H&R 732 Grips Walking

[Javelin Dan]

Hey guys - I purchased an H&R 732 a while back and was having trouble finding any ammo for it at the local gunneries. I took it to the range a couple of weeks ago for the first time and tried to fire some .32 ACP rounds through it (mea culpa!) It would actually only fire 1 or 2 rounds out of six. Thinking that something was wrong (timing off?), I had a gunsmith look at it and he thought all that was wrong was the ammo wasn't headspacing properly and that if I got the correct .32 long ammo, all would be well. I just happened to be looking at Fin, and the long elusive .32 long ammo was there on the shelf. I bought it and got back to the range as quick as I could. Gunsmith was right - the gun fired perfectly without incident. Now to my real problem...

These grips are secured by just one screw, and I think I've got them as tight as I dare without cracking them. After firing a while, particularly when my wife was hand-cocking it into single action, the grips wanted to walk right up the handle, sometimes exposing almost 3/8 inch of the inside handle frame. Was kinda a buzzkill. Anybody got a fix for this?

[jrayborn]

Try bedding compound on the inside. Just a bit on one grip at a time and you should be able to lock them in place. Make sure to use release agent (floor wax works) on the metal parts. You can use 2-part epoxy if you don't have bedding compound. I have fixed this issues a few times that way.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I've used JB Weld for the bedding compound and a liberal dose of silicon spray lube on the frame. It worked great on a Hi Power that had some after market grips which would shift around during recoil. I sprayed the frame and put the JB Weld on the inside of the stocks in the strategic places. Now they are shiftless!

[Javelin Dan]

Thanks guys - I was actually thinking of using black silicone seal before I posted. Just wanted to see if anyone had a better idea. JB weld would certainly do the trick, bit I don't know if I'm fond of the idea of not being able to disassemble if needed. I think I'll try the silicone and I'll report back on how it works. Thanks again!

[shooting on a shoestring]

JD, the purpose of the release agent such as silicon spray lube is exactly for the purpose of being able to disassemble. The idea is to have the JB Weld stick only to the grips and release from the frame. Then you can take it apart as usual. Bedding means all the gaps and voids are filled in with the bedding compound and that keeps the grips in place, until you want to take them apart. It's glueing but not glueing together. It's glueing to only the grips, not sticking to the frame.

[Javelin Dan]

Shooting on a Shoestring - Before I came back and saw your post, I already went to the well with the silicone idea. Ready, fire, aim! - that's me. Just some thoughts in case anybody else wants to follow this trail of bread crumbs. I chose silicone seal because I have used it extensively in some of my automotive exploits and am generally aware of its abilities and limitations. Though I haven't fired the gun since, I am very confident it will provide enough adhesion to hold the grips in place, and lightly scoring around the edges with a razor knife will allow removal. You have to be careful not to use too much (no matter how you apply it, it's usually too much), and it is difficult not to end up wearing it during reassembly. I first traced around the top of the grips with a white grease pencil to provide a boundry once the grips were removed, then cleaned the the handle frame thoroughly and repeatedly with 90% rubbing alcohol. I then tried to lay down a thin, even bead (nearly impossible) around the edges of the frame and below the grease pencil marks. I CAREFULLY reassembled the grips and still ended up having to stop every ten seconds to wipe the black slim off my fingers, or my wrist, or my forearm. Tip: don't wear a white T-shirt. Remember, at this stage this stuff is basically a lubricant and things move around real easy - keep an entire roll of paper towels and a waste basket close by. After several tries, I finally aligned the set screw and the boss it threads into and tightened as much as I dared, being careful to make slight adjustments in the alignment of the grips as I went. I finally had the grips nicely aligned and tightened with a light coat of silicone seal slathered over the entire handle. I then just repeatedly wiped down the grips and handle using one fresh paper towel after another until all was very clean. Tip#2: White vineager sort of works as a solvent for this stuff. Results? Not absolutely sure as I haven't shot it yet, but I DO have confidence in this particular type of weasel snot and it looks like I never did it. If someone else decides to try this, good luck and may God have mercy on your soul!

[shooting on a shoestring]

JD, I'm a big fan of using what works.
Shoot it and get back to us.
I like simple when it works. And I've often seen simple work as good or better than high dollar prepackaged gun shop money makers. Ed's Red comes to mind. Cotton balls instead of cleaning patches are a good example.
I'm hoping you get good results.

[Javelin Dan]

Thanks, "Shooting..." I'll confess another brain fart. My wife and I are fairly new shooters and were looking for some place where we could shoot all winter, so we recently joined a gun club with an indoor range. Was going to shoot that gun along with the others last Friday AM. First, I insisted that it opened at 10:00 but doesn't until 11:00 so we had to kill an hour. Checked in at the desk and were getting ready to gear-up to enter the range when I realized that in my haste to transfer everything to a new bag the night before I had neglected to transfer our eye and ear protection! Are you freakin' kidding me, our eye and ear protection?! Germaphobe that she is, my wife wouldn't rent any gear from the range that someone else had on their sweaty head, so we punted and left to return this week. We'll probably go Thursday or Friday morning - it's way too crowded on the weekends. I'll let you know how it works.

[Javelin Dan]

Took the gun to the range yesterday and shot close to 50 rounds through it. Grips didn't budge. Time will tell, but seems like it's fixed. Thanks again.