Quick question about older Herretts Grips for S&W Revolvers

[mainegrw]

Yesterday I picked up a Model 10-8 from my LGS, that came to me with a rather ugly set of old Pachmayr gripper grips on it. I had a set of Plastic Safariland grips that I put on it temporarily, however they proved to be a bit ill fitting and thus went searching online for something better. I eventually came across a set of Herretts grips for sale from Numrich, labeled only as having a thumb rest, but not like their target stocks, they look very close in style to Shooting Star grips with a slight thumb rest contoured in. As the price was right, lower than any other option I had considered, I ordered them, and, as the listing now no longer appears on their website, I'm guessing they may have been the only pair available.

One thing I noticed in the photo of the grips is what appears to be a small cutout in the front strap area of the grip. I saw another set of Herretts grips for a Model 41 that had a similar feature. I'm wondering if anyone knows what the purpose of that cutout is? I'm guessing access to the strain screw?

Thought are greatly appreciated, thanks.



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[Walter Rego]

If you put just one side of the stocks on the gun you will see that the toe of the grip frame fits into the cutout. The shape of the stocks is such that the wood at that point is very thin so the cutout was added to prevent splitting.

 

[iPac]

That is common on older Herrett stocks. Probably for the reason mentioned by Walter above.

When I was looking for "combat" type grips for my EDC Python, I found a really nice set of Herretts on gunbroker. They were some of the oldest I have seen, and had a wood burned Herrett stamp on the inside. These also had the front "toe" absent. The backstrap was open and the front was finger grooves. They were nicely checkered and would have been perfect for my intended use.

Tried to talk the guy down from $50 to $40 and he was hesitant. Next day someone bought them. One week later and I seen them now on ebay listed at $100.

That's what happens when unnecessary hype/excitement are placed on "collectible" items. If the community allows S&Ws to be manipulated like Colts were, everyone can expect this same thing to occur.

 

[mainegrw]

Thanks from r the replies, relief cutting away material that would otherwise be too thin makes a lot of sense, and the thought had crossed my mind after posting this morning that this might be the case.

Believe it or not, I think I scored a heck of a good deal on these grips. I went looking around eBay last night for either a set of genuine S&W targets, or a set of magnas to be combined with a t-grip (as would be period appropriate), and found nothing that I wanted to invest in. Striking out there I took a look at Numrich's offerings, and they had plenty of grips, both S&W genuine and aftermarket. I had considered both of the aforementioned options again, both pricing out at around $50-$60, and then I spotted the Herretts. They looked in the picture to be good condition, and were priced at $29.95. So with shipping I paid $37.50 total. Ultimately, whether I got a good deal or not will need to be determined once they arrive.

Numrich has some other nice looking grips from Mustang Grips as well in the same price range in case anyone is looking...


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[Vulcan Bob]

Cannot add anything at this point but this. My shooter M-28 sports a set of slightly modified Shooting Stars, very good at handling recoil at least for my hands. Hope yours will fill your needs!

 

[fishcreekrim]

Enjoy your new grips with your new revolver. Skip line checked Herrett shooting stars are my favorite grip, followed by Hogues. I don't like targets. JMHO/YMM

 

[bananaman]

Enjoy your new grips with your new revolver. Skip line checked Herrett shooting stars are my favorite grip, followed by Hogues. I don't like targets. JMHO/YMM

My 28 no dash with Herretts. Super good fit for me. Bob

 

[lebomm]

I've had pretty good luck finding stocks at gun shows. Many times, a vendor will have a box of miscellaneous stocks at good prices because of wear or damage. Not too useful if you're trying to complete or correct a collectible, but for shooters, I know of no better materials source for custom-fit-to-me gun handles. Several of my favorite shooters have recut or reshaped Herretts, and a couple sport reworked factory targets, bought damaged for as little as $5-$10.

Larry

 

[mainegrw]

Quick question about older Herretts Grips for S&W Revolvers

So my new (used) grips arrived from Numrich in the mail today. Here they are mounted up:

My initial impressions are that these are quality made grips, and I am really going to like them. The enclosed backstrap design is perfect for my gun as the backstrap on my Model 10 is not contoured perfectly even, leading to fitment issues with the two separate pairs of Pachmayr Grippers, and the aforementioned Safariland Plastic Combat grips I tried on it. The new grip looks spectacular on this gun, despite some small blemishes on the right side (they blend with the overall wear and character of the gun anyway), and fits my hands well.

Here's the only thing: There is no marking indicating these grips were made by Herretts, and internet searches looking for similar grips yields no results. Can anybody tell me for sure if these were made by Herretts or possibly someone else?

