Birds head grips for C&B Colts

[Dwight Davis Starr]

Pretty self explanatory, I am looking to put a set on one of the C&B Colt replicas I am looking to buy, so if you know anyplace to get some, I would really appreciate a link.

Also looking to cut down a barrel to about 3", but if there is someone already making them for the '51, '58 or '60 Colts, I would love to know where to get that too!

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Pietta made what they called a snubnose 1860 several years ago.

They pop up on auction arms & gunbroker every now and then.

most of us that have 'em just cut down a long barrel and square it off.

I've got some of each.

Birdshead and Thunderer grip frames show up on Ebay every now and then.

But you can get them new from VTIgunparts.com and sometimes from Cimarron or Taylors.

All depends on what they have in stock.

Keep an eye out and be vigilant & you will eventually find what you want

 

Here's an image of a home-made birdshead grip made from an Army steel backstrap and a pair of Uberti factory birdshead grip frames fitted with Buffalo Bros. grips snubbies

 

Here's an image of my gunfighter snubbies. These are Pietta factory barrels. I prefer plowhandle grips for shooting gunfighter. The birdshead gripframe on the 5.5" Army is a Uberti frame. snubbie2

 

Here is my work in progress -- a SS Remmie snubbie. This Winter, I'll round off the grip frame a bit. Remmie

 

Here is a .36 belly gun. This grip frame I found on Ebay. .36 belly gun.

 

Here's a couple of home-made snubbies. Notice how the profile of the barrel is slightly different from the factory-made models. The gripframes are Uberti. The 5.5" Army was wearing one of these grip frames in a pic above. I have conversion cylinders for these too. snubbie3

 

Lastly, this snubbie was made by my pard Goldsmith. I believe that is a Uberti grip frame. Goldsmith is a custom jewelery maker & really knows how to make the metals talk to ya. It's a beautiful piece. Goldsmith's snubbie

 

Love them snubbies!

 

--Dawg

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

I do not think anyone offers a factory cap and ball pistol with birds head grip frames. If you stay with the Ubertis you should be able to use the ones made for SAAs with just some minor fitting possible. My very limited experience indicates that grip frame fit between the various Uberti guns are usually pretty close with just a limited gun or so that are well out. Piettas may be a different story, I would check it out well as there may not be a factory made birds head available for them?? As far as I know anyones '58 Rem would need to be a homegrown hacksaw project unless Uberti Colt frames were close enough to weld over and re-drill????

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Pietta does make them.

I saw a listing for them on the Taylor's Website on the parts page.

If I remember correctly, they were listed as a Stampede part.

Now, whether or not Taylors ever has 'em in stock is another question.

 

I know that a Uberti thunderer backstrap needs a saa cartridge gun trigger guard to match up with (a cap gun triggerguard will not work).

In my experience Uberti grip frames are not hard to fit on to Pietta cap gun receivers.

--Dawg

[Howdy Doody]

Prairie Dawg, I enjoyed seeing your fantastic collection of snubbies. One thing I cannot tell from the pictures is how the center pin on the Remmie stays in place. Could you elaborate please. I like the look and I have these long barreled versions that would look nice if I were to chop some of the barrel off like you have. Thanks

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Hi Howdy Doody:

Yup, they're cool.

The triangular piece at the end of the cylinder pin was drilled and threaded for a set screw.

I ran the drill just a bit into the frame, and the set screw bottoms out in this and holds the cylinder pin in place.

The little triangular piece at the end is not soldered or welded to the cylinder pin.

I used a little JB weld on them and it has held up well.

 

Over the Winter, I am going to round off the butt of the grip a bit & give it more of a "belly gun" look.

I have a conversion cylinder and a BP cylinder for it.

 

Too much fun

--Dawg

[Dwight Davis Starr]

Prairie Dawg, those are beautiful examples! I will have to keep my eye out for some to see if they are factory possible.

One thing I was thinking about was if the Heritage Rough Rider birdshead would fit? I have one, so maybe when I get a C&B I can test this theory?

I wonder why no one has made an aftermarket set yet? Just seems like a logical nitch to fill.

[Howdy Doody]

Hi Howdy Doody:

Yup, they're cool.

The triangular piece at the end of the cylinder pin was drilled and threaded for a set screw.

I ran the drill just a bit into the frame, and the set screw bottoms out in this and holds the cylinder pin in place.

The little triangular piece at the end is not soldered or welded to the cylinder pin.

I used a little JB weld on them and it has held up well.

 

Over the Winter, I am going to round off the butt of the grip a bit & give it more of a "belly gun" look.

I have a conversion cylinder and a BP cylinder for it.

 

Too much fun

--Dawg

 

Thanks pard. That is a great method to hold it in and that is what I will do too.

[Smithy]

And one more for the "Show your snubbie" http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss74/5kwkdw3/ONE.jpg Smithy. You might need to blow it up a bit.

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

A couple of my ideas that went bad for you to think about, concerning grips and hammers. First off, I have very short but stout hands and fingers which makes grips a problem area for me. When I decided to go to Frontier Cartridge Duelist I figured I would make the changes that everyone else was looking for about a year ago, the montado hammer and Birds head grips. On paper this looked good, the grips definitely looked small than standard Navy grips and the lowered hammer should be easier to reach BUT paper pictures do not always transfer well to the real world. Birds head grips actually roll the butt of the hand away from the hammer more quickly than do the standard Navy versions which made my problem worse. The Montado hammer does make the reach for the hammer a bit easier BUT for fat hands one can not tuck the hammer down at the end of its travel without repositioning the grip. Result, I have $245 in a Birds head grip/frame set that I can not use. Be careful as gun part swaps can take your bank account south real fast. Know of anyone who would like to swap a set of standard ER or Smoke Wagon grip sets for an equivalent birds head? http://home.comcast.net/~gakracker/site/