[ithacaartist]

OK, boys and girls, I'm actually involved in this one. My 29/70 Mauser has a hairline crack in one of the grips, so I thought I'd fit it with something new and exciting. I, too, cast around and found cast urethane repro grips made by Vintage Grips. I ordered a pair, which they stock for my model. I chose "brown" and did not like the color when they arrived. I returned them and asked if the folks there could make them in a new color. Long story short, I have a pair of grips colored to be reminiscent of the "Red Swiss" grips. I think they came sufficiently close, judging by colors of online pics from the higher end sellers. I've yet to see one in person.

Here's the deal: They needed fitting, though not much. I'd not filed the first set of brown ones down and consequently had not experienced the fit with them. When I had the Red Swiss ones coaxed into place and grasped the handle, I was in for a shock. Everything I'd read about 70's Mauser Parabellum grips here on the forum hit home. It was like holding a rough cut 2" X 4"! The new grips are significantly thicker than the wooden originals to the gun. I had thought maybe Ed Tinker, et al, were wussies, complaining about the "bite" of the postwar Mauser grips. So, with near 40 years work metal fabricating and welding under my belt, I didn't think my hands were soft, but the thicker examples used to make the molds for this model had to have been in very good condition because the checkering on these cast replacements was nice and crisp; and after shooting only one mag, I gave up because the web of my right hand now was checkered to match!

I've sent the urethane grips to Hugh. My plan is to change their surface to the more rounded DWM style profile and 18 line per inch checkering pitch, versus the brutal Mauser pattern.

In the meantime, I've sent Joy at Vintage Grips the original grips from the 29/70 so they can make a mold for thinner grips.

The matching mag bottoms they offer are fxo style. An fxo style mag wouldn't be correct for an actual Swiss '29, would it? Didn't they make their own?

Ron, the grips offered for Swiss style frame were taken from another 70's Mauser, so accommodate the grip safety and fit within reason, literally no worse than a pair of wood originals! Yes, the early Swiss were made with extra DWM parts and machinery, but in 1929 mfg. was all Swiss tooling and they redesigned the handle to be straight from then on. But you know that.

Ray, I'd hold off another week or so until we get the bugs worked out of this situation. You could certainly drop Joy an email at the company and ask how it's coming. If Hugh has had an authentic Red Swiss in hand at some point, perhaps he can make a call as to how close the color came out to the real thing. At this point, it looks like you'd be able to get a pair of the thinner grips as soon as they have made a mold from the ones I sent last week. The only thing available at this moment would likely be a set of the fat, prickly ones. I'm under the impression that the real red Swiss grips were of a finer checkering pattern than the 70's ones, perhaps midway between the 70's version (I sent away the only pair I could measure.) and the 22 lines per inch pattern to be laid down on my fatties after they are sanded down for comfy contour.

David Parker