Edit: After some additional less specific searching for vintage Herretts Grips, I have found that these are listed in a 1950s Herretts Catalog as being High Thumb Rest Troopers. The page where I saw them is linked below. I hadn't realized that these were that old, and I'm impressed with how nice they still look after all this time.

400 Bad Request


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[pawngal]

I have similar (or same) Herretts on my Model 19. I'll have to get it out and compare. All my Smiths wear Herretts.

 

[iPac]

You got a pretty sweet pair of Herretts there. That style is not too commonly seen.

Looks like they will work VERY well for shooting. I have a pair of Herrett's custom target stocks on my K22, and they have the thumbrest. The gun is like an extension of my hand with them. Love it, and boy can I shoot that 22 with them.

You should be in the same boat. Congrats on some nice grips for a great price.

I'm curious if these are old enough to have the "burnt" stamp on the inside? Nevermind, I see you mention NO markings. I think Herretts ended up with an ink stamp or a sticker inside then. Possible to remove them.

 

[mainegrw]

I'm curious if these are old enough to have the "burnt" stamp on the inside? Nevermind, I see you mention NO markings. I think Herretts ended up with an ink stamp or a sticker inside then. Possible to remove them.

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Neither grip panel has a burned in mark or ink stamp, so I'd imagine that it may have had a sticker at one point then. Like I said in my last post, other than the assertion from Numrich that these were Herretts grips, there was no identifier, and until yesterday when i found the catalog page online showing them.

I do like the grips a lot, and I'm itching to try them out. Hopefully I will get to the range tonight or tomorrow...


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[iPac]

Neither grip panel has a burned in mark or ink stamp, so I'd imagine that it may have had a sticker at one point then. Like I said in my last post, other than the assertion from Numrich that these were Herretts grips, there was no identifier, and until yesterday when i found the catalog page online showing them.

I do like the grips a lot, and I'm itching to try them out. Hopefully I will get to the range tonight or tomorrow...


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I just had to come back to this thread because I was reading a thread on the pony forum about Lew Sanderson stocks. He made a style that looks almost identical to these, except the grip screw location is different. That may be due to Colt vs S&W design.

So I was coming back to see if I made a mistake. Since you found these in a Herretts catalog, I imagine they are indeed Herretts. Sandersons usually have a number stamped into the wood, but not always.

Any chance you could take a clear pic of the insides?

 

[RILEY31]

Nice grips! I have a pair just like them without the thumb rest on my modified 25-2 and I love them.

 

[Doc44]

Click on the photo for a better look.

Bill

 

[mainegrw]

I just had to come back to this thread because I was reading a thread on the pony forum about Lew Sanderson stocks. He made a style that looks almost identical to these, except the grip screw location is different. That may be due to Colt vs S&W design.

So I was coming back to see if I made a mistake. Since you found these in a Herretts catalog, I imagine they are indeed Herretts. Sandersons usually have a number stamped into the wood, but not always.

Any chance you could take a clear pic of the insides?

As you have requested, a photo of the inside of the grip panels, though there are no markings on them:

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[bananaman]

Click on the photo for a better look.

Bill

VERY NICE!!! Bob

 

[rct269]

A word to the wise about Herrett grips------used/older. I emphasize "used/older" because that's what I know about---also being used and older.

In my time as a dedicated shooter---awhile back, Herrett's were custom/made to order/fit to your hand---and I had a bunch of them. They fit the guns---and they fit MY hand. Should you come across a pair made for me, bear in mind they were made for ME. If your hands are not the same as mine, MY grips are NOT going to fit YOU----at least not as well as they fit me.

Now, if the term "close enough" is in your vocabulary, you're good to go. That term is not in my vocabulary---which is why I bought them in the first place.

Cop Out Clause: If newer Herrett grips are available as a "one size fit's all", then I don't know the first thing about them---except those shown here look nicer than those from the olden days. Mine looked "okay"---they fit perfectly---"like a glove"-----a custom, made to order glove---and my scores were the proof of the pudding.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[SG-688]

They look like Sanderson to me.

 

[Combat]

I'm voting Sanderson also.

 

[lebomm]

In my post #8 above, talked about modifying the Herretts, but never responded to the question in your OP. I do also have a few pair of them on my guns, and like you, I find them well made of quality materials, and they fit the guns very well. As for fit to my hand, well, I'm responsible for that.

