Did Birds head grips really exist

[Come On Christmas]

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Shameless

[Montana Slick, SASS #64415]

Yup

[Doc Coles SASS 1188]

Yup

 

 

True, but not on single actions. Colt made them on their double actions.

[Quick Draw Granpaw #48525]

To the best of my knowledge both John Wesley Hardin and Billy the Kid

carried Colt birdhead double action revolvers. This was around 1877?

Happy trails

QSG

[Doc Coles SASS 1188]

Double tap

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

Merwin Hulbert made them -birds head with skull crusher!

[el Gato Gordo - SASS #15162]

To the best of my knowledge both John Wesley Hardin and Billy the Kid

carried Colt birdhead double action revolvers. This was around 1877?

Happy trails

QSG

 

 

And if his memory was better, QDG could probably give you a first hand report!

 

 

(Sorry, Granpaw, couldn't resist! )

 

eGG

[Dog Ears Wilson, SASS #77948]

Folks mentioned most of these, but a picture's worth a thousand words.

 

http://www.unblinkingeye.com/Guns/Colt1877DA/colt1877da.html

 

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/pr...hp?itemID=17016

 

http://www.ocyoung.com/Merwin.htm

 

http://www.amazon.com/British-Bulldog-Revo...y/dp/193146426X

[Texas Man]

There is at least one special order Colt SAA that was ordered with a birdshead grip. I think You can find a picture of it in Texas Colts or one of the new books sold at Cody W. It was made in the 1880s the best I remember. I think I paid around a $100 or $125 for the book.

Over the years I have come across a couple that have had the grip cut and rewelded into the general form of a birdshead grip. Even a percussion or two.

 

Texas Man

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

There is at least one special order Colt SAA that was ordered with a birdshead grip. I think You can find a picture of it in Texas Colts or one of the new books sold at Cody W. It was made in the 1880s the best I remember. I think I paid around a $100 or $125 for the book.

Over the years I have come across a couple that have had the grip cut and rewelded into the general form of a birdshead grip. Even a percussion or two.

 

Texas Man

Im suprised-i figured you would probably own one!HAHA

[WymoreWrangler SASS 46187L]

In the NCOWS magazine, I once read a article stating that 4 Colt SAA were produced with birdshead grips, I don't belong to NCOWS anymore so I didn't keep the magazines...

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

One of my future projects is to see if I can have some Navy Colt grip sets adapted to the '58 Remingtons, BUT I would have to feel pretty certain that it would be a legal mod??? Sometimes it seems that anything will fly with some guns while other times the line gets drawn very tightly in the sand. From what I hear about the old gun makers, anything could be possible, though perhaps very unusual.

 

I think Hardin stayed loyal to the '60 Colt Army throughout his gunfighter years. Not sure of the exact year but he went to prison in the mid '70s, still a very young man, I believe and became linked to the DA and Smiths only after getting out of prison. As yet I have not seen him linked to any killings after being paroled but he did supposedly do some fancy shooting performances as part of bets related to his shooting ability. I do not think this period of his life lasted very long before his death??

 

If I were building custom guns to be closely representative of what really existed I would not put BH Grips on the SAA but when building guns for competition or personal pleasure and the BH Grip filled the bill, SURE. As someone mentioned earlier, between factory and gunsmiths, many combinatios were possible, whether done or not. Ive often wondered how many examples survived of grip sets actually being swapped between the Colt Navies and Armies????

[Mustang Gregg]

Wymore beat me to the draw on that one with the NCOWS Shootist magazine article.

 

But I never worry about that stuff.

It's all fantasy for me. And Doc had them on Tombstone...Good 'nuff fer me.

I've got a pair of OM .44 Bisley Vaquero's that were "Bird headed" by Runin' Iron Custom.

 

Merry Christmas,

Mustang Gregg

[Quick Draw Granpaw #48525]

And if his memory was better, QDG could probably give you a first hand report!

 

 

(Sorry, Granpaw, couldn't resist! )

 

eGG

 

And I thought you could keep a secret!

Boy was I wrong......

