Hand of God

I’m pretty sure that if I ever get into Cowboy Action Shooting I’ll be calling on Joe Perkins at Outlaw Grips to outfit my single action revolvers. And my grip of choice? The Hand of God.

Joe Perkins shows off his custom-made Hand of God grips.

I tagged along with Michael as he made his way down vendors’ row at Winter Range and met Joe. Today I went back to visit with him and get the back story on how these very cool grips came into existence.

Joe explained to me that he contacted the armorer for the movie 3:10 to Yuma and was able to borrow one of the guns used in the movie by Russell Crowe. There were something like 9 guns used by Crowe in the movie and three different versions of the cross inlaid in the grip. The version Joe replicated can be seen in the stagecoach scene.

With movie gun in hand, Joe proceeded to replicate the design going through 6 prototypes before settling on a seventh that he felt was the closest to the original. This process took him 6 months. With the design final, Joe made a jeweler’s mold from which he could shoot waxes and then make a casting.

Joe can cast the cross for you in just about any metal you want. Gold, which will run you around $1,800, is no problem. Same thing with silver. But it is a custom blend of gold alloy that is the most popular (shown) and easiest on the wallet when you want that high-end gold look.

The 'Hand of God' grips.

Of course, toting around a gun that’s carrying a cross on the grip and known as the Hand of God might not be your thing. No problem. Joe can carve you up a set of custom grips in 42 different hardwoods, ivory, stag or giraffe bone. And if you have a design you want turned into a custom inlay, Joe can do that for your as well. All he needs is a drawing and he can turn it into a silver or gold inlay.

Buckeye burl grip samples.

While the Hand of God generates the most enthusiastic response from his customers, and draws guys like me and Bane into his tent at Winter Range, it’s the buckeye burl that is the most popular. Due to the wide variation and the stunning beauty of the buckeye burl, Cowboy Action Shooters overwhelmingly select it for dressing up their six shooters.

Now here’s what I think is the best part of what Joe does. If you want a set of Outlaw Grips you’ll need to send Joe, who has an FFL, your gun because each set is built to the individual grip frame. And if you are like me and have large hands with long fingers and need a larger circumference, Joe’s your man. There are very few people who do the kind of grip work that Joe does and the pictures here don’t do his work justice. Check out his work for yourself on his website at www.outlawgrips.com, and trust me, you won’t regret it.