Anyone have a lead? I have a set for the SP101 which I like. The available Hogues are a bit too “finger-groovy” and robust for my tastes. Something more akin to VZ’s would be great. Am I missing something? For such a popular revolver, grips seem a bit scarce.
Possibly because some of the best available are the Compact grips that Ruger sells out of their webshop; it's a rubber grip with wood/laminate inserts. At $45, they're pretty hard to beat, and they render the GP100 eminently concealable, but still provide a full-handed grip. http://shopruger.com/Rubber-Grips-wi...uctinfo/70084/
Even with full-house .357, I prefer them to the larger similar grip Ruger also provides.
While I'm not at all opposed to a G10 grip, these Compact grips also do a superb job of recoil absorption and dissipation, where a G10 or hardwood grip is going to transfer all of it directly back atcha'
Best, Jon
The Compact grips that Jon linked to are the best grips on a revolver in existence for balancing shootability and concealability.
Run, don't walk, over and get you enough pairs to keep your guns holding them, forever.
These Compact grips were originally the OEM grips Ruger provided on all their fixed-sighted GP100s back in the day. They were manufactured by their in-house vendor, Lett's Manufacturing. Lett's unfortunately went out of business several years ago, and the Compact (as well as the similar, larger-proportioned Full-sized grips) eventually dried up as Ruger's accumulated stocks depleted. As I recall, the owner of Lett's was a longtime close friend and associate of William Ruger, and they also provided some nice customized Ruger grips, some of which were covered in Ruger's catalogs over the years. When he (Mr. Lett) either passed away or retired, Lett's as a company dissolved too; I believe he and William Ruger passed away in fairly close proximity too.
Ruger switched to full-size Hogue monogrips for their GP100 line-up, including the 3" variant (it looked pretty silly and disproportionate, to say the least on that variant...)
In the past several years, they've made a quiet resurgence. I suspect that Lett's manufactured the wood inserts, and there was another 3rd party manufacturer that actually made the rubber grip itself, but I'm frankly guessing on that one.
At any rate, there's been sufficient interest for the re-emergence of the grips. It'll be interesting to see if Ruger fully goes back to them as the primary GP100 OEM grip(s).
My guess is that the rubber portion is made by whoever the original manufacturer was/is, and the wood/laminate inserts are made by Altamont, or a similar 3rd party for Ruger. Regardless, they're superb grips, and at $45 'Murrican, a heck of a buy.
Their look on a given revolver can be dressed up with the aftermarket inserts available from several vetted parties if desired too.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 04-03-2019 at 09:28 AM.
There aren’t many grips I consider worth a shit for the GP100. The full sized and compact Lett grips are two of them. The Hogue 80010 grip is the non finger grooved version and my favorite for the SRH.
*RS Regulate Affiliate*Originally Posted by caleb
I've been thinking of some new grips for my GP100MC. I'm not a big fan of the OEM wood grips. A close friend tells me that the Ruger and Altamont compact grips, although similar, are not identical. He reports that the rubber on the Ruger grips is softer and more inclined to deform under recoil. He prefers the Altamonts as they seem, to him, less flexible. Looking at the respective photos, it appears that Ruger back and front straps are smooth. The Altamonts are textured. I'll order the Altamonts and report back.
http://shopruger.com/Rubber-Grips-wi...uctinfo/70084/
https://www.altamontco.com/pistol-grips/ruger/gp100/
I have the Hogue 80010 NFG grip with some basic tuning and a Wiley Clapp takeoff example of the factory Ruger full-size "Lett's." One key difference that jumps out is that the Hogue 80010 has a deeper fill behind the trigger guard loop, so it gets my long-finger knuckle out of the line of fire of the steel on recoil a little better. In addition, the backstrap wrap is a little fuller at the top, also pulling the knuckle back a little bit. Overall, they're my current fave on the GP. Haven't put a ton of rounds downrange with the WC grips yet, but I suspect that combination of geometry advantages will push me back toward the NFG Goodyear and maintain its fave status. I haven't done a side by side between full size and compact "Lett's."
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Not another dime.
Altamont offers some nice options, including the option to get just the rubber grip without inserts for $20. Since I've got a spare set of Lett's Sliver Black compact inserts already on hand, I think I'll try a set of the Altamont rubber grips for comparison purposes as well. (In fact, I just ordered them; went with the snakeskin backstrap texturing).
Thanks for letting us know about it; I'd perused Altamont's site before, but the grip only (without inserts) option was new to me.
I'm interested to see if there's any variation in the rubber composition between the Ruger and Altamont offerings. I would think that they're from the same source, but we'll see (or we'll see if I can in fact discern any perceptual difference{s})
The backstrap texturing (and with two texturing options, to boot) on the Altamonts is nice. It'll be interesting to see how that assists in reality, but it's a nice cosmetic/aesthetic touch regardless.
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 04-03-2019 at 01:00 PM.
Interesting. I purchased a set of Letts style grips that were Ruger Branded, along with some lovely wood inserts from Chig's grips. I was underwhelmed with the recoil handling and switched to Match Champions.
I will have an Altamont grip in the mail forthwith...
Last edited by Lester Polfus; 04-03-2019 at 03:53 PM.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
Hey, Lester and I are doing this for...science. Yeah that's it; for science!
Seriously, it'll be interesting to see what our thoughts are with the Compacts compared from Ruger and Altamont. I'm certainly curious, and I'm pleased with my older Ruger Compacts...
But at $20, it's a pretty cheap tariff to do a comparative analysis.
Best, Jon
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