Uncle Mike's "Craig Spegel" Designed 3rd Generation Grips

[pmosley]

I've put a set of these 3 piece grips labeled as Uncle Mike's 3rd Generation grips on my 5906 and 411.

In my opinion, much more attractive and thinner than the one piece Houge grips,these were only available for the full size double stack 9/40 models.

The fit chart does not include the 410 so I guess they were discontinued around '98 or.

I would love to have these for my single stack 39xx models.

Anyone else have experience with these?

 

[4506517]

I tried them on a 5906TSW. I wasn't that impressed with them. They were very chunky like the Hogues. They are also overly complicated to install.

 

[t-bird]

I was wondering what after market grips you can get for the 39xx's. I've got a 3906 that I would love to put some wood on them like the 59xx series. Thanks Tom

 

[BarnStorm]

pmosley those look really good IMHO.

I found a pic of this 4040PD on Google images one day just messing around. I'd love to know where these grips came from.

 

[J. W.]

Hogue makes both smooth and checkers grips for the 3rd Gen's.


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[VTHokiesDuckHunter]

I like the Hogue wood grips a lot, but wish they were about 1/16" to 1/8" thinner!

 

[t-bird]

Hogue makes both smooth and checkers grips for the 3rd Gen's.


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

I can only find them for the 59xx series. Thanks for the info.

 

[BarnStorm]

Hogue makes both smooth and checkers grips for the 3rd Gen's.


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I've never had any luck finding them. Care to post a link? Thanks for your help.

 

[BruceB]

Back to the original question on the Uncle mike's grips -

I had a set on a 5906 that went to the Perf Center for an action job. They took them off, and on a phone conversation told me that they were causing problems for the DA trigger pull. They put a brand new set of straight backed grips on.

I can only imagine that the grips were probably binding on the hammer mainspring, I can't think of where else they would have affected the DA operation.

 

[Dave Nash]

"pmosley"

Just happened to come to the site for the first time in ages regarding another matter. Posted something else in relation to a chart on this Pistol Board that caught my eye and then happened to see your question. I thought that maybe I could shed some light on the matter, so here goes…

I've put a set of these 3 piece grips labeled as Uncle Mike's 3rd Generation grips on my 5906 and 411.

In my opinion, much more attractive and thinner than the one piece Houge grips,these were only available for the full size double stack 9/40 models.

The fit chart does not include the 410 so I guess they were discontinued around '98 or.

I would love to have these for my single stack 39xx models.

Anyone else have experience with these?

The grips you have were designed by Uncle Mike's in conjunction with the folks at S&W.

Michaels of Oregon pioneered the J-Frame Boot Grip concept along with the factory when Smith finally decided that something like it would better meet the needs of the those carrying (and shooting) their 5-Shot revolvers. They also sold the factory a larger and longer J-Frame Grip that found its way on to a number of the more sporting-oriented J's. Additionally, they supplied several K-Frame stocks for the medium-sized Smiths of the day. That "day" hovered around both sides of 1990.

S&W had already done a great job of designing their then-new metalframe 3rd Gen pistols to include a unique, one-piece wrap-around grip with an integral backstrap. But the (to some, steeply) curved backstrap profile on the 5900 Series guns wasn't everybody's cup of tea and even when a "flat" style was introduced on the .40S&W models, the "feel" of the hard polymer (common to both versions) still didn't appeal to everybody either.

So in a routine OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) meeting at the factory (Michaels of Oregon sold a number of things not only to Smith & Wesson but to many of the traditional firearms manufacturers still residing in the historic Gun Valley), the idea of a thin, metal-reinforced, checkered Santoprene replacement grip for those full-size double-column frames (that at the time, made up the bigger portion of S&W's centerfire pistol sales) came up and was worked out.

Some of the other after-market designs were fine if you had big hands but were often way-too-bulky if you did not. The lack of checkering on them was also an issue for certain segments of the customer base. Still other people didn't like the way those competitor models installed. (Please Note that there was nothing wrong with those other models; it was just that they didn't appeal to everybody at the time.) So the idea was to come up with a more conventional 3pc Assembly (made interesting because these frames were not at all like the previous two generations that used something like that themselves; at least in terms of the three pieces).

So the idea was to keep things thin (like the original polymer 1pc stock), checker them in a fine but effective and, just as importantly, traditional format (this too, was unique for generally "rubber" or synthetic grips could not be textured in this manner), and fit them together with sort of overlapping and engaging tabs. Originally it was thought that more than one backstrap could be included (something that some manufacturers are now doing at a factory level itself these days) but while that would have been pretty neat (and somewhat revolutionary), the idea was dropped due to the costs involved and the thought that the consumer of the day might not have cared.

I tried them on a 5906TSW. I wasn't that impressed with them. They were very chunky like the Hogues. They are also overly complicated to install.

Back to the original question on the Uncle mike's grips -

I had a set on a 5906 that went to the Perf Center for an action job. They took them off, and on a phone conversation told me that they were causing problems for the DA trigger pull. They put a brand new set of straight backed grips on.

