Upgraded my JP 44 SAA grip frame UPDATE

[xtriggerman]

 I noticed a  new style of SAA being put out by the Italian cloners and thought it was the perfect upgrade to my JP Sauer 44 mag.  One example is called the EMF Alchimista II. It sports a 1860 grip and Bisley style hammer. The original grip only accommodates about 2 and 1/3rd front strap fingers. The 1860 is a comfy fit for all three!
 To acheave this, I bought a Pietta 1860 grip frame and a Pietta 1873 rear grip backstrap. Since the 1860 has a narrower frame, I had to cut off the top of the 1860 backstrap and weld the top section of the 73 in its place. A few other smaller mods and bingo, I got it all to gel. I got the imitation bone grips off Ebay and have a Bisley hammer coming but will need some work to delete its fixed firing pin. The cold blue dosent do the backstrap justice. but will do for now.
 Before & After

My 44 family

 

 

   

UPDATE 3/28/21

  Well, I got the EMF Bisley hammer in the gun and working! Those folks over at EMF are customer service friendly. They called me back to make sure I got exactly what I wanted and on top of that, they only listed a stainless hammer on their page so I ordered that but was able to get a Color Case hardened one instead on that phone call. Got it in like 3 days. I wouldnt hesitate to buy anything from EMF's line up of Italian clones.  Anyway, for those not familiar with Bisley hammered Colts, That model was Colts more or less Target gun of the day. The hammer is .465 wide over the basic 1873 hammer of .318 width. 

  A much lower profile that hooks up superbly with the lower hand hold of the 1860 Army grip.

 The going from a frame mounted FP to a hammer one was pretty interesting especially since the EMF hammer FP tip was about .080 lower on the hammer than the FP hole in the frame bushing. So I made a new FP from oil hardened drill rod with the FP tip completely off set on its base rather than centered. You can see that in the picture. The Bisley has a shorter throw than the original but I have that worked out with a mod to the hand to stop on the last click of the action. What a great upgrade for a spunky shootin iron!

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by xtriggerman

[KahrMan]

Looks good.  I really like those grips.