"Coke" Smith and Wesson stocks

[murf205]

The feel of S&W Coke bottle stocks is just about perfect for my hand. However, finding a pair is beastly expensive and finding a pair attached to a period correct S&W revolver is ridiculously costly. I have several Smith and Wesson N frame guns that I would like to restock if I could find a stock maker that made "Coke" reproductions for a sane price. I know that Keith Brown made them but his web site says that he has suspended orders. I would like some for K/L frames as well.
The S&W target stocks are just a bit too large to get my "normal(?) fingers around. Maybe for someone with Bill Jordan hands but not Murf's. Anyone know of an aftermarket Coke maker?

[Dan Cash]

"Fuzzy" Farrant made exquisite S&W stocks that are similar to "Cokes" but is no longer in business. His stocks do turn up from time to time but are not cheap. Herrett's might fill your needs. They make good stocks.

[Char-Gar]

Culina makes them. I have several pair.

https://www.culinagrips.com/

[murf205]

Culina is not taking orders now. Have you or anybody else handled/owned and Coke grips by them?

[AKtinman]

I have a pair of Culina smooth "Cokes" on a K-Frame. They are well made and look good. Like Keith Brown, he has garnered a following that has resulted in both of them with backlogs.

Eagle Grips has their version of "Cokes" and might be more available than the others. Nill Grips also has some "Coke-style" grips, though a bit pricey. I have no experience with either of those brands other than seeing them for sale.

About 10 years ago I was offered a nice pair of S&W "Cokes" at a gun show for $300. Had the cash in my pocket, but passed. Still kicking myself.

[Martin Luber]

Anyone have comparison photos?

I might have some, somewhere.

There was a time, and some of you remember, that almost everyone took them off. They were $5 in the junk bin at any LGS.

And I used to think Goncalo Alves was a famous Mexican chooter!

[Char-Gar]

Culina is not taking orders now. Have you or anybody else handled/owned and Coke grips by them?

I have two pair of Culina Cokes. Like em just fine.

[Texas by God]

I'm just curious- do they resemble a Coke bottle from the side or rear view?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Mytmousemalibu]

I have some repros from Altamont, i thing they look fantastic and not absurdly expensive. They feel great and pictures don't do them justice, beautiful wood they are made from!296895

[murf205]

I have some repros from Altamont, i thing they look fantastic and not absurdly expensive. They feel great and pictures don't do them justice, beautiful wood they are made from!296895

Do those Altamonts fit the gun well? The fit is the one thing that I heard about Altamonts but I have never personally seen a pair, so I am open to the word of an actual owner.

[Char-Gar]

I'm just curious- do they resemble a Coke bottle from the side or rear view?

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

Rear view..palm swells on both sides.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Do those Altamonts fit the gun well? The fit is the one thing that I heard about Altamonts but I have never personally seen a pair, so I am open to the word of an actual owner.

These piticular ones fit very nice. They aren't Nill's but I am perfectly satisfied with them on my M29.

[murf205]

Rear view..palm swells on both sides.

Char-Gar, no pic came through.

[murf205]

These piticular ones fit very nice. They aren't Nill's but I am perfectly satisfied with them on my M29.

They look like the same profile as Ropers like the ones on this model 24.296906 The thing about revolver stocks is that even though you can look all you want to, the prof is in wrapping you paws around them, and Cokes are hard to find to do that, especially originals. When you find originals, it takes a mortgage to buy them!

[FISH4BUGS]

Do those Altamonts fit the gun well? The fit is the one thing that I heard about Altamonts but I have never personally seen a pair, so I am open to the word of an actual owner.

I have a pair of Altamonts on my 1956 made 5 screw 6" blue pre 29. No case, no tools, and not even original grips.
This is a shooter, not a collector, and it makes a terrific cast bullet shooter. The quality of the Altamonts is great and so is the fit.
The only thing I would say is that i wished they were more of an exact copy of the S&W cokes, for the diamond is bigger and the finish is not the matte finish.
I would not hesitate to get a pair.
The last pair of original cokes I saw go for $450 on GB.

[RJM52]

I have long slim fingers and the only S&W grips of any frame size that feel natural in the hand are N-frame Cokes...

Have been fortunate enough to accumulate four pair in the last 30 years. Also have one set of Nill Retro-Cokes that are pretty close in looks and feel to the originals.

