Handgun grips from Thailand

[AzRednek]

Being a persnickety ol’man I don’t care for rubber handgun grips. Over the past few years I’ve bought grips via EBay from Thai merchants. So far so good, perfect fit and they can replicate genuine S&W factory grips including the logo disc.  They also do others like the Rosewood Herrit grips in the leather holstered M-65 or the JM (Jerry Mickalic) on the stainless Model of 1988. The only difference is the Thai grips do not have the JM stamped on it. I suspect Mickalec might have complained to EBay as the seller used to sell the same grip with the JM. The checkered service grip on the 38 arrived a few days ago. Other than it being brand new it’s exactly like S&W factory. One major difference the metal disc on the underside older S&W factory grips has been eliminated on the Thai grips, same as S&W did several years ago. 

With the price of used genuine Smith & Wesson grips going crazy. JM grips will fetch $100-120 and it’s not unusual to see used S&W grips in good shape going for right around 100. Older S&W target grips can fetch in excess of 200. I save at least 50% buying from Thailand and they’re brand new. One of the Thai dealers was selling really nice leather holsters. One holster I traded away along with the hard to find three inch barrel. Felt like it was made from glove leather, soft and supple and stiff where it was needed. Unfortunately that merchant disappeared. 

Today I ordered nice grips for my Italian CZ clone, costing about $23.00 post paid. I suggest if you need handgun grips do an eBay search. Go to advanced search and limit the search to Thailand. Down side is waiting a few weeks to arrive but more often than not, shipping is free.