So. I have been bitten by the SAA (ish) bug. I own no actual Colt SAA’s nor do I plan to. I own a Colt Scout (the 22 version). What I do own is a Ruger New Vaquero (357/9 convertible), and an Uberti 22 and a Pietta TC9 (9mm). I am loving these things. The 22 and the 9’s are easy /cheap to shoot and wicked fun.

Here is my question. The smooth wood grips are beautiful but I hate shooting them. They are way too slick. When I got the New Vaquero years ago I swapped out the grips to a rubber/plastic grip. Problem solved. I went looking for a set for the 1873 Navy and all I can seem to find are crazy expensive wood, fake ivory, engraved, blah blah blah. Where do I find reasonable priced rubber grips? I can do the eagle or just checkered but simple inexpensive black rubber Navy sized grips. Thanks.

Hogue sells black linen micarta grips for the Ruger single action revolvers. The price isn't too bad.
They also sell white linen micarta grips for the Ruger single action revolvers, however, it's noticeably higher price than the black, and a bit flashy for "my" personal taste.

Black linen micarta is my favorite grips material for Ruger single action revolvers.
Why? Out in the cold or heat, even after the revolver has reached outside ambient air temperature, grab it and it doesn't "feel" cold or hot.
That isn't the case with wood, laminated wood and plastic. Rubber is close for temperature "feel" compared to linen micarta.
You will need to know which grip frame your revolver actually has, as there are multiple choices.

Ruger single action grip frame identification here: https://www.gunblast.com/Hamm_Ruger-SA-GripFrames.htm

Do your homework/grip frame identification before flexing the credit card!

Sorry, I can't help you with the Uberti 22 and a Pietta TC9, zero personal experience.

Thanks for the input. My understanding of the TC9 (Taylor & Co) is that it is a standard SAA clone of the 1873 with a Navy grip, just in 9mm. I’m a noob when it comes to these so I probably butchered the terminology.

I shot the 9mm 1873 today. Oh my goodness what a fun gun to shoot. No issues loading or unloading. It headspaces on the case mouth so it is pretty easy to feed. Being 9mm it was cheap too, I was using magtech steel. If you can get past not being a 45 or 44-40, it is a great choice.

Black micarta. I am going to look at that.

Ask the seller and tell them specifically what you have because not all 1873 "SAA" grips are identical. You may end up having to fit them in many cases. Pietta's older frame is different from Pietta's recent frame, which is a bit different from Uberti's frame, which is different from the Colt frame, and all are different from the Ruger frame (and which ruger frame matters also). Typically the grips are sanded along with the gripframe during the assembly/finishing process, so even if you get a set from a Pietta or Uberti the same year and model as yours, there's no guarantee it will fit exactly.

If you can deal with a bit of overlap here or there it's often "close enough" but sometimes it's way off.

FYI here's a video from Mike Beliveau fitting some grips to his Pietta.

https://youtu.be/VCAdjjqB1Ck?si=B_oV9Rn2FVI11HGo


Also if interested here's his video about hard rubber grips. Lots of good info
https://youtu.be/Uh_KjnRU63Q?si=RQfnK6nAof2aBjCd

Same deal here, I wanted hard rubber grips on my Cimarron ASM to match my Colt. I got some of the plastic reproductions but they had to be fitted; a little sanding on some edges.

I found something to my liking at Midway. When they arrive I will watch that fitting video. Sounds like I have some sanding in my future.

I'm glad you found something to your liking!

I stumbled on a used stainless Ruger Blackhawk .357 Mag, 4.625" barrel, plow handle grip, in my local sporting goods/fun store many years ago.
I don't know the history for it, but it had some corrosion/pits on it. Great, a "tractor gun" and the price was outstanding. Blood, wet case, wet holster, suicide gun? Who knows.
It won't matter if it gets bumped/banged/wet/or mud. Tractor gun.

Then actually using it on the tractor, the bottom corner of the grip frame kept digging into the tractor seat.
I sourced a used "take-off" factory Ruger "Birdshead" grip frame (was previously installed on something from the Ruger factory) and did the grip frame swap at home.
The take-off Birdshead grip frame came with factory Ruger black linen micarta grip panels.

I'm not into .357 Magnum very much, and decided to look for a stainless steel cylinder in 9mm and "fit" the cylinder myself.
I searched high & low for over a year, and could not source a used take-off stainless 9mm cylinder. Ruger won't fit one unless its a dual cylinder convertible from day one. Mine wasn't.
I did however, locate a blued carbon steel 9mm cylinder, bought it, and fit it to my Blackhawk.

After fitting, the blued carbon steel cylinder had "bare metal" in several locations, and I sent the cylinder to a Parkerizing guy out in the Midwest.
It shoots great, I reload 9mm ammo, and the .357 cylinder sits in a red felt bag in the safe and has not been installed since.

Ruger single actions are really fun for doing your own customization! Most everything is "Glock" like, for swapping parts & pieces around.

Before:

IMG_20191221_173043454 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

After:

IMG_20250326_123900903_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

That sounds like a fun project. I am taking the easier road and searching for a 9mm/357 convertible New Model but they seem to be out of stock everywhere. These things are just fun. With adjustable sights they are fairly practical too.

Have you noticed any difference in accuracy shooting 9’s? I ask because I assume the barrel is roughly .357 and 9’s are .355 right? Mine have fixed sights so I figure if my groups suck it’s just me. lol.

No noticed accuracy degradation using 9mm lead vs .38/.357 jacketed.
All my 9mm reloads run a locally made hard cast/greased grooves lead projectile.

Ruger doesn't build a particular firearm continuously in almost all cases. Except maybe for the items that sell like hotcakes. (10-22, plastic & pot metal trinkets)
Everything else is in batches. They set up a module on the factory floor, and dedicate that module for a particular firearm for a set period of time.
When the production run time is up, they redo/reset the module, and set it up for something different.

When a particular firearm becomes a low or no stock item out in the wholesale sales/distribution channels, and IF they sold enough of a particular item in the past and turned a profit, the production planners will schedule another module for a production run. It's simply the nature of the beast.

Check with these folks. They have a knack for scouring the wholesale sales & distribution networks, and locating exactly what you are looking for. Here: https://arizonaarms.com/