I'm aware there is a lot of information and speculation of what guns Doc Holliday may have owned/used, but the one I was most interested was the 1877 Colt Lightning pearl handled nickle .38 DA it is said he had. Originally I looked at the available marketed "Doc" replica guns like Cimarron Doc Holliday Thunderer, but it came with Ivory looking grips and only in .45 LC. There was also the Uberti Doc pearl handled nickle plated version, but the birdshead grip frame was missing the hump, and again only in .45 LC.
Well, I decided to try and make my own version and chose a Cimarron Thunderball stainless (nickle looking) in .357/.38 cal. The only thing I'd have to do is make it pearl handled as I wanted it to be. I had a fair amount of difficulty tracking down imitation pearl material thick enough to make an acceptable set of grips, and finally found some Kirinite White Pearl. It was pretty expensive, but I can only imagine an aftermarket set (if even available) would cost a lot more.
So I got the pearl material and grip screw set, and patiently did my best to make a nice fitting and looking set of pearl grips for my tribute version of Doc Holliday's revolver. I didn't quite (dome) radius the total profile of the grips because I like the look and feel of a flatter top face, but I could alter that in the future if I chose to. I know it's not an accurate replica of Doc's 1877 Lightning, but it's near as good as the marketed replicas available, and I really like it.
I made a YT video picture gallery or I call it a 'picumentary' of my making the grips if anyone wants to see the process, and a lot of finished pics at the end of it.
But here's a pic of before and a couple of after shots.
After
Well, I decided to try and make my own version and chose a Cimarron Thunderball stainless (nickle looking) in .357/.38 cal. The only thing I'd have to do is make it pearl handled as I wanted it to be. I had a fair amount of difficulty tracking down imitation pearl material thick enough to make an acceptable set of grips, and finally found some Kirinite White Pearl. It was pretty expensive, but I can only imagine an aftermarket set (if even available) would cost a lot more.
So I got the pearl material and grip screw set, and patiently did my best to make a nice fitting and looking set of pearl grips for my tribute version of Doc Holliday's revolver. I didn't quite (dome) radius the total profile of the grips because I like the look and feel of a flatter top face, but I could alter that in the future if I chose to. I know it's not an accurate replica of Doc's 1877 Lightning, but it's near as good as the marketed replicas available, and I really like it.
I made a YT video picture gallery or I call it a 'picumentary' of my making the grips if anyone wants to see the process, and a lot of finished pics at the end of it.
But here's a pic of before and a couple of after shots.
After
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