Larry

 

[diecidecimi]

They are Herretts for sure. They are vintage grips, very, very nice and desirable. This was the old style of Herrett, when he began his business: they are similar, very close to Sandersons, but three main differences are 1. the wood grain, usually (not always) less dark 2.the lack of numbers marked in side 3. the checkering: Sandersons had the inferior border line very close to the bottom, and, most important, the cuts of diamonds didn't stopped sharply at that line

Sorry for my English, I hope I explained my thoughts

 

[diecidecimi]

You got a pretty sweet pair of Herretts there. That style is not too commonly seen.

Looks like they will work VERY well for shooting. I have a pair of Herrett's custom target stocks on my K22, and they have the thumbrest. The gun is like an extension of my hand with them. Love it, and boy can I shoot that 22 with them.

You should be in the same boat. Congrats on some nice grips for a great price.

I'm curious if these are old enough to have the "burnt" stamp on the inside? Nevermind, I see you mention NO markings. I think Herretts ended up with an ink stamp or a sticker inside then. Possible to remove them.

View attachment 316575

View attachment 316576

I l love Herrett's thumbrests..... And Old Troopers too . I've had a lot of trouble to purchase them in USA (nobody ships overseas....) but I obtained my target.

 

[diecidecimi]

You got a pretty sweet pair of Herretts there. That style is not too commonly seen.

Looks like they will work VERY well for shooting. I have a pair of Herrett's custom target stocks on my K22, and they have the thumbrest. The gun is like an extension of my hand with them. Love it, and boy can I shoot that 22 with them.

You should be in the same boat. Congrats on some nice grips for a great price.

I'm curious if these are old enough to have the "burnt" stamp on the inside? Nevermind, I see you mention NO markings. I think Herretts ended up with an ink stamp or a sticker inside then. Possible to remove them.

View attachment 316575

View attachment 316576

I l love Herrett's thumbrests..... And Old Troopers too . I've had a lot of trouble to purchase them in USA (nobody ships overseas....) but I obtained my target.

 

[s&wchad]

So my new (used) grips arrived from Numrich in the mail today. Here they are mounted up:

I have found that these are listed in a 1950s Herretts Catalog as being High Thumb Rest Troopers.

I agree they're Herrett's, but I wouldn't classify them as High Thumbrest Troopers. Thumbrest Trooper's didn't have that raised ledge at the top of the right panel, since they were intended as "dual purpose target/duty" stocks. As rct269 mentioned, Hetter stocks were custom made to the shooters spec's and the patterns were merely a guide or starting point.

Here's a set of High Thumbrest Trooper's with optional finger grooves (L) and a set of Double Action Trooper's with optional fine line checkering and fancy wood.

These are Herret's Custom Shooting Master stocks with very fancy wood. These were made for someone with extremely large hands.

This set of custom fingergroove target stocks for a Python shows just how much variation you'll find from standard patterns. I've discussed them with other collectors and we attribute them to Steve Herrett, but you sure won't find them on his website or in a catalog.

Your's are definitely not Sanderson's. Here is some of Lew and Don's work:

 

[iPac]

Yep, Herretts.

The old ones of course were much nicer than more modern ones. They were on par with Sanderson, Farrant, and the other makers of the day. As mentioned, originally Herretts were custom made to your hand size by tracing on outline. So for these older ones, "close enough" it was you can hope for. I have a pair of the big custom target stocks that would have been custom sized for someone, but luckily they fit my hands.

You got a nice pair OP, and for a decent price too.

 

[mainegrw]

Thanks for all the replies, gang. Custom or not, these grips are a pretty good fit for me, and has (arguably) improved my shooting a bit as well...


The following was shot at a distance between 10-12 yards, standing without a rest of any type. Not bad for a desk jockey with moderate carpal tunnel in my right wrist, right?

The only down side to these grips is a lack of full clearance to dump empty shells from the cylinder. Instead, I have to up-end the gun, and eject three or four at a time then rotate to let the last two or three drop out. Not a terrible situation, but not the greatest either, and obviously the use of speed loaders is right out as well. Down the road I may swap these grips out for something more carry appropriate, and use them as an excuse to get a K22 to mount them on. It wouldn't be the first time I bought a gun because I had the perfect set of grips to put on it. It wouldn't be the first time I bought a K22 because I had the perfect set of grips to put on it either...

Happy Holidays All!


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[diecidecimi]

thumbrest and extractor

Yes, this is the issue with thumbrest grips. In fact I noticed the dings generated by the extractor star on the left panel: well known. Another little annoying disturbance is the partial masking of the thumbpiece. However at the range, slow firing is not affected. Of course, no speedloaders allowed.
Btw remember: when you will want to get rid of them, call me please.