Altamont grips

[Mike SC Hunter]

I strongly dislike most Altamont grips; they're too thin, they're oftentimes sharp, and they just look plasticky to me. Examples like the one in the original post turned me off of the brand - I prefer to invest a little more money into some real wood grips from Eagle, Vitoonmakers, Culina, Herrett's, Badger Custom, Hogue, etc.

I believe altimont grips were designed by a NON shooter.

 

[Clayguy]

I looked at Altamont for my model 28, which came with Magna grips, but they didn't look right. Amazingly, I went on Amazon and found a pair for under 60 bucks. I got them today and tried 'em on...perfect fit! They are made in Indonesia out of some specie of hardwood which isn't Goncalo Alves or Cocobolo, but they look and fit great. I am a tightwad and refuse to pay 200+ bucks for "original" used grips since I shoot all my Smith's. I was very surprised and pleased with the grips which are extremely close in appearance to the originals.

 

[GypsmJim]

I looked at Altamont for my model 28, which came with Magna grips, but they didn't look right. Amazingly, I went on Amazon and found a pair for under 60 bucks. I got them today and tried 'em on...perfect fit! They are made in Indonesia out of some specie of hardwood which isn't Goncalo Alves or Cocobolo, but they look and fit great. I am a tightwad and refuse to pay 200+ bucks for "original" used grips since I shoot all my Smith's. I was very surprised and pleased with the grips which are extremely close in appearance to the originals.

Those Indonesia grips are hit or miss. I bought 4 sets over the years. Two were fine and the other 2 were warped on receipt. They replaced them twice with more junk and and then I eventually got a refund.

 

[Eagle1*]

Being that I have been into revolvers for over 30 years, I have ordered probably 10 sets of their grips. Many years ago their grips were very beautiful in color and fitment was really good, now days they are very dark in color and not very "correct' for the grip area of the frame size I have. I too have sent a couple pairs back for a refund because they were not the brilliant colorful wood they advertise on their website! And most of them will not take a speed loader unless you ask them for this cutting. This should be a given on every grip for any revolver in my opinion.

I see on GB every Sunday, they put on grips to be auctioned and these seem to be seconds or returns they got back or maybe practice grips for new employees. If you pay close attention, you can see the differences in the cutting or laser etching in the grips. This is every week! I think like many other things we buy that the care and craftmanship has just went downhill. Just my .02 cents but its true...

 

[walter o]

It is hard to say but if you want great quality crips you MUST be willing to PAY UP to good grip makers . Culina., Big mountain man apologize to the other great grip makers
I DON'T INTEND TO MISS NAMES)
THEY EARN EVERY DIME THEY CHARGE

 

[Model 15-4ever]

In the interests of education, illustration and fairness, today I received a set of Altamont "Combat" grips for the J frame (ordered direct from factory). Of course, they look nice.

The fit was actually quite good, and would have been usable for shooting right from the box. The tang corners are not perfect, but not annoying either especially for the price. The rear face of the grips had their characteristic "squarish" profile edges, which in this revolver I'm guessing is not going to be a problem with recoil.

However, speedloaders were a no-go. Although appearing to the relieved for them, it is faux-relief, and various cylindrical loaders (HKS, Safariland and 5-Star) either don't insert at all, or hang up on or after release.

Once again, modification was necessary to make these "Combat" grips suitable. I used a sanding cylinder on a Moto-Tool to start - this requires a light artistic touch to avoid disaster. Be forewarned! After that, various grit paper and emory was used to final surface finish. You could do stainless steel wool afterward if desired. Wood doctor topical seems to be better than Tru-Oil.

Two hours later... All working great now with the three loaders, although the Safariland is first choice.

Altamont - making hobby tinkerers happy since 1989.

 

[Toyman]

I purchased S&W 327 with Altamont grips .The grips stuck out at the top of the grip frame. S&W sent me another set same problem. I read n thread that another 327 owner found that the frame was closer to K frame than N frame.

 

[Shoebox1.1]

I had this same problem with my J frame fluer de lis stocks from them. Hurt badly with 158 FMj. I sanded the corners and just went over them with some tung oil "finish". Not real tung oil product. They look good. My new santos rosewoods on a 67-6 turned out fantastic and made an altamont fan! Perfect in every way. Here they are out of the box and then with one coat of wax

 

[notsofast]

I tried Altamont grips and I didn't like how they worked out.

 

[Dutch87]

I ordered a combat grip from them and the fit was great except for this area at the top of the backstrap. It's a sharp section that sticks out on both sides. This is an L frame of mine that's bad but the one for the N frame was worse and I sent them back. Does anyone know if their target or Roper grips are the same way?

