Sambar Stag

[krsmith58]

forum Brothers and Sisters,

i bought an old hand ejector that had a pair of what i think are Sambar Stag grips. this is the third time i bought a gun off GB for the grips. the other 2 were bone and ivory. all service style. pictured left to right are stag, stag, ivory, bone and bone.

after i got it and was able to look at them up close, it looks like someone coated them with a varnish or some sort of clear coat material. you can see it on the gun as well.

i want to remove the coating, whatever it is. they look old and are bark heavy. i don't want to damage or discolor them.

I've learned a lot in a short time being a member here. thank you all.

so what do you all think. thanks again, krs/kenny

 

[Muley Gil]

I should have been more specific.

Looks like jigged bone to me, not stag, on #3 and #4.

 

[handejector]

Pic 4 and 5 are jigged bone. 1 and 2 are stag.
They could be covered with dried oil that has turned to varnish. Oil left long enough can become surprisingly tough varnish. WD-40 might dissolve it. It often will, but then clean off the WD-40.

 

[Baxter6551]

First two pics are elk - Big Mountain Man (Ken) on the 36 and Grasshorn on the 19. Eagle Sambar Stag on the 66 (used in the showcase at gunsmiths for $100).

 

[paplinker]

Sanbar stag

Not sure how big the stag was for my set but the amount of solid reddish bark is really large on one side

 

[Green Frog]

It’s usually pretty easy to spot jigged bone... the “bark” features were cut into the bone to suggest the beauty of stag, but they lack the complexity of real bark.
Stag vs elk antler shows a difference in the complexity of the “barkiness” as well as a thicker solid layer on the outside and little or no pithy core showing except at the butt.
Since much Sambar Stag is from shed antlers, perhaps the Indian government will loosen up its export again... we can only hope! To my way of thinking, real stag is the only thing that approaches ivory for beauty and durability.
Froggie

 

[chief38]

Because there are always new guys coming into this hobby, let me suggest that before buying what you believe are genuine Sambar Stag grips, look into this subject matter carefully! There are Elk Stag, Grasshorn Stag, Jigged Bone "Stag", and even plastic "Stag" that people try selling for the real McCoy.

As far as I know, genuine Sambar Stag has been against the law to export by the Indian Gov't. some years back. This is not because they kill the Deer to get the Stag, the Stag falls off naturally, but they have been killing Tigers while collecting the Stag and that was supposed to be the official way to protect the Tigers - at least that's what I have been told.

So while there may be genuine Sambar Stag available that is either vintage or smuggled out, be aware of exactly what Sambar Stag is and exactly how it should look and feel. This will prevent you from getting burnt!

BTW, Elk Stag is also very nice - and it comes from right here in the USA. Just buy it because you like Elk Stag and don't get suckered into believing it's Sambar.