As much as I like the Cokes, the Herrett's Detective stocks (basically a Jordan Trooper with an open backstrap) fit my hand even better especially for Double Action shooting... They aren't cheap either but one can buy four sets of Detectives for the price of one set of Cokes...

Bob

Nill Retro on the 8 3/8"...Cokes on the 6"

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/71357.jpg



Herrett's Detective...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/168969.jpg

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/169024.jpg

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/169025.jpg

[murf205]

RJM52, would you say that the Herrett Detective's are a bit smaller in their girth than Cokes?

[Shepherd2]

I have a couple pairs of Altamont grips. The wood is very nice and the fit is very good.

The Culina grips interest me. I have a couple S&W revolvers that I want to restock. I'll be watching to sew when they start taking orders again.

[Martin Luber]

I think the rear view is what distinguishes them...

[Mytmousemalibu]

I have Altamonts on several guns and they have always been fantastic as far as fit & finish in my examples. The Cokes are my favorite that I have bought from them. As far as feel, they are amazing, transformed my M29 for me. I don't have any originals to compare to unfortunately. I have Miculek grips in a couple too and those are also very comfortable grips, not the most aesthetically pleasingly but they are fantastic to shoot with.

[murf205]

The Miculek's do feel great. Not the traditional S&W look but they fit a lot of different hands. The new target stocks on the late model guns are too thin around the back strap and if you shoot a revolver with some notable horsepower, they are not the most comfortable.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a 625-JM that I haven't been happy with, figuring it's mostly the grips, I even tried some pachmayr's, they were better than the "Miculek" signature grips which I assume were made by Altamont? (btw, they weren't a tight fit to frame).

So, last summer, I ordered the grips shown below from ebay seller jaruwan.p in Thailand.
For the price (about $50), they are seemingly in the coke bottle style, are an awesome looking exotic hardwood, fit the gun as good as any, and fit my hand nicely. I'm not a fan of S&W N frame round butt. These grips are a Rd butt to Sq butt conversion. This particular ebay seller has excellent feedback and posts incredibly thorough photos of the specific grips you are ordering.

296945

More info...
https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/thailand-made-s-w-grips.7681/

[Char-Gar]

RJM52, would you say that the Herrett Detective's are a bit smaller in their girth than Cokes?

Considerably smaller than Cokes. The Herrett Detective by far is my favorite grip. Been using them since 1965. The closed back Trooper and Jordon Trooper are unusable by me. Far to big.

[Green Frog]

My dream was to have Altamont make a pair of Sq Butt grips with the Roper style checkering on a set of Coke Bottle blanks. Their response was a “hard no” to my e-mail request. :coffeecom > :cry:

Froggie

[murf205]

Considerably smaller than Cokes. The Herrett Detective by far is my favorite grip. Been using them since 1965. The closed back Trooper and Jordon Trooper are unusable by me. Far to big.

Those Detective's look like just what I am looking for . Thanks Car-Gar. Revolver stocks and kinda like rifle stocks. What fits one person is to long,fat,short or whatever for someone else. In my case, since I tend to crawl the stock, a 13 1/4" LOP is just right for me especially with a hunting coat on.The std 14" LOP guns feel ok in August inside the LGS with a tee shirt on. With the S&W Target stocks or Jordan Troopers, when I have a glove on, I might as well try to shoot it with a catchers mitt on!

[murf205]

Considerably smaller than Cokes. The Herrett Detective by far is my favorite grip. Been using them since 1965. The closed back Trooper and Jordon Trooper are unusable by me. Far to big.

The bottom gun with the smooth stocks looks like a 625-2 and the top looks like a 66. Neither are brutal kickers but do you find the checkering more comfortable or less comfortable. Robin Herrett says the Dective's come standard w/checkering but can be left smooth on request. BTW, they have gone up to $219 delivered.

[Char-Gar]

The bottom gun with the smooth stocks looks like a 625-2 and the top looks like a 66. Neither are brutal kickers but do you find the checkering more comfortable or less comfortable. Robin Herrett says the Dective's come standard w/checkering but can be left smooth on request. BTW, they have gone up to $219 delivered.

The top gun is a Model 63 (22 LR, Kit Gun). I would not have checkering on a centerfire handgun.