I can only imagine that the grips were probably binding on the hammer mainspring, I can't think of where else they would have affected the DA operation.

If "4506517" had trouble installing them, I believe him but that was never a problem from what I recall in terms of general customer acceptance. And if "BruceB" was told by someone in the Performance Center that they were causing an issue in their trying to do an Action Job on his gun, they must have seen something but I would tend to think that either the grips had been somehow damaged (and/or slightly misshapen) or there was an issue with the tolerances on his gun. For as I said, these grips weren't designed in a vacuum but were developed by Uncle Mike's with the knowledge and assistance of the factory (just like many things were back then) so fit and performance were not an issue.

I always liked them but they were something of a sideline within the product group at Michaels and just like the really wonderful Novak-influenced Spegel Hi-Power grips that most people have never seen (or the very neat Square Butt K-Frame Boot Grip that Michaels never promoted), these too, are something of an unsung accessory.

pmosley those look really good IMHO.

I found a pic of this 4040PD on Google images one day just messing around. I'd love to know where these grips came from.

Hogue makes both smooth and checkers grips for the 3rd Gen's.

Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

I can only find them for the 59xx series. Thanks for the info.

I've never had any luck finding them. Care to post a link? Thanks for your help.

"BarnStorm":

While it is somewhat implied in the posts following yours, the grips you asked about certainly look like Hogue's to me. Those guys always did a great job back then but their shape and their thickness are not for everybody. However, their wood quality was always first rate as was their workmanship.

I think the issue is that you and "t-bird" are facing a similar situation: Back in the "day", the Hogue family made wood grips for a pretty wide range of 3rd Gen frames but as we get further and further along in time, many of those models have been dropped.

However, as of this writing (11jan14) Hogue themselves are still showing fair amounts of wood-based inventory for Full Size, Single Column 10mm's and 45's AND Full Size, Double Column 9mm's and 40's AS WELL AS limited quantities of such things for Single Column Mini 9's AND Double Column Mini 9's AND (apparently) Single Column Mini 45's too.

I don't know if they run a handful every once-and-a-while or if this is a dwindling, end-of-the-line kind of thing but contacting them directly would seem to be your best bet. Especially if it turns out those styles are on the way out.

They are great stocks and a great company too; you should look at their site and give them a call.

Hope this helps.

 

[carbuncle]

Wow, great post, thanks for sharing all that!

Posted from my car phone.

 

[timn8er]

I've never had any luck finding them. Care to post a link? Thanks for your help.

Here you go:

9mm and .40 Caliber : Hogue Inc.

 

[adwjc]

pmosley,

Pachmyer made the three piece rubber grips for the 39 and 59, I had both in the late '70s.

On the 4 digit next gen models, I couldn't tell you, but you might find some NOS for sale out there somewhere.

On the Third Gen guns, nobody seemed to be switching out, back in the day.

 

[Grog]

Might be an old bump, but anyway...

Pachmyer made grips that fit the 5906. A friend had a set on his issued 5906 but he wanted something different so I put on a set of either Hogue or Uncle Mike's (getting old sucks, plus this was almost 20 years ago).

I still have one or two sets of the Uncle Mike's grips for the 59xx family as well as boot grips for the J frame (and the grips S&W installed from the factory on my 66-4 from the mid 90s).

I just have to figure which box they are hiding in

 

[Sevens]

The Pachmayr grip for double stack 3rd Gen pistols is the uncontested heavyweight champion in the world of train wreck UGLY. Just as bad as you can possibly imagine and most folks HAVE to imagine because they are extremely hard to find, probably because nobody wanted them.

The Uncle Mike's grip is okay, I also find it bulky like the Hogue.

There was one "BEST" aftermarket rubber grip for the double stack 3rd Gens, and that is the Farrar Machine and Tool grip. They made two styles but they are very similar. One had a connected rubber front strap, the other was open at the front.

Grippy, good looking and thin/slim/slender, thinner than all others. Maybe thinner than the OEM delrin/zytel.

 

[toddimusnimski]

There was one "BEST" aftermarket rubber grip for the double stack 3rd Gens, and that is the Farrar Machine and Tool grip. They made two styles but they are very similar. One had a connected rubber front strap, the other was open at the front.

Grippy, good looking and thin/slim/slender, thinner than all others. Maybe thinner than the OEM delrin/zytel.

Hard to find, though. Its been a few years since they were produced. This set has the connected front strap.

 

[Grog]

The Pachmayr grip for double stack 3rd Gen pistols is the uncontested heavyweight champion in the world of train wreck UGLY. Just as bad as you can possibly imagine and most folks HAVE to imagine because they are extremely hard to find, probably because nobody wanted them.

The Uncle Mike's grip is okay, I also find it bulky like the Hogue.

There was one "BEST" aftermarket rubber grip for the double stack 3rd Gens, and that is the Farrar Machine and Tool grip. They made two styles but they are very similar. One had a connected rubber front strap, the other was open at the front.

Grippy, good looking and thin/slim/slender, thinner than all others. Maybe thinner than the OEM delrin/zytel.

The Pachmayr for the 3rd Gen were a level of ugly only a mother could love .