How many Grizzlys were made ? ( all variations )

Does anyone know how many Grizzly pistols ( all models ) were produced during the 16 or so years L.A.R. manufactured the pistol ? ( rough estimate ) .

How many of each variation ?. I have heard that the MK IV and V are the rarest ... is there any truth to this information ?

I called L.A.R. recently trying to shed some light on this subject , and was told they didn’t know offhand without counting all the entries in the logbook . Also , I asked why L.A.R. doesn’t make the Grizz anymore and was told :

“ LAR discontinued making the Grizzly when the pistol manufacturers were being sued . We stopped production in order to get our company off of the lawsuit . When the lawsuit was found to be frivolous and was dropped , we started to ramp up the production once again only to find out that our liability insurance had tripled . The company decided it wasn’t worth the expense . “

So unless L.A.R. gets a lot of requests for the Grizzly , we may never see them coming off the assembly line again ….. unless the design , trademark and licenses are sold to someone who will be willing to produce this superior pistol . If this pistol does get made by a company other than L.A.R. , we may never see this pistol made to the high quality / high standards it is noted for .

Any insight on the amount produced would be helpful . -



grizzlyglen

American Rifleman " Dope Bag " Grizzly MK I review - circa 1985

Hello again Guys ,

I found another old " new " review .... this one comes from the American Rifleman magazine dated Feb. 1985 in the " Dope Bag " column ...... Be sure to click on the image to enlarge the scan for easier reading .

It seems the reviewers thought the Grizzly is " too big " - even for those with large hands ( I have large hands and feel that the Grizz feels " just right " ) , but found that the overall quality / fit & finish / function to be very good .

Enjoy .....

glizzlyglen

Grizzly MK IV 1994 Shooting Times review

Hello again gents ,


I’ve been searching around my archived firearm publications lately with a goal of finding all of the L.A.R Grizzly reviews and articles I can find …. This hasn’t been an easy task because for some reason there isn’t a lot of articles to be found . I guess L.A.R didn’t spend a lot of $$$ to advertise in the gun rags . Firearm companies always seem to get a lot more exposure within the pages when they advertise a lot - as it seems to me .

One of the first feature articles I found was in the March 1994 edition of Shooting Times . Dick Metcalf wrung out the Grizzly MK IV ( 44 magnum ) . It’s great to re-read the old “ new reviews “ …..


Please click on the images to make the scan much larger to read .

Also ,keep your eye out for more archived reviews and articles in the near future . The more I dig up , the more I will post .

Enjoy ……

grizzlyglen

Do any of you Grizzly fans like to shoot AR-15's?

I know this is a Grizzly blog... mostly because I started it :) Anyway, I like to shoot all sorts of guns and one of my favorite firearms to shoot is a high quality, super accurate AR-15. I have owned many, many AR platform rifles of all shapes, sizes and price points. I ran across the absolute best AR-15's I have ever seen a couple of years ago... They are made by Sun Devil Mfg. in Mesa Arizona. My 20 inch model will outshoot every AR I have ever owned and even some of the bench-rest bolt action rigs I have owned. I am such a big fan, that I started a blog about them as well.

If any of you are interested, please visit my Sun Devil AR-15 Blog

What is a load for 357/45 GWM?

After looking through every resource I could find on the internet I refer back to where I should have started in the first place - this blog :-).
Does anyone have experience with this cartridge, concerning load data and forming cases from 45 WM cases?
Every help appreciated.

Thanks

Ulrich

My new acquisition

Hello all ,

My first experience handling a Grizzly was in 1991 when myself and three friends walked into a gun shop in SE Connecticut and saw one chambered for 45 Win Mag with 3 complete conversion kits ( 10mm , 45 ACP , .357 Mag ) . It also came with all associated reloading dies , empty brass , bullets , etc . …… a set – up ready to go .
I don’t remember if this particular Grizzly was a MK I , II , IV , or V …… I do know that it was blued . ( does anyone know what years the II , IV and V were made ? )

I did not have the $800’ish amount in my pocket at the time and left the store with the intended items I originally went there for .

