A Gripping Experience: Part 2

Last week, I mentioned Eagle Grips’ proprietary grip checkering pattern on sets of Kirinite sixgun grips for Colt, Ruger and other single actions. A recent experience on the range convinced me why this unique checkering — dubbed the Reactive surface on a Gunfighter grip platform — is so popular among Cowboy shooters.

I’m not a Cowboy shooter. I’ve never been a member of S.A.S.S. (Single Action Shooting Society). Still, I frequently pack a single-action sixgun because it’s fast, reliable and — when I’m having a good day — pretty accurate with my .45 Colt handloads. I run a 250-grain LRNFP bullet ahead of 6.9 grains of HP-38 with good results, which is a nice load that doesn’t punish my hand.

What I found about this “Reactive” grip surface, featuring a modified checkering which seems flattened on top, is that it doesn’t slide around in one’s hand during recoil. Eagle President Raj Singh spent a lot of time developing this surface, and I’ve never seen or felt anything like it anywhere else.

When we recently chatted on the phone, I recounted how I’d slapped a set of his grips onto a Ruger New Vaquero and headed to the range. This was a crummy day; it was chilly and damp, and I really wasn’t shooting that well. But I did get carried away when I discovered how firmly my revolver stayed put, even in wet hands.

This “Reactive” grip surface feels almost as though the checkering had some adhesive quality. I cannot describe it any other way. While the Gunfighter grip profile is narrower than I prefer, it admittedly takes hold and stays put.

Singh tells me this Kirinite stuff is mixed in dozens of different color patterns and combinations, and no two are alike. There are all kinds of results, featuring a main color and swirls of other colors; a regular kaleidoscope of options.

It’s Not All Eagle

To paraphrase the late gonzo journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, swapping handgun grips is a habit worse than some kind of addiction. I’ve been trying to overcome my weakness for, lemme see now, somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 or more years. No dice.

I’ve got a set of Roper-style grips for an N-frame Smith & Wesson from my pal Rod Herrett. They’re made from American holly because I ran into a guy who had a set of grips made from that wood on a single-action Ruger. The Roper design feels comfortable in my hand, and that’s 90% of good shooting. The wood takes on kind of a patina after a while.

Over the years, I’ve had decent luck with Ajax, Altamont, Arizona Custom, Eagle, Herrett, Hogue and Pachmayr. I also scored a couple of sets of genuine stag grips online for my Model 1911 pistols. I had an old Hy Hunter .22-caliber single-action revolver in my youth, and I dressed it up with a set of Jay Scott imitation stag panels.

The moral of this tale is that no two handgunners are exactly alike in their tastes, and there are all kinds of options available. Just look in any print issue of GUNS Magazine or American Handgunner and you’re likely to find something which catches your eye.

For example, in the March/April Handgunner, I saw a full-page ad for NC Ordnance featuring grips made from rosewood, Goncalo Alves, Tigerwood, Cocobolo and Dall sheep horn or Fossilized Walrus ivory. Alas, the days when someone could easily buy elephant ivory grips are long gone.

WARNING: Once you start doing this, you will be hooked. It’s like buying more than one holster for the same handgun. You’ll spend your lunch money, your gas money, your coffee, tea, and beer money. Were it not for handgun grips, I could probably be a “thousandaire.” Well, maybe a “hundredaire.” Since I became a grip junkie, becoming a millionaire is definitely beyond my reach. Watch for me out on the freeway off-ramp, bearing a sign stating, “Will work for grip money.”

No Right to Bear Arms

If you missed this ruling last month, you will likely be hearing more about how the Hawaii Supreme Court just might be playing chicken with the U.S. Supreme Court, issuing a ruling in a case known as Hawaii v. Wilson, which brazenly asserts, “We hold that in Hawaiʻi there is no state constitutional right to carry a firearm in public.” Technically, that may be correct, for the moment at least. But there is a “however.”

Background: The defendant in this case, Christopher L. Wilson, was packing a handgun without a permit back in 2017. He apparently never applied for a permit — rare as proverbial hen’s teeth in the islands at that time, and still are today — and even if he had, he wouldn’t have gotten it.

Then along comes the 2022 Bruen ruling, striking down ultra-restrictive discretionary concealed carry laws in New York and other states. Hawaii is in that realm.

It’s not certain at this writing whether some group such as the Second Amendment Foundation, will get involved. In the 2010 ruling in McDonald v. Chicago — a landmark SAF case — the high court incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment, so there is immediately a conflict.

While the Hawaii court opinion, written by Justice Todd Eddins, is a red flag for adherents to the individual right interpretation, it is based on the state constitution, which quotes word-for-word the Second Amendment. The state Supremes simply interpret the language differently than the U.S. Supreme Court. At some point, maybe not now, these differing opinions

Some will undoubtedly argue the Eddins opinion has merit; sort of a “state’s right versus the federal constitution.” This conflict is way above my pay grade.

Hawaii’s ruling relies on the development of its own state constitution back in the 1950s. “We conclude,” Justice Eddins wrote, “that the authors and ratifiers of the Hawaiʻi Constitution imagined a collective right. Our understanding aligns with what the Second Amendment meant in 1950 when Hawaiʻi copied the federal constitution’s language. And in 1968 and 1978, when Hawaiʻi’s people kept those words.”

This could get interesting. Stay tuned.

Can’t Make This Up

For those who thought they’d seen it all, say hello to Torrey Lewis, who likely is not in the running for a “Model Citizen” award in Chicago. Mr. Lewis, according to CWB Chicago, was shot while driving a stolen car, inside of which were firearms.

At the time of this misfortune, Mr. Lewis was on electronic monitoring, because he was “awaiting trial on murder and carjacking charges.” It gets better (was there any doubt?). CWB Chicago said Lewis was actually facing “more than 160 counts of murder” at the time. The case for which he was reportedly awaiting trial involved the slaying of a disabled man who was sitting in his wheelchair.

Back in April 2022, lawmen went to the Lewis residence regarding some sort of “domestic incident involving firearms.” The Sheriff’s deputies found a stolen rifle and handgun. Lewis was charged with misdemeanor gun violations, but he was found not guilty in January 2023 during a bench trial.

How does one guy get into all of this trouble? I’m waiting for the TV movie to find out.

Insider Mailbag

Good article, as usual (“At Close Range,” Dec. 28). I pack a wheelgun quite often myself, either my Model 66 2 1/2″, or my Model 13 3″. Great guns, both.

As to carrying a shot load as a revolver’s first round, I have known people that do this, even today, against the good advice not to.

The ONLY reason to shoot someone is to stop them from doing what they are (illegally) doing, and I would rather seriously, and possibly fatally, wound them than blind them. I pray that I never have to shoot at someone again.

— Bruce Beatty

Dave replies: You’ve got a couple of nice wheelguns there. Good luck with staying out of trouble, and thanks for reading Insider Online. Be sure to tell all of your pals.

Another great one, and right on (“Dead of Winter,” Feb. 8). Nailed it on the grips. Big surprise, I too have a box or two of Pachmayrs, Hogues, and even some Uncle Mike’s from the early days. Never liked them for looks, of course, but they do work well this time of year and for the heavier kickers, they stay on almost all the time. My hands just don’t take the recoil like they used to.

— Brent Young

Dave replies: As I admit above, I’m addicted to grips. I probably need therapy. Or maybe just another set of grips! Thanks for reading.

Great read. When I am in the woods during hunting season, I usually have my 325 PD. I keep it loaded with .45 AR (Auto Rim) using Double tap 255-gr hard cast bullets. Or maybe a full moon with .45 ACP HP ammo. You can never be too prepared.

— Bruce Richter

Dave replies: Thanks for your remarks. I became a firm believer of packing a sidearm in the wild whether it’s hunting season or not. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Stay safe and shoot straight!

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