[Kaniksu Kid, SASS #26415]

And for another take, my grandfather picked this up in Mexico during the Punitive Expedition. It's a 45 Colt originally was a Bird's Head and some one brazed in a brass backstrap and squared it off.

 

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/rp...62/P1010644.jpg

 

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/rp...62/P1010646.jpg

 

KK

[Marauder SASS #13056]

It's only natural that they had the bird's head grip going all the way back to early dueling pistols.

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/i...05_pistols.html

 

The S&W pistols had a sort of bird's head grip and they go back to the Civil War period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Smith-et...31-p1030158.jpg

[Texas Man]

DIADLO Slim, Nice to hear from You. I never beleaved Colt had made any till I found the one pictured in the book and the history behind it. The older I get the more I learn and nothing supprise Me anymore. One such was learning about the Models 67 and 68 Winchesters and the Jap Henrys. One resent surprise was a 1851 Colt Navy that someone had put a long Texas Paterson barrel on it. Fit right on too. I have a Colt First Model Dragoon that I think has a Walker barrel modified on it.

 

Over the years I have seen and handled and bought a few old Colts that have had modifications made to them by cutting and reforming the grip and rewelding it. Most have come out of Old Mexico as there was a lot of shade tree gunsmithing going on down there and most of it is rather cude. Stock replacements and coins used as front sights were common as well as grip material. I have a M&H that has a part of a human skull as grip material taken from a hombre who shot the owner of the M&H in the back and later the victim settled the score and make a set of grigs from the mans skull. Some of the American Indian gunsmithing repairs I find the most interesting. Broken stocks can be found repaired with rawhide or leather in even hair from a horse tail gluded together. Butt plates have been made of bone or rawhide and a lot of civil war arms can still be found with sheets of tin or silver or rawhide as well used to repair broken stocks. The most common decrations on American Indian weapons is the use of tacks. Years ago I had traded for a Winchester 66 carbine that had two human scapes hanging to the lever and My young wife at the time demanded I keep it out side and not in the house and when the scapes came up missing she admitted to burying them and refused to tell me where. Damn It. Also the use of silver and rare gold set in a stock or pistol grips is sometimes found. A few years ago, At a gun auction I noticed a well used Spencer and it had a few old coins set in the stock, Two silver and what I thought was a bronze coin. I expected the old Spencer to go for around $1,500 to $2,000 and once the betting started several dropped out at $1200 or so and two old farts started a bidding war, When they reached $2,000 neither showed any signs of dropping out and when the bidding got over $10,00 I knew something was amist. By now both old farts were standing at the front still going at it when one turned and ask the othe rif he was willing to flip a coin for one or the other to drop out. Coin was flipped and the old Spencer at that point was $12,750 and the one guy who lost the bet sit down as everone in the place was standing clapping their hands. Later the two old dudes were outside in the sunlight trying to pry a GOLD COIN $20.00 double eagle dated 1849 I think out of the stock and now they were buddies and two old happy dudes. I felt like a fool not knowing a Gold Coin when when I saw one.

 

One never knows what he may find in a barrel or cleaning rod compartment. I have found old confederat money rolled up in a barrel of a 1851 navy and several old gold coins in the patchbox on the Kentucky Rifle { Looked under a glass this time] On my first Colt 45 serial number 256887 that was stole from me and I am looking for it now {I will give a large reward for it too} I found a piece of paper that had the complete story of the man who owned the 45 and the killing he did before going down in a hail of bullets. I think the most surprised I was was the time I bought a Heister double hoster set and found it had a money belt in it and there I found over a thousand dollars in old large bill American Money and more interesting was three court warrants for outlaws and one receit for bringing in two dead men across the saddle for a reward of $60.00 on one and $72.00 on the other one from Fort Smith Arkansas.

 

Your Pard, Texas Man

[Red Hooker]

...............and one receit for bringing in two dead men across the saddle for a reward of $60.00 on one and $72.00 on the other one from Fort Smith Arkansas.

Hmmm... with a certain movie recently out, makes me womder if the former owner was a marshall out of "Hanging" Judge Parker's court.

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

I knew there was a story for this one -Texas Man never fails

when you write a book titled'Tales Of a Texas Man "i want a autographed copy!