Are Ivory grips a bad idea on a carry gun?

[tech]

Fatelvis, my choices were Ivory, Mastadon Ivory, or Stag. I like the warm feel of bone handles. They all seem to be at the same price point right now. In the long run I think the ivory will take on some character. And really, I have wanted some Ivory grips for some time. Ah well… If we all liked the same stuff it would be quite the boring world.

Mike

 

[astraman]

i think that ivory is usuitable. there is no traction, as they are smooth, but the main reason is that it encourages poaching. elephants are noble creatures & shouldn't be killed for someone's vanity. go synthetic, please. handguns are for self defense & sport, & a good grip is much better than "looking good".

 

[oh blanky]

I like mother of pearl with a bright nickel finish.

 

[Jamie C.]

i think that ivory is usuitable. there is no traction....

I've seen some nice looking checkered or otherwise textured ivory grips.

Also, ivory is no more or less slick than wood, in my experience.

One way or the other, get what you like. It's your gun, after all, and you're the one that should be happy with it.


J.C.

 

[BluesBear]

Get real.

I dispute the assumption that a few gun fanciers desiring ivory handgun stocks encourages Elephant poaching.

 

[farscott]

there is no traction, as they are smooth ....

Skipping the comments about poaching, I am guessing that the poster who wrote this has never tried smooth ivory grips. In my experience, smooth ivory provides a good amount of traction, even with sweaty hands. Smooth ivory grips, in my experience, provide a more positive grip than smooth or lightly checkered wood grips. The only material that I have encountered that provides more traction while being smooth is FR-4 (the flame retardant version of G10).

In addition, most of my grip traction comes from the front strap and mainspring housing, both of which are serrrated on my pistols wearing ivory. I want smooth grips on a carry gun to eliminate snagging and wear on cover garments. Repeated practice from the holster under the hot Alabama and Georgia sun has proven to me that smooth ivory is a very good choice for the 1911.

 

[JimC]

Skipping the comments about poaching, I am guessing that the poster who wrote this has never tried smooth ivory grips. In my experience, smooth ivory provides a good amount of traction, even with sweaty hands. Smooth ivory grips, in my experience, provide a more positive grip than smooth or lightly checkered wood grips. The only material that I have encountered that provides more traction while being smooth is FR-4 (the flame retardant version of G10).

In addition, most of my grip traction comes from the front strap and mainspring housing, both of which are serrrated on my pistols wearing ivory. I want smooth grips on a carry gun to eliminate snagging and wear on cover garments. Repeated practice from the holster under the hot Alabama and Georgia sun has proven to me that smooth ivory is a very good choice for the 1911.

I have to disagree completely in regard to your assessment of traction using smooth ivory grips.

I have found that using my smooth ivory grips on my Brown Kobra Carry with the snakeskin treatment in July and August when the humidity is high, the gun will shift in your hand, especially firing with some degree of speed during multi target drills. This does not happen shooting the same drills on the same day with checkered Esmeralda wood grips on my KC.

Just my observation, your results may vary.

 

[farscott]

I have found that using my smooth ivory grips on my Brown Kobra Carry with the snakeskin treatment in July and August when the humidity is high, the gun will shift in your hand, especially firing with some degree of speed during multi target drills.

Now that is interesting to me. My experience, as noted, has been the opposite. I wonder if the snakeskin or serrations makes a difference, or if the grip frame shape plays a role.

I have just started wringing out a Bobtailed Commander, and I noticed that my grip is not quite as secure as it is with a regular grip frame. I do not have ivory on that particular pistol (it is wearing a pair of Davidson G10 grips), but I was thinking about ordering ivory for it.

 

[Lupinus]

I don't know that I see a problem with ivory handles on a gun.

Didn't Patton carry two ivory handled pistols?

Though personally I don't think I would. I never really liked the look of it.

 

[Serpico]

I doubt your grips would come into play in a trial...don't forget, there will only be a trial if there is reason to believe you did something wrong...and your grips will be the least of it...I love the look of Ivory on a blue 1911...but if you want to test the waters, try a faux pair....your get them on ebay for around 15 bucks...if you like the way they look and they don't feel too slippery, you can alwyas take the plunge for real.....

 

[BluesBear]

Let's face it, different people have different hands.

Some sweat a lot, some sweat a little and some don't sweat at all.
In addition to big hands and small hands, some have big palms and little fingers or vice versa.

Personally I love smooth wood stocks on my N-frames. Most people don't like smooth wood on a heavy recoiling gun. But then I'm extra strange because I still prefer the old wide serrated triggers when everyone else isclamoring for smooth triggers.

But it works best for me.

I had a pair of Ruger Blackhawks back in the late 1970s that had real Ivory stocks. I loved them. They weren't too slippery for me. And since thy were my guns, my opinopn was the only one that mattered.

Go with what works best for you. The heck with what other folks do. If they don't like the way your guns feel in their hands then they can keep their hands off of your guns.


At least that's what I think.

 

[BullRock]

I like smooth woodies, so I probably would like Ivory. Question is, can I afford them?