Questin about SAA Grip?

[wcwhitey]

I have been looking to add a Colt SAA type gun to my collection. The only SA I own is a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I have been seeing the Cimarron Thunder and similar that have what I call the birdshead grips. I love the way they look and I like the 3 1/2" with ejector. My question is how do they feel under recoil and are there any advantages/disadvantages to this style of grip. Also how much does the 3 1/2" barrel affect the balance. I am interested in a .38/357. Thanks in Advance. Bill

 

[Jim March]

The grip you're looking at s NOT a Bird's head - it's a derivative of the Colt Lightning grip frame of 1877 - their first DA wheelgun:

http://www.texasranger.org/dispatch/10/Pages/ColtLightning.htm

The Bird's Head was originally a period modification to the Colt SAs, mostly the SAA:

http://www.gunblast.com/Birdshead.htm

The Lightning grip frame is better at mild power levels. By the time you hit strong 357Mag horsepower, it's going to be rough. At 44Mag levels it's liable to rip you up pretty good. The Lightning grip doesn't "roll in the hand" the way other SA grips (INCLUDING the Bird's Head) do. The Bird's Head is able to handle considerable horsepower in some people's hands.

But. Elsewhere I've mentioned the role of using a "pinkie under" hold on a standard SAA grip frame in order to index the grip - by which I mean, you restore the grip to YOUR standard position in your hand for each shot, which is a key to accuracy. It doesn't work with smaller hands. The Lightning grip frame lets you index with the web between your thumb and palm via that "uprising" at the back upper section. That's what it's there for. The original Lightning was chambered in a round with a bit less power than the modern 38Spl. The later .41 variant was likely not as recoil-harsh as our 38+Ps. So if you have smaller hands AND plan on shooting mild 45LCs, 38+Ps, very mild 357s like the new Gold Dot 135gr short barrel load (doing about 1,100 - 1,200fps tops from a 4.75" tube) the Lightning makes all kinds of sense.

There's at least one company with a Lightning grip frame for New Model Rugers, but...per some reports their customer service can be a bit wonky but those are fairly old reports so...who knows:

http://www.gungrip.com/index.php?cPath=32&page=1&sort=4a