Italian target grips

[hoochburn]

I'm curious about the target grips on this revolver. The only markings are on the inside of one panel wich reads "Made in Italy". I know for sure (as far back as I can remember) that they have been on the revolver since at least1964 or 1965. I never thought much about them before,but now that I'm older and have grown to love and appreciate this S&W,I'm curious.

Thanks!

 

[dfariswheel]

Various American companies have imported grips from India and Italy for years.
Sometimes these were close copies of American factory grips, often they were simply replacement grips that looked similar to American factory.

As example, Colt had Custom Shop grips produced in both countries.
After the contracts ended, these foreign makers often continued to import grips through other companies.

Here's two Italian made grips for the Colt Python. One is made of cheap hardwood with a walnut stained finish, the other is made of better foreign wood with Colt medallions. You often see these on Colt Pythons from which the original factory grips were switched.