Club Obi Wan

Greetings to all! I'm in the process of getting my Smith & Wesson 1917's barrel shortened to 4"...and have located a butt swivel/lanyard ring for it, also. Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with a set of grips for it, and I'll be in business! In addition, I will be receiving my Navy Arms 1875 Remington (remember the scene at the beginning of "Raiders", just before Indy reaches the cave?) with nickel finish today or tomorrow...so I'm on my way to having a small collection of "Indy" guns. This is a GREAT forum! Glad to be here!....I'll try to post pics of my revovlers once the 1917 is finished.

RonC

Are you from the S&W forum? Welcome aboard! Sounds like you are starting from the other end of the collections. Usually, the gun is the last thing to acquire.

Cheers,
Pyro.

Pyroxene,
Yes, I'm on the Smith & Wesson forum. I've been a shooter all my life...I was about 16 the first time I ever fired a 1917 S&W. The one I have now is a "shooter" with some replaced parts...no real collector's value, so it's a prime candidate for an "Indy" revolver. And, yes, I've been a fan of the Indiana Jones movies from the beginning! I have a good, worn leather jacket...courtesy of my days as an aircrewman in the Air Force. I've had the opportunity to live and work over the years in Central and South America, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa...so I can sort of "identify" with the lifestyle!

Got an email this morning from an amigo offering a set of 1917 grips...they may not be checkered, but at least they'll fit! Looks like I'm on my way!

One thing that I have often seen on S&W 1917's is a grip adapter, a piece of plastic with finger grooves that fits between the trigger guard and the handgun's butt and is held in place by the grips. Its purpose is to give one a better grip when firing the gun. I don't know who makes these items now, or if they are still being made. If you can find one, it might be a useful addition to your weapon.

Peacock's Eye, I've used the adapters before. I actually prefer the S&W grips without it! I've no probelm shooting the old Smith's at all. Eventually, I may be able to find a set of reasonably priced Medallion grips for it, but until then, I'll at least have some wood on the revolver!

I've found the adaptors a must on old D frame Colts, such as the old Police Positives and Dective Specials, and can see them being useful on, say, a J frame Model 36 Smith, but on the big N, or even K frames, no. There's enough meat there for you to hang onto and shoot very well. I have big hands, and have had no real need for the adaptors on the large frame Smiths I've owned. If you have fairly small hands, I can see where you may want to consider it, but I don't recall EVER seeing a set that fit N frames. Regards. Michaelson

Having never used a grip adapter myself, I can't personally testify as to their usefulness. My hands are medium-sized and I don't have a problem using N-frame Smiths. The large-frame Colts are another matter. I have, however, seen a number of pictures in gun magazines in which older N-frame revolvers are sporting a grip adapter.

I agree with you...the large-frame Colts are not comfortable for me, either. I do like the old N-frames, though!

As old S&W Medallion grips are hard to come by...and expensive (a pair just went for $110 on Ebay)...I've decided to try another route. I was able to find a rather inexpensive pair of reproduction, original-style smooth walnut grips for my 1917. I had an old, beat up pair of N-frame grips with medallions that I no longer needed, so I removed the medallions from them. I plan on installing them on the plain walnut 1917 grips, and eventually have them checkered in the same pattern as the old originals. Just thought I'd pass this on to ohers who might want to try this.

Actually, I already have the correct grips, but I've been looking for some 1917 grips for quite a while. Could you point me in the right direction?

Paul Crowley

Paul, I was fortunate enough to find someone with a pair. I recommend going to the Smith & Wesson Forum and registering there. I put in a request there and received an answer from someone who had a pair. Good luck!

Here's the link:

http://www.smith-wessonforum.com/cgi-bi ... LastLogin=

Many thanks Ron. I appreciate the pointer.

Paul Crowley

I get my modified "Indy" revolver 1917 back from my gunsmith this Saturday! Pyroxene will be getting some pics of it to put on here....I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Where did you acquire your butt swivel/lanyard ring ?

Blackthorne, see my answer to your other post.

YES!!!! It's back in my hands once more!!!! And it has been transformed into a true "Indy" Hand Ejector! It's not "real purty", and it sure looks like it's been around the block a few times....but, to me, it's a thing of beauty! I have my 1917 back....and my gunsmith did an excellent job in creating what I wanted. As soon as I can get with Pyro, I'll try and get some photos for the Club....and it looks SO good in my Prairie Flower Leather Company holster!

....thinking about it, there are those who know me who would say I'm not "real purty", either...and that I look like I've been around the block a few times!!! ....maybe that's why I like the looks of my "new" Indy revolver!

The Smith and Wesson forum is a great source of info and there are some really nice people there. When I broke my grips on my 28-2 several members told me how to fix them and one even sent me a free set of Smith N frame grips for a replacement!

Trebor, I agree about the S&W Forum...I'm also there as "RonC" There is a wealth of information there.

Here's the link to my Yahoo Photo Album....these are pics of my Indy pocketknife and my S&W 1917 (modified, of course!)

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/indian ... os&.view=t

Man, that gun looks great! Very nice.

Thanks, Pyro! Of course, you recognize the grips, right? When I've had Tip rechamber it, we'll have to get together and do some shooting.

Just got word from my gunsmith that the chamber reamer is in...by this time next week I hope to have my 1917 "Bapty" revolver shooting with .45 Colts!!!

I need to visit Tip sometime to tighten the extractor rod on my revolver. My weekends are booked but if you are going to visit him during the week, let's get together.

Pyr, like I said in the pm, we'll have to get together next week and go see Tip.