Was There a Transitional Change of Dimensions to the K Frame?

[larstusor]

I had a beautiful Hogue exotic wood grip on my early Model 17. I removed the grip when I sold that gun (put the original diamonds back on) and then tried to put the grip on my 5 screw K frame .22 revolver. The grip fit the later gun perfectly but is a sloppy fit on the 5 screw. The backstrap does not seat fully down in the inletting and the guns grip frame "rocks" in the grip.

Did S&W make dimensional changes to the gripframe between the 5 screw and Model 17?

 

[Alk8944]

There are not so much dimensional changes as slight differences in contour and size due to manufacturing tolerances. This is why the stocks for guns made in the "stock job" were individually fit to the frames and the stocks serial numbered to that frame before approximately 1975.

 

[cgt4570]

As mentioned above, the grips were sanded to the frame prior to the wood being finished, or the gun being blued. No 2 are exactly the same until this process was discontinued. Finding an exact fit replacement set for an older Smith is nearly impossible.

 

[Alk8944]

After my prior post I realized OP was apparently talking about how the Hogue stocks fit. After-market stocks are basically generic and are made to fit what is basically an average frame. How they fit on any specific revolver is basically a crap-shoot because of manufacturing tolerances of the frames!