I've been searching for wood grips for my Beretta Bobcat and my PPK for some time. Beretta grips were just about impossible to find, and the only PPK grips I found were Hogue grips that were either out of stock or custom order or cost $70. Then I happened to notice a mention of Altamont on one of the shooting forums. Their grips were said to be of high quality, reasonably price, and buyers were effusive in their praise of the company's service. I decided to order two pairs.
All their grips are made of composite materials- the Beretta grips above were ordered in "Super Rosewood," which appears to be made of laminated veneers, sort of like a really high quality plywood. It looks for all the world like solid wood. You can also get Super Walnut, Bonded Ivory, white pearl and black pearl. Several varieties of checkering and scrimshaw are available. The grips above cost $45- very reasonable.
(n.b.: I've since discovered that these grips can cause malfunctions when used on the Bobcat- see the comments below. They should work perfectly on the Tomcat, though.)
The PPK grips, which were ordered in Super Walnut, required a tiny bit of fitting- note the lugs on the grip frame:
I marked the area with a Sharpie and used an extremely sharp 1/4" wood chisel to relieve the affected areas. This only took about 10 minutes and afterwards the grips fit perfectly:
The additional thickness of the wood grips, compared to the factory plastic grips, along with the nicely done rear wraparound, should make this gun a lot more comfortable to shoot:
You'd think that these grips should cost a few bucks more than the Bobcat grips, but in fact they cost less- only $30! They also have grips for 19112, the Browning Buckmark and High Power, most Rugers, S&Ws, Colts, Charter Arms, Taurus, and more.
Update (May 2015):
I ordered a set of their target grips for my Mark-III target:
These are the same grips that Ruger uses on the Mark-III Hunter, though they use a different laminate. I liked them- but they were just a bit too small for my XL hands.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I just received two different sets of Altamont grips and the both cause my bobcat 21A to malfunction. Determined that they can only be used on a tomcat 3032.
Did you not have the same problem? Or perhaps you really did get ones intended for 21A? They told me they do not make them for 21A. Look at your right grip. If there is a really big gap near the top, you may get malfunctions if you have not test fired your gun yet since you got the grips.
Curious. Before I ordered, I emailed them, and they said Tomcat grips would fit the Bobcat, no problem. I just ordered Tomcat grips and they worked perfectly. Didn't require any fitting or modification.
ReplyDeleteThanks for quick reply. They do indeed "fit", but if you take the right grip off and look at the trigger bar (Part#58 in the parts diagram)....:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brownells.com/schematics/Beretta-/21A-sid887.aspx#.UKw14BL0FyA
.... it can start to slip out to the right while shooting causing the trigger to malfunction. This is because there is a much larger gap near the top when comparing to the original plastic grips.
Happens to both of my new 21A's, but when I put the original grips back on, no problem...
Perhaps you got the correct set or maybe you just got lucky and your trigger bar does not slide out of place.
Its shame for me, I really like the grips!, they are nice! (will be returning this week unless I have missed something).
I've only fired one magazine's worth since swapping out the grips. I'll take it to my club next week, do some more testing, and report back here. Thanks for bringing up this issue.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, and many thanks again for quick reply. I was able to shoot 2-3 magazines through my matte blue before the malfunction happened. Then it happened on the first magazine with my inox version.
ReplyDeleteThe "malfunction" I speak of is that when the trigger bar pops out of place, the trigger will go back to the double action position even when you have the hammer cocked back. It will not even shoot and the trigger becomes loose.
Here you can see my short review on the CZ forum (before I tried shooting with the new grips):
http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=51304.0
Beautiful grips though I must say which is why I would hate to return them. Great blog by the way!
Mine shows a gap of around a millimeter on the right side, and I discovered while playing with the gun (empty, of course!) that you are absolutely right- if the trigger bar moves just a tiny bit to the right, you can get a malfunction. Not a good thing to be surprised by in an emergency backup gun! I bought mine some time ago so it wouldn't be fair to send them back. I think I'll put them up for sale as for the Tomcat only.
ReplyDeleteNice photos in your review. And thanks for the nice words about my blog. Didi you see the original 21A review? http://casualshooter.blogspot.com/2011/09/beretta-tomcat-21a-in-22.html
ReplyDeleteMine works perfects with the CCI Velocitors and Stingers, but I get an FTF on the first round of a full magazine of MiniMags, which work perfectly in every other gun. I'm told the Inox guns are particularly sensitive until worn in. I tried stoning the slide rails to no effect. Maybe I'll polish the feed ramp next.
Thanks for checking your gun and comment about my photos. Bummer that I can't find alternative grips that seem just as nice. I will probably end up buying the wood grips from Beretta.
ReplyDeleteGoing to go to the range (down here in Texas) to try the rest of my CCI minimags. So far, pretty happy with the bobcat. I got both my bobcats within a month of each other if that says how much I like them.
Will visit your blog on a regular basis!
-MrPao-
Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteAfter sanding down the inner flat of the right grip, the gap closed up quite a bit, so no more malfunction = )
Thought I would tell you before you sold your set in case this is something you wanted to try.
-MrPao-
These comments on the Bobcat grips are a few years old. I'm thinking about getting a set of the bonded ivory grips for my Bobcat. sanding the right grip down isn't hard to do, but I'm wondering if anyone has bought these grips recently? I have an email in to Altamont, but I'd really like some comments from recent buyers. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDelete