

[Toyman]

i posted these photos in another thread I started about ill fitting grips on an new 327. I contacted both Altamont and S&W about the issue. Altamont replied first advising try S&W then they would see what the could do.
S&W advised they are ordering me a new set of grips. I don't think this will help and I tried the grips on a 21-4 round butt N frame and the fit correctly. The problem seems that the top of t he 327 frame is a bit shorter than other N frame round butts. The first photo is 327 2nd is the 21-4.