After trying Remington 1858's and 1875's as e=well as Schofields and New Model Russians I went back to the Colt Style Clones. My favorite revolvers are my 7.5 inch barreled SAA's. One is an old EMF Dakota with an 1860 Army Grip frame mounted on them and a set of Tr-Ivory grips. My second is a Great Western 2 outfitted as the Dakota. Those 1860 grips fit my hand like a glove and are the best shooting of any of the previously mentioned firearms. Don't get me wrong, I am not bad mouthing the others, it is just that they did not trip my trigger like these SAA clones do.
Howdy!
Although I have medium to small hands for a man, I have found that the 1860 Army grip on my old Iver Johnson marked C&B gun has the most comfortable grip that is on most of my guns. (I say
most because I have a Hogue grip on my Python - named "Monty," oddly enough
that is the MOST comfortable grip of all the handguns I own, but since it's NOT of the Olde West era, my 1860 gets the nod.) I have an 1871/2 Open Top I got 'thru Cimarron that has the1860 Army grip as well. BOTH guns are made by Uberti, but the C&B gun fits my hand better. The wood is thicker on the O/T and I have sanded it down some, but I'm not very confident and don't want to ruin the already excellent wood-to-metal fit that it came with. I WISH I could get it even closer and also thin it some, but I don't have a lot of confidence in myself when working with wood. I guess I'm not patient enough, because I have taken too much material off before, and as you know, once it's gone you can't get it back. Oh, well. It fits fine, I just know that it can be perfect (if
I knew what to do) because it is just right for most folks and would be VERY close to a perfect fit in the right hands.
Like you, Grapeshot, I prefer the Colt fit (especially the Army grip) but I DO like the Remington fit almost as well. I had a pair (now just one) of 1875 Remington Army models (the ones that Uberti stupidly markets as the "Outlaw") as well as an 1858 NMA Remington Cap & Ball. The NMA grip shape and feel (mine is a Pietta) is so-so, but the 1875s came with some hand-made thick grips that had a laser-carved tombstone and different initials on the outside panels of both grips. One was marked RIP, the other LIP. If you wore them in a double holster rig, each "engraving" faced outside. I thought of each as meaning "Rest In Peace" and "Live In Peace." It was pretty cool when I first got the guns, but I didn't care for the thickness of the grips, plus the laser engraving looked too modern. (I know, it's just me! Some years later I sold one of the 1875s and put both of the laser-inscribed panels on it. Then, my bud Jed Cooper gave me a very nice set of old Uberti factory grip panels he had from a gun he no longer owned. Surprisingly, they fit very well. I say surprisingly because Larry "GripMaker" sent me (OK, I bought them) some VERY nice stags that I really wanted on my Remington. But alas, the frame is shaped oddly, and not like the newer models, so they will NOT fit.
(Anybody want to buy a "never-been-worked-on" set/kit of stag grip panels for an 1875 Remington?)
If this is the worst thing that happens to me this week, I guess I'm in pretty good shape, eh?!
I do love those long 1860 grips!!