Arizona faux stag for the 7.5" Wranglers

[CraigC]

I was originally going to make these match the other three but decided to go a different route. Instead of black pearl or micarta grips and a black leather rig, I decided to go with something more traditional and the leather will be a shade of brown. Arizona Custom Grips has lots of options and it was between the aged faux stag and the aged faux ivory. Obviously the stag won. For fake stag, these are pretty nice. They're heavier than most polymer grips and have a solid feeling. To me they look much more like the real thing than most other substitutes. The pattern is not random and is repeated on every set but at least the two panels aren't a mirror image of each other. Unfortunately, Ruger makes the Wrangler grip frame a wee bit longer than the rest of the XR3-RED and as a result, most aftermarket grips are going to come up short.










Contrast to the black grips I put on the other three.

 

[1KPerDay]

Not bad. I prefer the black pearl/red medallions on that shade of silver though.

 

[Riomouse911]

Very nice little stable you have going there @CraigC .

The stag will look great with a brown holster/belt rig.

Can’t wait for the pictures once you’re done.

Stay safe.

 

[wankerjake]

Like that a lot

 

[nofendertom]

Stag yes --- black no !

 

[bannockburn]

CraigC

Your ever expanding Wrangler collection is looking mighty fine with the addition of the two new models with the 7 1/2" barrels! The faux stag grips set off the silver finish quite nicely too!

 

[bannockburn]

CraigC

Unfortunately, Ruger makes the Wrangler grip frame a wee bit longer than the rest of the XR3-RED and as a result, most aftermarket grips are going to come up short.

I ran into a somewhat similar problem while fitting a set of faux ivory grips to my gun. To say that were a "drop-in fit" would be a rather large understatement. Not only would they not fit evenly on any part of the grip frame, the post on the frame was nowhere near where the corresponding holes were on the grips!

Thought about sending them back but then I decided since I really hadn't anything else to do hobby-wise, I figured I would try fitting them myself. Took a bit of effort on my part but eventually I managed to get most everything lined up just right so that the grips fit properly on the gun.

 

[doubleh]

for the new grips. Not bad at all. I think they would really be nice on a black gun. The black pear looks very good on the silver.

 

[Armored farmer]

Yep, I like those pistols.
I'm really excited to see the new holsters.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I wish the silver Wranglers had a stainless or otherwise matching cylinder. The blued cylinder looks off.

 

[C-grunt]

View attachment 1140302

Where did the black grips with the marbling come from? Those look beautiful

 

[Pat Riot]

I really like the looks of those grips @CraigC
Are they wide at the bottom? Belled out like most SA grips?

 

[Mosin77]

Can I be honest? There are gorgeous revolvers out there, and sadly, the Wrangler ain’t among them, in my humble opinion. It’s not a bad shape of course, but the different shades of cerakote really make it look cheap -which I have no problem with per se, because it is, in fact, cheap. But faux stag or faux black mother of pearl just emphasizes the inauthentic nature of the thing, to my eye. Then again, real stag or real MoP would probably clash even more. If I had a Wrangler I’d probably leave the plastic or maybe find some wood grips at most. I think anything more makes them look too much like the cap guns I used to have as a kid.

But man, kudos for trying. If anyone could make an ugly gun pretty, I think you could.

 

[CraigC]

Where did the black grips with the marbling come from? Those look beautiful

Same place, Arizona Custom Grips on Ebay. They're black pearl.

I really like the looks of those grips @CraigC
Are they wide at the bottom? Belled out like most SA grips?

They are and a little thicker than the factory grips but not as fat as the Hogue cowboy panels.

Can I be honest? There are gorgeous revolvers out there, and sadly, the Wrangler ain’t among them, in my humble opinion. It’s not a bad shape of course, but the different shades of cerakote really make it look cheap -which I have no problem with per se, because it is, in fact, cheap. But faux stag or faux black mother of pearl just emphasizes the inauthentic nature of the thing, to my eye. Then again, real stag or real MoP would probably clash even more. If I had a Wrangler I’d probably leave the plastic or maybe find some wood grips at most. I think anything more makes them look too much like the cap guns I used to have as a kid.

But man, kudos for trying. If anyone could make an ugly gun pretty, I think you could.

Lighten up, it's supposed to be fun. We're not hinging our grasp of reality on the outcome.

 

[nofendertom]

So many things today are advertised as "retro", trying to bring back memories of yesteryear. So I see nothing wrong having the Wrangler looking like a cap gun
Would probably bring back some fond memories to a lot of us.

 

[CraigC]

So many things today are advertised as "retro", trying to bring back memories of yesteryear. So I see nothing wrong having the Wrangler looking like a cap gun
Would probably bring back some fond memories to a lot of us.

Exactly! I thought the Wrangler was the perfect guinea pig for that little experiment. I paid $176 each for them and the grips were $90. If they looked totally fake, no harm done. I sure as hell wasn't going to put $400 (each!) worth of real stag on them. Just some fun tin can blasters and it's pretty cool to have 7.5" barrels that Ruger never put on the Single Six.

The whole shebang cost the same $500 as this 9.5" Old Model Single Six and way less than the 5.5", before the custom walnut.

 

[v8stang289]

I have 2 Wranglers that belong to my boys. My 15yo's had black plastic grips, so I got a set of unfinished walnut let him pick the color so we could finish them together. They turned out pretty nice. The 8yo's came with nicer looking grips, so it's stock for now.

 

[Rodfac]

Pretty good lookin grips, Craig. I've got a pair on one of my .32 Single Sixes. While I prefer wood, the grip profile on these faux stag stocks fits my hand just right. Rod

 

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I was originally going to make these match the other three but decided to go a different route. Instead of black pearl or micarta grips and a black leather rig, I decided to go with something more traditional and the leather will be a shade of brown. Arizona Custom Grips has lots of options and it was between the aged faux stag and the aged faux ivory. Obviously the stag won. For fake stag, these are pretty nice. They're heavier than most polymer grips and have a solid feeling. To me they look much more like the real thing than most other substitutes. The pattern is not random and is repeated on every set but at least the two panels aren't a mirror image of each other. Unfortunately, Ruger makes the Wrangler grip frame a wee bit longer than the rest of the XR3-RED and as a result, most aftermarket grips are going to come up short.

View attachment 1140298

View attachment 1140299

View attachment 1140300

View attachment 1140301


Contrast to the black grips I put on the other three.

View attachment 1140302

How is the fit on the bottom of the frame? Sides? could you show us? Thanks.