I've ordered 3 sets of Altamont grips in the past few years.
2x for a 586 and both have sharp edges in the web of the hand area like that.

Recently ordered a set of "ivory" grips for a Jframe (the kind that look white on their website, on alll the photos labelled ivory).
What arrived had more of a "strawberry oatmeal" look to my eyes. A slight pinkish hue? I was bummed
They told me it was correct- so I sent them back.

Nice people to deal with but, in addition to fit issues out of the box, "color may not match the website" was the last straw for me personally.

 

[sousana]

Hammer, virtually all my revolvers, about 90% wear Altamonts, either super rosewood or Silver Black. Only one like that was on a set of Silver Black smooth for a new mod 36LS, called Altamont and sent them back, got replacements 24hrs after they received mine, they were perfect.

 

[chief38]

Altamont makes grips that will serve the purpose however they are not "my cup of tea" and I'd not personally buy any. If I needed to replace a worn or beat up set of original grips, there is nothing like another pair of originals. Still available on eBay, gun shows and even some LGS.

That is just my personal feeling and I am aware I might not be in the majority here - so if they float your boat - buy them. If they don't then get a set of originals. We still have a choice!

 

[65Whelen]

I find myself looking to replace the rubber grips on an N-Frame. If not Altamonts, what grips do you recommend? Would like to find something as close to original which was the RF Combats.

 

[sousana]

Altamont makes grips that will serve the purpose however they are not "my cup of tea" and I'd not personally buy any. If I needed to replace a worn or beat up set of original grips, there is nothing like another pair of originals. Still available on eBay, gun shows and even some LGS.

That is just my personal feeling and I am aware I might not be in the majority here - so if they float your boat - buy them. If they don't then get a set of originals. We still have a choice!

I am a great fan of the large Combat grips. Today at my LGS I found a consecutive numbered pair of mod 64 2" REVOLVERS RB, sitting in the $5bin was 3 sets of RB to SB combat conversion grips. Also found 8 glock 17rd mags, 12 17rd BHP FDE mags, 21 18rd mecgar 92fs mags along with 6 beretta 84f mags and 2 23rd beretta 92 mags. At $5 a mag, what a haul. BTW the 64 2" revolvers ran me 392 each plus tax, the revolvers show absolutely no sign of use and the combat stocks look awesome. Now I'm debiting on whether to keep the smooth pachmyers on my other 64 2" or put the 3rd pair of combats on.

As to grips, I say go with what works for you.

 

[SWFan27]

I know this is an old thread, but my Altamont grips fit my modern Smith & Wesson K frame revolvers perfectly. Maybe the new grips are not cut for the older revolvers? Mine do not have the gaps the OP pictured.

And there may be nicer grips out there than Altamonts, but they are three to four times the cost. I almost ordered some Eagle grips yesterday. What stopped me was the price. For a modern revolver that is a shooter, $350 is a lot of money to spend on grips/stocks. My Altamont grips are fine and less than a hundred dollars.

 

[Harv 24]

I too ordered a Pair from Altamont. I have to wait for my 617 to come back from S&W and then we'll see how they fit.

 

[wproct]

My only experience with Altamont grips was a pair for my Smith & Wesson Victory semi-auto. Fit was very good and overall quality I felt was good. It turned out that I could not use them because of the shape of them, kind of squared off and bothered my arthritic hands, but that's on me. My main experience with revolver grips has always been Hogue, and their fit and finish has always been excellent, as is their customer service. The only caveat with Hogue revolver grips is their method of attachment which is a screw going up through the bottom of the grip so that causes the shape of the grips to be a little longer than they otherwise would have to be.

 

[francoisallais]

It was a littel bit difficult for me to purchase Altamont grip since they do not export outside USA (I'm French)

Thanks to a friend, I finaly succeeded in purchasing a wonderful grip made of rosewood for my model 22-4.

Reading this post I checked the ajustment of this grip.

That true: it could be better à the level of the bud.

Nevertheless the way I position my hand (rather small) avoids any probleml when shooting.

So I go on in loving this grip

 

[SLT223]

I never like the Altamont decorative panels. I assume they were designed by a non-shooter. Definitely not someone who shoots 44 Magnum. They are way too narrow at the back strap. Also not a fan of their recreative attempt at what Smith used to produce in-house. The bear hug grips on the new Mountain guns are a step in the right direction but still lack a high end aesthetic of the old grips.

 

[maxfam]

Altamont quality control has gone downhill and is picking up speed. They sell seconds on GB and eB, but don't indicate that in their listings. Altamont used to "Burn" their name on the inside of first run grips, but not on the "seconds". I guess now all of their grips are "seconds".