Kearsage vs. Roper

[skilled]

Just picked up this set:

 

[boykinlp]

Just picked up this set:

Very Nice! I have never seen a pair in person. I have seen a few Ropers in person. I wonder if the numbers of Ropers and Kearsage Grips produced were similar? BTW, what do they fit?

 

[skilled]

Thanks. They are for a Colt. And I think they are much more Rare than Ropers. I am a big Roper collector and probably have over 20 pairs. Only two Kearsarge.

 

[Green Frog]

... And skilled, you get the added benefit with those grips that any revolver upon which they are mounted immediately becomes clearly marked "Politically Correct" much to the chagrin of anti-gunners everywhere!

Froggie

 

[Modified]

Baby napping, been cleaning the gun room, took a picture of some of my ropers. Thought I would resurrect another great old thread that has inspired me through the years to spend my money and own some things I really do love owning.

Kearsarge:

Vs.

Roper:

I don't really have any good way to take group photos unfortunately, so the pictures aren't quite as good as I would like, especially of the ring of Ropers.

Also, I wish I had more Kearsarge to share with you, but dang are these things hen's teeth to find. Over the years I've ended up with 16 sets of Roper to the 4 sets of Kearsarge.

 

[younggun22]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set of Kearsage stocks in the wild and never a set for sale!

The boxes he made were a real work of art.

Do they typically bring Roper type money?

 

[Modified]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set of Kearsage stocks in the wild and never a set for sale!

The boxes he made were a real work of art.

Do they typically bring Roper type money?

Good question.

I paid $5 for the set on the 1911.

The NRM came with them, as did the Colt Officer's Model, and the I-Frames came on another gun. I didn't actually pay anything like a premium on any of these guns. In fact I spent less then $2500 on the NRM, which I still consider a steal.

So I guess if you find a set just by themselves they only cost $5, or on a gun maybe a slight premium, but not much.

In all seriousness as to value. Probably about like Ropers. If someone wanted to sell them I'd expect to pay something close. The thing is that as cool as they are, there just aren't enough of them around to support a real collector's market. I think most guys who have a set don't really put much effort into looking for more. I'm just weird I think, I love them because they remind me of my grandpa.

In the years I have been looking for them, aside from the 4 I have purchased, I've seen only another two sets (on guns) sell. One set was on that awesome RM King colt that I think is in this very thread. Another set was on a Straightline. Both guns I think went between $1,000-$1,500. The Kearsarge stocks certainly didn't bring much of a premium on either gun.

Elmer Keith's 3 sets did, but that was because the set that belonged on his prototype .357 Magnum had migrated to a re-finished triple lock (where they absolutely did not belong). So the buyer of that prototype had to fight someone else not just for the Magnum, but also for the Triple Lock, so you could say that set sold for $11,000.

The other two sets of Elmer's were mirrored, and a pair, with a full double holster rig and sold back in '15, and sold for just shy of 40k before fees. I still think he got a rather good deal on those considering all the history. I really wish I had the cash at the time, I'm very happy with the gun I did get from the auction, but this set..boy:

Then, recently D.B. Wesson's gun sold for 48k (plus fees):

https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...sident-douglas-wessons-sw-357-magnum-revolver


My personal opinion on the subject of value is that they are on part with nice Ropers. The rarity of them being a double edged sword in that it reduces the collector pool significantly. Offsetting the increase in value that rarity usually brings.

Hell, when I bought the two boxes no one else bid against me. I was prepared to really fight hard for them too. I think people just don't look for such things too hard. I know that's why I snagged the $5 set of 1911s off of ebay, again no one bid against me.

In any case, a lot of my ropers at this point are actually tucked away as trade material for Kearsarge. I don't really care if they don't really have the collectability of Ropers, or (in my belief) as much value upside as good Ropers will have in coming years. I just like them.

 

[153]

Thanks for the update and photos!!!

 

[skilled]

I have a photo like that!

 

[skilled]

 

[Modified]

I have to comment on this.

There's some things about this picture that, as someone who ceaselessly hunts for Ropers, I really need to point out.

The first is that the Sandersons look a little ... sad, compared to the majesty of the Ropers.

The second is to commend you on your collection. The thing about this collection is that virtually none of those are anything less then extremely feature rich Ropers. I'm sure you have the largest concentration of high end Colt Ropers of anyone, and anyone looking at this picture would do well to note the obvious, and additional features you can see here.

Finger grooves, thumb rests, forward swept base, partial finger grooves, a groove just for the pinky, hell, if you go third from the top on the right hand column you even have a Sharrock, which what I am calling the finger rest thing because of this catalog I found:

The pair on the KST Camp Perry is especially appealing to me, what with the ivory (?) base, partial finger grooves, partial thumb rest. What a glorious set.

I know I'm primarily a smith guy, but I can't tell you how jealous I was when I saw you got that gun, absolutely top of the heap in my book and a gun I would be overjoyed to own (as I am sure you are).

Hell of a collection.

 

[skilled]

Thanks for your observations Sixgun..you have a good eye and I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Ropers we both share. The 3rd on the left also has that feature on the reverse side.

The Camp Perry does have an Ivory base plate and is the only one known in the KST configuration. It also letters to the president of Colt at the time. The other rare one in the bunch is top left. It’s the only one I know of in a Police Positive variation.