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Important things to know about stag and my work...
In the old world, 'stag' literally meant male deer. Male deer have antlers, and antlers have been turned into tools and decorations for thousands of years. I imagine stag began to be used for pistol grips sometime in the late 19th century, although my sense is this wasn't something that developed in the American West.
When talking handgun stocks, there are three types of stag - in as much as there are only three deer species capable of producing antlers large enough to be rendered into grips. These are Sambar, Red Deer, and Elk.
The Sambar deer is native to India. Its antlers are very hard and textured, and will make for some beautiful grips. Sambar has a very dark, craggy surface and a creamy yellowish interior. In many ways, the prototypical stag look on a cowboy sixgun is achieved by using Sambar. Some purists would dispute the term 'stag' being used for anything but Sambar. Sambar's exportation from India is tightly regulated these days, and it's expensive to the tune of about $300 for a pair of single action grips.
I hesitate to actually make a distinction between Red Deer and Elk. For most purposes of biology and science, they are the same animal. They are called Red Deer in Europe and Asia, and Elk or Wapiti in North America. They interbreed when together. But, there does seem to be some antler variations particular to continental herds, with Red Deer having slightly larger horns with more tines.
Elk and Red Deer antlers have reddish brown surfaces with whitish
interiors. Elk and Red Deer stag is often regarded as somewhat softer and
'pithier' than Sambar, with a smoother unremarkable texture. I
disagree. The reference point a lot of fellows use for great Sambar grips
seems to be those made in the 1950's and 60's, and they were stunners. The
nature of the resource was quite different then, and I suspect a lot of high
grade material was easily available. I don't really see that kind of work
being turned out by the more commercial shops like Ajax and Eagle today (I
think those shops turn out fine work overall by the way). Today's Sambar
grips are often fairly smooth, and have some pith under the bony antler surface.
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use Elk antler exclusively, and acquire it from a variety of sources.
Elk antler is tough, beautiful, and plentiful. I have a few principles
of craftsmanship I use to create terrific stag grips:
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I have pretty much an open ended return and service policy. If you don't like them, return them and I will refund you or provide you with another pair. If they become damaged in some manner or don't display great durability or the screw pulls through, let me know and I'll take care of it. All within reason, I stand by my work.
Lastly, I'm limited to working on Rugers. I was always partial to them, and have accumulated a decent collection. I can see that changing in the future as my collection of 'fit' guns expands.
Bill Peterson