Pearl Grips
When did guns get so ugly?
My Dad died and left me about 30 Shooter’s Bibles, Gun Digests, and Guns Illustrated from about 1961 to about 1978. He left it in a big chest with his hunting stuff, and his books on deer hunting.
In the 1960′s and 1970′s guns were beautiful. Beautiful woods. All sorts of factory engraving available. Nickel and Chrome plated. Ivory and Mother of Pearl grips available.
Then guns got all ugly and black, and plastic, and military. When did that happen? Why did that happen?
It started in the 1960s with the exposure of American service-men to rifles like the AR15/M16 and companies like Remington using plastic in some of their rifles as a way to cut down on the production costs. As more people began to realize some of the advantages to plastic stocks (not being moisture sensitive, not scratching as easily, lower cost, etc…) they decided that they could live with guns that didn’t have fancy wood stocks on them.
Weston Belmex Set with Pearl Grips