Grips and frame contour
 

I've been trying to find a pair of shooter grade wood grips for my refinished 1915 DWM artillery. I've bought a couple of original pairs here and there but they just don't fit the contour of the frame.

Did the shape change subtly at some point, and if so what years / makes should I target ?

I'm really looking to do this at minimal cost so new Nil Grif etc are out and the generally available repro's never seem to fit around the sideplate.

Anyone out there who has a fine tune screw for the front site that they'd be prepared to part with would round out the list of things I need to get this gun back to spec !

Any help much appreciated.

Stu

The reason the Nil Grips are expensive is that they FIT.....

Buying quality is like buying oats. If you want good oats, you must pay a fair price.
If you're willing to accept oats that have been through a horse, you can pay much less.

I bought some cheap grips, too. Got some horse s*** (ah, shoes - I meant to say SHOES :-) in my basement.....

Quite agree about the Nil's, I've a pair on my Thor restored Erfurt and they're streets ahead of the competition.

I'm really looking for somthing in the $50 range rather than $100 !

As I mentioned, I've bought some original grips and they just don't have the same contour, when placed against the top of the frame the bottom is just so far off center as to be unusable. Similarly, my VOPO and BYF grips exhibit the same characteristic. There does seem to be a slight difference to the frame shape. The one thing I don't have is a pair of known DWM grips from that era......

There is a difference in the Mauser frame from the DWM & Erfurt. The frame is a few mm's wider.

Hugh, are you referring to pre-45 or 70's era Mauser? I know the 06/73 does not match the DWM. Are the early Mausers also different? Do they match the 06/73?

As I've said before, all new repro grips will be slightly oversized to compensate for the difference in frames and will need to be fitted. I you continue to have problems with these &/or original grips, I would check your frame for cracks. I once bought a luger to part out, whose frame was cracked and no grips other than those custom made for it would fit. TH

There is a decent set of 1917 Arties on Ebay right now, hard telling what the final price will be though..........

http://cgi.ebay.com/LUGER-WWI-Grips_...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks for pointing them out Herb, I'll keep an eye on them and we'll see where they go. You never can tell nowadays, $35 or $350 !

Stu,

I'm referring to WWII Mauser's ie S/42, byf, etc. The '70's Mausers are completely different from all wartime Lugers. :rolleyes:

To complicate matters further, the postwar Mausers have different grip designs amongst themselves :)

I can't imagine what the Mauser designers were thinking when they switched from the 29/70 grip to the 06/73. What reason could they have had for not restoring the original P08 grip profile?