Pietta '51 Navy problem...

[BobOfTheFuture]

Howdy, folks.

I recently bought my first BP, a Pietta 1851 Navy (steel frame) from Cabela's

It works great, and a little bit of stones and files here and there got it real smooth, so thats not the problem.

My problem is this- a mix of big hands and dry skin make it hard for me to keep a good hold on the thing. What can I do to remedy this?

Ive thought of two ideas, either replacing the grip with something more... grippy, or maybe refinishing the grip and leaving it a little less slick. That, and I feel the grip would look great with a mosin nagant-like red color to the wood...

Any ideas?


Thanks!
-Bobby

[Doc Hoy]

Bob,

I have not tried this with shooting, but I have begun to wear latex gloves for some of the things I do in the shop. I do it of course to protect my hands from solvents and such. But I do find that a nice byproduct is that they grip really well.

This would overcome the dry skin thing but not the big hands.

[mykeal]

I have to admit, this is a first.

Remove the oil finish, checker the grips and refinish with BLO.

[Hawg]

You could replace the grip frame and grips with those from an 1860 Army.

[Deadguy]

What I always do with these Italian guns goes a long ways towards fixing that problem. Get yourself some finish stripper of your choice, and remove that danged polyurethane finish! Once that is gone, coat the grips with boiled linseed oil.

[Hawg]

What I always do with these Italian guns goes a long ways towards fixing that problem. Get yourself some finish stripper of your choice, and remove that danged polyurethane finish! Once that is gone, coat the grips with boiled linseed oil.

Pietta doesn't use a polyurethane finish. What he proposed doing will make it look like a Uberti.:rolleyes:

[Dr. Strangelove]

I have the same issue with mine. I've been known to wear gloves when I shoot it to keep the slippage down. Even just a golf glove helps immensely.

[kirpi97]

You could replace the grip frame and grips with those from an 1860 Army.


I agree with Hawg. The issue isn't just the dry hands, but the size of the hands.

But I have a small question. Doesn't 1851 Navy have the small grips whereas the 1860 Army has the large grips? Pietta makes the 1860 in the Navy version or smaller version. (I am referring to the overall length of the grips.)

When I switched to the Pietta grips, I found them to accommodate my long fingers better than the grips that came with my ASM. But Bob has a Pietta already. So would changing the grips out be that much of difference?

When I changed out the grips, I ended up having to do a little reshaping with the backstrap and grips. But I like the feel of the new grips.

So if your not wanting to move up to the larger grips and the current grips are just too smooth for your liking, a little sandpaper (150 grit lightly sanded and finish with 1500 grit to smooth out the rough edges) and you will notice a significant difference. Now the next step may sound stupid, but it has worked out for me.

I opened an old can of bowling ally wax and used it in lieu of tung oil. And it has a smooth feel, but seems adhere to my hands better. Sounds a bit tacky, but it worked. Not as shiny, but comfortable.

Here are a few sites to consider. Depends on how much work you want to do and what you are willing to spend.

http://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=70&cat=Pietta+1860+Army+1861+Navy
Part Number 11 - A889
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/advanced_search_result.php?s=1&keywords=1860+grip

[BobOfTheFuture]

I like the idea of refinishing first. Checkering sounds like a great idea, but I'm not a fan of the look. stuck between a rock and a hard place, eh?

Thanks for the site with the spares, that will be helpful.

[arcticap]

Shooting .22 bullseye, I've seen some different grip treatments done to enhance one's grip.
Some that come to mind are:

1. Add stippling or dimpling with a pointed nose punch over every square millimeter of the grip. Just add some sharp, often overlapping dot like indentations in a concentrated fashion. It doesn't need to be too deep. Morini anatomical target grips have this type of finish and it's very comfortable and effective.

2. Apply skate board tape or stairway tape. This rough surfaced black tape is just like an adhesive backed sandpaper that is applied to the surface of skateboards or on the outer edge of a stair to prevent slippage. It's cheap and it adheres very well and can be easily cut to shape. It may be found at a Home Depot or a building supply store.

3. Apply grip paste covered with fine crushed glass. Larry's Guns in Maine sells Hammerli grip paste which shooters use to build up and shape their target grips. It can be covered with a very fine crushed glass, sand or a fine aquarium or potting gravel material when applied. Pilkington's also used to sell Morini grip paste. This method might be considered more risky unless a person intends to reshape their grip anyway.
It can be applied to the grip like a putty and grasped with the hand before it hardens to form fit it to the hand better. But most revolver grips don't cover as much of the frame as target guns do. However, some target revolver grips do have a thumb rest and are made to be more anatomical.

4. Mueller Stickum Spray or similar products.

http://www.muellersportsmed.com/images/190701sm.jpg

http://www.muellersportsmed.com/Grip_Enhancers.htm

http://www.footballjunk.com/store/Equipment/

http://www.loadedbases.com/mumagrsp.html


These are just ideas to consider and may only need to be done in a limited way to be effective at improving the "gripability" of smooth finished wood.