I'm looking for pictures of custom grips that have different profiles than the stock Ruger stocks. Mostly looking to see if they are as flat or more round as viewed from bottom of grip. Please include pictures and who made them. Also your experience with the design. Thanks

Here are a couple to ponder. All Bisleys reshaped by Jack Huntington and the grips are also done by him. I will take more detailed shots and post them up. The first is my .45 Colt Bisley:



Next, my .500 JRH Bisley:



My .500 Maximum Bisley:

I find it more critical how they fit your hand at the top where you absorb recoil. Hogue makes an oversize panel that is about 1/8" thicker at the top, but about the same on the bottom. That little extra area really helps to spread the force for more comfortable shooting.

[quote=Whitworth]Here are a couple to ponder. All Bisleys reshaped by Jack Huntington and the grips are also done by him. I will take more detailed shots and post them up. The first is my .45 Colt Bisley:



Next, my .500 JRH Bisley:


All beautiful handguns. If you get a chance; a picture from the bottom showing the 'roundness' of the butt would be great.

Beautiful revolvers!! and grips!

Thank you!

Keep in mind that all three sets were made for my hands and fit me perfectly. That goes a long way to helping tame recoil and making the shooting more comfortable. Pictures coming.

Whit, you have some beauties.

What are the velocity differences with a given bullet weight (you pick a heavy one to compare the three) between the .500 Maximum, the .500 Linebaugh, and the .500 JRH?

Excuse the quality of these photos. I took them quickly with my cell phone:

If you redline the Maximum with 525 grain bullets, you can squeeze 1,500 fps out of it but it will be detrimental to the gun and the shooter after a while. It is already brutal at 1,350 with that bullet and that is where I like to keep it. That load runs right around 36,000 PSI. The same 525 I run around 1,150 in the Linebaugh, keeping the pressures well below 40,000 PSI. The JRH will go 50,000 PSI, but I don't run it that hard and I don't load it with bullets that heavy. That one does great with a 440 right around 1,350.

Sorry for the thread hijacking!

Thanks for the info, Whit. All of those loads are awesome for any game on this continent, for sure.

Sorry about the thread hijacking, my fault.

Whit. This picture shows what I am looking for really well. Your custom fit grip is much fuller and rounder than the stock panels. Of course the fit and finish is superb as well. Thanks for sharing.

Not a problem! It is critical for the grip to fit your hand well. That will go a long way.

not to further highjack this thread but how is a grip "fit for your hand"? What's the procedure? When I think of this I think of alot of shipping a gun back and forth, shooting, tweaking, shooting again.....

You send an outline of your hand with the revolver. You would be amazed how much better a grip made like this is to a one-size-fits-all grip.

Bad,

I do not have the breadth that some have with grips here, but as I have made and fit quite a few (most recently to my FA) I would say you are on the right track here.

One thing that stick's in my mind is the analogy I read many years ago. Traditional SA Army type grips are like holding a funnel. Skinny at the top, wide at the bottom. Not trying to be a heretic here, but the funnel may not be a great shape to hold when the forces are pushing down at the top.

I really like mine wider at the top, with a good cross section at the back. The gun does need to roll by design but finding that good medium between rolling and control can be tricky. The grips that Whit posted are much like I end up on my hand fitted ones. A little swell in the center to fill the hand, and a little less material on the bottom to allow a good fit when gasping wih both hands.

I think this fit including the off hand is often overlooked. Traditional SA and even the Bisley were designed back when folks hung on with one hand, and the power level was pretty small. I round butted my FA many moons ago, before FA came out with the option. The rounded front and back really allow a nice two hand hold for my size hands.

Don Collins at Collincraft grips:

http://www.collinscraftgrips.com/kits.php

He offers some variation of semi-finished grip kits. I did not see the Bisely listed, but he helped me out years ago with semi-fitted ivory for my FA. If you are at all handy with shaping wood, you could see if he could help with a kit that you could try shaping. Then if the final finish is tricky for you, perhaps send these shaped grips to someone to do a full custom?

Craig

thanks!

This is what the Hogue oversize Bisley panels look like from below:

But what matters to me when it comes to shooting stout loads is what it looks like here:

Thanks guys. Are y'all's hands like bear paws or normal sized?

I think mine are on the normal side, usually a medium to large glove. having a little more girth at the top of the grip can also help with your trigger finger placement.

I think the makers who get tracings will account for your knuckles and points on your hand to also calculate the size needed to optimize your trigger finger placement.

Craig

I'm a paultry 5'-9" with hands to match, but I like a handle that fills them.

I can attest to how well these grips help control recoil and how the recoil forces are distributed.
Jack is a master at making theses grip not just fit right but perfect. IMHO if I was looking for grips, this would be the wrought I would go. While its at his shop let him give it an action job, makes the shipping costs worth while.

Another reason for a custom gun