pistol grip to straight grip

[rickey hughes]

what is the best route to go if one wanted to change the pistol grip to straight in dealing with the tang.?

[Bruce Day]

The best route is to buy a straight gripped gun.

The cobble together route is to :
1. Make sure the lower frame extension is not too downwardly angled for the higher stock of a straight gripped gun. Be careful about bending, they can break.
2. Have a straight gripped stock made, estimated cost $1500 for a V, higher for a D. Crappy ones look like canoe paddles and do not feel right. Make sure you get the double tapers right because they are different than a pistol grip stock. If you start with a pistol grip stock, again make sure you get the double tapers right, the checkering will be different, you'll need to sand it down and rechecker and then make sure the grip is not too thin because then it is subject to breakage.
3. Bend the TG tang, weld in an extension to the right length, file to shape, re-engrave, re-blue. Make the extra screw that a straight grip requires.
4. Be prepared for the loss in value of an altered gun.

Or

Buy a straight gripped gun.

[Bill Murphy]

By "tang" do you mean the trigger guard tang? In a professional conversion the trigger guard is cut, an extension made and welded, and, finally, engraved and finished. Just as Bruce described in paragraph 3.

[B. Dudley]

All of the above information is correct and important to consider. The one major thing that will allow a conversion is the lines of the stock. You want a consistent thickness in the wrist and a straight line down to the toe. Some PG stocks prevent this to be done.
As far as the guard, either extend the original one or find a replacement SG guard.
Checkering can also be an issue, bu the original pattern can be mostly removed for the new SG pattern.

[C.O.B.]

I have done it twice with no problems. If you have to bend the tangs make sure a competant smith is going to do the work. I have used the original trigger guard and had a piece spliced in and I have used an aftermarket trigger guard from Galazan. Both guns turned out wonderfull and I have no regrets in making this change.

[Ed Blake]

I have heard the Galazan trigger guards have metric threads. Is this true?

[C.O.B.]

Ed I really don't know. The guard went directly to the gunsmith and was installed. He never mentioned anything about metric threads.

[B. Dudley]

I am not 100% sure of the thread size of the galazan straight grip Parker guards, but I can tell you that they are NOT 100% Parker correct. They have a shorter tang that the original guards, the bow is a bit more rounded and the shape of the back of the tang is a bit different. The biggest thing is the length. For this purpose, they would never work as a replacement, but they make ok options for fresh starts.

The guards are in the white and roughly polished. The screw holes are drilled, but not countersunk.

I was able to thread one into an old Parker hammer gun without an issue.