MOP 1911 Gold Colt Grips given to me by my Dad.

Lizardking

Well-Known Member
#1
Anyone collect or know about these Grips? I remember my dad having these on his Super .38 in the 80's. I believe he bought them at a gun show at Dodger stadium. Sadly the Super didn't come with the grips.

They are not in perfect (chips/cracks) shape but would still look nice on a piece that will not be fired. I still need to clean them with some alcohol. Just looking for any conversation on these. 20200418_103036.jpg
 

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#2
Please find out exactly what they are (I don't know if there are differences, but I would hate to see them damaged) and what you need to do to preserve them. Alcohol may not be your friend on those if they are porous. I would be asking around at the local gun shop if there was a Colt series 70 gunsmith in town and let him look at them. It's a shame they aren't still on the 38 super those were great guns. I am not sure that I wouldn't leave them exactly as they are.

A quick internet search for MOP gun grips turned up images of a Nickel Colt with MOP grips... Some things are just meant to co-exist.

lMother of pearl gun grips at DuckDuckGo
 
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Lizardking

Well-Known Member
#4
I haven't jumped in the rabbit hole yet but did take a peek! I know they might be Oyster or Abalone but don't know if care would be different on either.

They do look sweet on nickle!! I did notice 2 version, 1 with small Colt and other with large Colt on the gold medallion. I did acquire a S/W 357 from Dad, late 70's early 80's model maybe.

What would you do besides find out what they are made from?
 
#5
If you are asking me, I honestly would not clean them ever. I questioned the porosity when I saw the edge flake off of a layer around the screw holes instead of a chunk. At least that's how it looks in the pic. They are beautiful just the way they are. I wouldn't be afraid of them being on a limited use gun, but a shooter doesn't deserve those grips. Just me.

You can quick date any S&W revolver by looking at the barrel where it meets the frame or at the cylinder where the cartridge rim rests. 1982 was the last year for what is called "Pinned and Recessed". 1982 on they changed production techniques to speed up production. A Pinned & Recessed gun is easy to distinguish as the cylinder gap is very tight at the rear of the cylinder. Flip the cylinder out and each cartridge bore has a shoulder machined in the hammer end of the cylinder. When you drop a round in the head of the cartridge is flush with the surface of the cylinder. Pinned refers to indexing the barrel to the frame. It is a simple pin through the frame that engages the top of the barrel and locks it in place. Once you see a P & R gun compared to a non-P&R and newer you can spot it at 3 feet. You don't even have to pick it up. P & R guns are a little more desirable and a little pricier due to age. They don't shoot any better or worse, but they took far more effort to manufacture. I really like the fit and finish of a P & R gun. The newer guns just don't have the look... I own both and shoot the latter stuff but don't shoot the older stuff... Again, just me.

EDIT

I had to change the dates. I was going from memory and sadly it aint what it used to be. The 72-73 dates were when Bangor-Punta owned S&W. Sorry for any confusion. I have a S&W branded Bangor-Punta labeled model 41 (the model 4 is the S&W 22 automatic and a super little gun) .177 caliber air pistol in its original box. This also was when S&W sold Shotguns and bolt action rifles. They were all supplied by Mossberg.
 
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Lizardking

Well-Known Member
#6
I don't think its due to flaking. A few years ago my dumb brother had them in his pocket and is responsible for the chips. They would look nice on a Home protection piece for sure.

My S&W I believe is referred as a 686 pre-lock.
 
#7
If it's a 686 then it is an L frame. They came about after the P&R change over. The K frames, N frames and J frames were all in production when the change took place.
 
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