[Deputy]

The Ebony Eagle grips that I ordered MONTHS ago for my S&W PPK arrived in the mail today!!! I almost fell over when I saw the little box in my mailbox. They came packed in a neat little velvet pouch and inside the pouch they were sealed in a little plastic bag. They look....okay. They don't look worth $80, but they look alright. That sounds pretty lukewarm for an opinion, but I paid less for Hogue grips and they look really nice. Plus it didn't take MONTHS to get them. I haven't tried these on the gun yet, so not sure about how well they fit. But they appear to be well made.

Dep

 

[searcher451]

Wow -- wasn't aware that the Pony Express was still operating in New Mexico; I'd thought those ol' boys had long since retired. Post us a picture or two, Dep, and we'll all run it up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes.

 

[153]

Holy Smoke!!!! Ebony Walther Grips!!!!

Carved by hand from a stick of ebony by a wise Swami in the far east. Placed on a slow freighter, then sailed across the Pacific to the West Coast, then trucked back to the East Coast in a small pick-up full of rugs, spices and other treasures. Finally unloaded, packed in plastic, then velvet and finally boxed and sent back to the South Western wilds of New Mexico ..... all this in under two years!

Dep - where are the photos!!!!

 

[Deputy]

I'll get the photos up ASAP. Trust me...you guys will NOT be impressed. I'll take pics before and after I give them a treatment of Ballistol. Right now I wouln't pay more than $20 for them.

Dep

 

[Deputy]

Sorry I haven't gotten the photos up yet. I've had a bad case of Garanditis and it's arriving today . I'll have the camera out so I'll snap pics of the Eagle Ebony grips too.

 

[Deputy]

Here they are

Fresh out of the velvet pouch

 

[searcher451]

Hmmmm. I'd like to get a look at that velvet pouch as well.

It's safe to say that it's hard to say that these look, well, dynamite -- safe enough to say that. They do look ... black, to be sure. And they do look as though ... well, as though $20 would be a decent enough price to pay (provided they throw in the velvet pouch, of course). What was the asking price of these rascals again?

Truth be told, the checkered wood grips that are offered by CDNN for $18.99 a pair are every bit the equal of these samples. But that's just me. Have you tried them on the gun? Do they look any better there? The real test, of course, is how they feel in the hand and whether you like them well enough to use them.

How 'bout it, Dep? Do you feel lucky?

 

[Deputy]

The velvet pouch is really the thing that makes this worth the EIGHTY samolies I paid for it. I can put tobacco in it (even the whacky tabaccy) or I can put my false teef in it (if I ever have to get any). I haven't tried them on the gun. I think they look better INSIDE the velvet pouch. The Hogue grips look so nice, I hate to take them off.

 

[mjp13]

Nevermind the grips.....how about a photo of the Garand?

 

[Deputy]

Nevermind the grips.....how about a photo of the Garand?

Here ya go. It's a Correct Grade Springfield from the CMP with a serial number in the 5.8 range. It's still covered with grease on the stock and metal, so it looks pretty funky right now.

 

[153]

I would be alot more excited over the Garand !!!!

Get that M1 cleaned up and you will have a real nice firearm!!!

Good Buy Dep!!!

 

[alfanator]

The left side grip does not appear to have an indent for the safety lever to go over. Is that thing going to fit?

 

[Deputy]

The left side grip does not appear to have an indent for the safety lever to go over. Is that thing going to fit?

Very observant!!! Yes, it fits. But the safety won't engage. That is not a big deal to me. First off, I NEVER use the safety/decocker on guns of this type. I have a S&W that has this same mechanism and I never use it. When I carry the gun with a round in the chamber, I have the hammer down and safety off. These types of guns are safe to carry that way. The only use I would ever have for that safety lever is as a decocker. And since I am intimately familiar with the 1911A1, I never use it as a decocker either. I just squeeze the trigger and lower the hammer with my thumb. Been doing it that way for YEARS. As long as you point the gun in a safe direction (straight down at the floor, but not at your foot!), it's no sweat. I could use a Dremel tool and make a tiny notch in the grip for the safety to work, but I doubt I will. Actually, I like the Hogue stocks much better, and they will remain on the gun. So these grips are just another spare set along with the replacement S&W plastic grips.

Dep

 

[Deputy]

I would be alot more excited over the Garand !!!!

Get that M1 cleaned up and you will have a real nice firearm!!!

Good Buy Dep!!!

Not as nice as you might think. I cleaned it up yesterday. The metal is all perfect and all the numbers and parts are correct and original. But the stock is a real POS. I think I will end up replaceing it with a refinshed one from Numrich. The stock that is on there has some nasty gouges in it, and unless you sand down the whole thing, it can't be fixed. And then I would lose the cartouches and stamps on it. I paid $950 samolies for that rifle and I will NEVER buy another Correct Grade Garand from the CMP again. Anything else I buy from them will be Standard Grade.

Dep

 

[153]

It's better to have nice metal as the wood is easy to replace. Check around as I think there are cheaper sources for replacement M1 stocks. Boyd's Gunstocks comes to mind....

http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Default.asp


Looks like they can supply the whole she-bang for under a hundred bucks. If your Garand went through a few GI rebuilds it probably has a horrible piece of birchwood on it - best to get rid of that in any case.

 

[Deputy]

Actually, I paid the $950 to have the ORIGINAL walnut stock and the cartouches on it. That's what it has. Boyds stocks look nice, but they are WAY out of size spec and are "fat" in areas where they are supposed to be slim. I may try this "steaming" method that other folks who got damaged stocks used. I have my doubts about how good it works on deep gouges, though.

 

[searcher451]

Dep: Any chance that you can fill in some of the deeper gouges with a matching wood-filler product? A number of these products are on the market, and many of them can be color-matched to some degree. You may not be able to get the stock back to pristine condition, but you could probably take care of a lot of the imperfections. Between that and some light sanding, and then perhaps applying some sort of finishing oil to smooth out the color, you might be able to turn the Garand into something ... well, grand. The cost outlay would at least be far less than replacing the entire stock; you'd also maintain the gun's original authenticity. Just a thought.

 

[crazy charlie]

If it were me I'd clean and steam. You paid for authenticity and wouldn't restocking take some of that away?
It was a battle rifle and a few nicks and dings are to be expected.
In my opinion not being showroom perfect gives character, but then, what do I know?

As far as those grips go I'm not impressed. The safety should engage for what you paid, but if you're happy that's all that counts.

 

[Deputy]

It was a battle rifle that NEVER saw a battle. The serial number puts it in a range where it was too late for even the Korean War. I haven't done anything with it yet. I have a guy that installed a new barrel on one of my other Garands that says he can fix it up real nice. I just dunno. This is the first time I was really disappointed with a CMP product. The other Harrington and Richardson Correct Grade Garand I bought from them looks really nice.
I doubt very much the strock can be steamed enough to remove the gouges in it. They are DEEP.

Dep