[Char-Gar]

Lots of folks sell "Roper" style grips, but they are nothing like the original Ropers which are the best feeling and fitting handgun stocks I have ever held in my hand. Here is a pair of the "real deal" Roper made stocks on my 1956 Colt Trooper. The Trooper was a 4" version of the Officers Model Match aimed at the high end of the Police market. This one is in 38 special, my fav.

[Char-Gar]

For the budget minded folks, some very good grips can be made from the OTC Herrett Shooting Star grips. Remove the thumb rests, checkering and round off the butt a smidge. Herrett uses some pretty crappy light walnut for these grips, so I apply Chestnut Ridge Military Walnut stain, finished with BLO.

[Texas by God]

For the budget minded folks, some very good grips can be made from the OTC Herrett Shooting Star grips. Remove the thumb rests, checkering and round off the butt a smidge. Herrett uses some pretty crappy light walnut for these grips, so I apply Chestnut Ridge Military Walnut stain, finished with BLO.I like those grips. Good job on the slimming and finishing.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[murf205]

For the budget minded folks, some very good grips can be made from the OTC Herrett Shooting Star grips. Remove the thumb rests, checkering and round off the butt a smidge. Herrett uses some pretty crappy light walnut for these grips, so I apply Chestnut Ridge Military Walnut stain, finished with BLO.

I have seen the OTC Herretts in pics only. Robertson Trading Post on G'broker has them bor a tic over $40 and fron their pic they look like the grain is pretty open, but for $40 + reasonable shipping it's not hiway robbery for sure. I asked them what design they were and they have not a clue but they look like S&W smooth target/combat to me.

[rintinglen]

For the budget minded folks, some very good grips can be made from the OTC Herrett Shooting Star grips. Remove the thumb rests, checkering and round off the butt a smidge. Herrett uses some pretty crappy light walnut for these grips, so I apply Chestnut Ridge Military Walnut stain, finished with BLO.

I really like the looks of those! Good job refinishing and modifying those.

[RJM52]

murf...sorry to not get back to you sooner, but as said above, yes, quite a bit less girth than the Cokes. I also like the shape over the Ropers. Not having the flair at the bottom lets me wrap my hand around the whole grip better...

Bob

[RJM52]

Char...you did a REALLY nice job on those stocks....

[murf205]

murf...sorry to not get back to you sooner, but as said above, yes, quite a bit less girth than the Cokes. I also like the shape over the Ropers. Not having the flair at the bottom lets me wrap my hand around the whole grip better...

Bob

Thanks Bob, that helps a lot.

[RJM52]

Looked at the Herrett's website the other day...it is not near as detailed as it used to be...

If looking for the Trooper, Detective or any other custom stock I would call and talk to someone there. I was just lucky enough to be staying near Twin Falls and was able to visit the factory and pick out my blanks.

[murf205]

Herretts website was a hurried up deal according to Robin Herrett when I called the other day. She said it was developed while they were in the process of moving to their new location and that's the reason it doesn't list Detective's and some of the other stocks they make. She is very helpful if anyone is inquiring about their products.

[Murphy]

Smith & Wesson 'Coke' bottle grips. I've owned a 3-4 pair I picked up to flip for a profit. When you pay $500-$600 for a for a used gun and it's wearing nice, clean Cokes? About 10 years back, I was having no problem getting $350-$400 for them. So for all intent and purpose, I'd wind up with a Model 28 or some other N frame for basically $100 or so. I actually wish I'd had a bit more smarts about me and kept them. Not for resale, but to enjoy as they were intended to be.

Smith & Wesson in the past few years seemed to 'see the light' on a few revolvers they discontinued, and reintroduced them again after seeing what they were going for in the used market. In one instance, look at the Model 66 3" barreled version. In clean condition you'd do well to find one for under $1K. I watched a few in mint condition online going as high as nearly $2K, insane. It has been introduced and is a standard item again. Now if they'd just take a look at what Coke's are going for, who knows? And build them the way they were built to begin with. I'm thinking a train load would move faster than they realize.

Murphy

[murf205]

Murphy, you are right. After all they are not made by hand one at a time now. I'm no fan of the new stocks they call target. IMHO, they are too thin on the back strap and magnify recoil. Smith and Wesson quit listening to their customers when lawyers bluffed them into putting the hole in the side of the frame. I guess they had to do that to keep from suffering the same fate as Remington did.

[Murphy]

Murphy, you are right. After all they are not made by hand one at a time now. I'm no fan of the new stocks they call target. IMHO, they are too thin on the back strap and magnify recoil. Smith and Wesson quit listening to their customers when lawyers bluffed them into putting the hole in the side of the frame. I guess they had to do that to keep from suffering the same fate as Remington did.

Time, and technology changes everything. You are absolutely correct about current S&W factory grips being too thin at the top of the grip frame. The web of the hand takes the brunt of recoil, at least in my case anyway. I can't tell you the number of times I've been called ham fisted. I can't imagine what it's like for those with thinner hands. If a fella has the wants and the funds, there are numerous custom grip makers out there. I have seen some gorgeous grips made from exotic woods, but I'm not buying them for looks. I want fit and function. The S&W Coke's fit that bill for me just fine.

Murphy

[TNsailorman]

I like the "coke" grips but modify them to fit my hand. I have a wide hand and short fingers. I have a set of Herett's Shooting Star K frame grips that are very old but have a very light color and not the best finish on them. I have owned 3 sets of Herett's grips and have always ended up re-finishing them because the grain was not properly filled on them. They were well made grips and fit my hand nicely. But, they are commercial grips and even if they use a poly finish, it takes several coats of finish to fill the grain. Also, each finish needs to harden and be buffed/sanded between coats. So most commercial grips do not fill the grain that well. Most of the custom grip makers do and that is one reason they cost more. Modifying grips is not that hard and you can get a much better feel once you have done one or two sets. I used a couple of really crappy, cheap sets to get started and for a learning curve. Worked out well for me. There is nothing like a great feeling in your hand with a nicely fitted and finished set of grips, especially on revolver(my favorites). my experience anyway, james

[RJM52]

murf..how long did Herrett's say it would take to get your stocks if you ordered some...

Don't quite understand why S&W continued to have an IL on their guns and Ruger did but then dropped them.

Not sure if S&W even makes their own grips anymore... I know they used to because there was a picture of the machines in Elmer Keith's book SIXGUNS. But after they started using a lot of synthetic grips not sure if they do any more...even the wood ones..

[RJM52]

Found a 8 3/8" 27-2 in a shop about 15 years ago that had a set of Cokes on it... The dealer apologized that it didn't have the original set of Magna grips that would have been numbered to the gun...and discounted the price...

Pulled the Cokes, found a set of period correct Magnas and sold the gun for $80.00 more than I had into it with the replacement grips...so basically the dealer paid me $80.00 to take the mismatched gun off his hands plus a free set of Cokes...

They are now on a 1965 M57 4" that someone had taken the Cokes off of and replaced them with the original set of Herrett's Detective stocks. They were moved to a 1980 4" 57...

Wish I could find deals like that on a weekly basis...

[Nueces]

Wish I could find deals like that on a weekly basis...

I wish you could, too, while I was standing next to you.

[murf205]

murf..how long did Herrett's say it would take to get your stocks if you ordered some...

Don't quite understand why S&W continued to have an IL on their guns and Ruger did but then dropped them.

Not sure if S&W even makes their own grips anymore... I know they used to because there was a picture of the machines in Elmer Keith's book SIXGUNS. But after they started using a lot of synthetic grips not sure if they do any more...even the wood ones..

They said it would take 6+ weeks to make them and they already have my hand profile on file. Sounds like they are pretty busy.

[Greg S]

I bought a set of Altamont N frame round butt 'coke bottles looking for something to replace the the factory grips on a S&W Model 627 PC 5". The hard edge and narrow grips (.210) less than then the factory Target grips on my 29-3 did not spread the recoil out enough in the palm if my hand shooting mild 210 SWC @ 800.

I've got some Hogue smooth wood grips coming and if those don't work I guess I'll try some Eagle grips.

The search for comfortable and affordable grips has lead me to start looking g at CNC Routers/duplicators to start making grips. This is going g to be a rabbit hole.

[G W Wade]

I have been shooting S&W revolvers for 50 years and love the look of fine wood. But now days most of my Smith's have VZ Grips installed. Really like the look and function. VZ is also on a lot of my 1911"s too. GW

[Greg S]

+1 on the VZ 1911 grips. I'd like to try their 1911 palm swells but got two sets of grips on the bench for pistols being built and another in a box of parts waiting to start. That's it, I'll use them on a long slide 10mm build, lol.

Can you post or text some comparison picks and measurements of the VZ copy of S&W grips?