Well , I kept thinking about that Grizzly set-up for a couple of days and sleepless nights . Four days later I went back to that same shop and it had been adopted already ………….. I was bummed .


Fast forward 17 years and 5 children later to the present day , and I had another one fall into my lap . I just picked up my first LAR Grizzly and I’m as excited as a puppy discovering his reproductive organ for the first time .

As you can see , it is a MK I with a blued finish ( click on the image to see a larger photo ) . It comes with a factory muzzlebrake , a couple of extra recoil springs , a couple extra sets of recoil spring guide rods , an extra extractor , four factory magazines , Millet open sights with the orange front post , the factory bushing wrench , ( 500 ) .45 Win Mag cases – half of which are factory primed and un-used , the factory pistol box and all paperwork , and last but not least – a B-Square scope mount ….. all this for $685


A quick call to LAR I learned it was made April 8 , 1987 ……

I do have some questions …. Please excuse me if they have been asked in the past .

1) Are the grizzlys chambered in 45 Win. mag. prone to frame battering ? … I thought that I read something along those lines .
2) Where can I find replacement recoil springs ? … the stouter , the better . Wolff ?
3) How can one decipher if conversion kits are for the MK I ?


Thanks in advance …..


Glen

Hello Grizzly folks!

I promised I would tell the Grizzly community about the 9mm Luger Grizzly conversion unit, so now here is my account.

I reeceived the unit several weeks ago, but was not able to shoot it until recently.
First here is a picture of the unit compared to the normal Grizzly:


And now the unit installed:


The vendor told me that a company made them back in the 90ies and he had sold roughly 200 of them.
It is a 1911 design just lengthened to fit on the Grizzly receiver.
The finish is somehow rough, not bluing but some kind of paint or varnish.
There are no markings on the whole system except for the proof firing markings.

The magazine is just as tylergnut suggested, a 9mm mag with aluminium hunch screwed to its back..

The barrel is not as thick as the standard Grizzly barrels, so that should explain the need for a different slide.
The bushing is a normal 1911 Govt style with a brazed insert.

I was able to test different factory loads and it was reasonably accurate for my skill.
Should anyone be interested or would like to have other pictures feel free to tell me!

Thats it for now I hope I was able to show you something new!

Ulrich

Holsters For The LAR Grizzly Win Mag!!

I get many inquiries about holsters for Grizzly pistols... and as you all know... they are VERY hard to come by!

Well, our luck has changed... My good friend Lynn Tompkins of Frontier Leatherworks in PA is now offering several custom holsters and belts for the LAR Grizzly Win Mag. You can see just a few of the initial designs below. Please visit his website at: www.frontierleatherworks.com and support my new Grizzly friend. I cant wait to get mine!

Shoot Straight,

Cam

Seriously considering a Mark IV...

Hey Folks,
My name is Harry and I am the new guy around here. I owned a Grizzly in .45 Winchester Magnum from 1991 to 1994, which I had purchased for myself upon returning from Desert Storm as a young Marine, at the now closed B&B Guns(famous for supporting the LAPD during the Hollywood Bank Shootout, only to have the weapons kept and be left without being reimbursed afterward) in California.

I envisioned her as the ultimate combat sidearm, and to that end I had slowly been customizing her with upgrades like a mag well and micarta grips from Smith and Alexander, and having the front sight drilled and fitted with a tritium insert. The trigger was also cleaned up by a local smith. I had spoken to Mr. Brown in Calif. a few times about his "combat custom" compensated set up designed in collaboration with Massad Ayoob, after reading about it in one of the gun rags of the time, and was attempting to save the $750.00 needed for that at the time, too.

As a side note, when I wasn't able to find properly sized base pads for my magazines to work with the S&A Magwell(combat handgunning and rapid magazine changes), Mr. Smith of Smith and Alexander actually machined me a half dozen out of aluminum free of charge! He refused to accept any form of compensation for them! He was an outstanding gentleman to deal with, and I can only hope he has achieved the level of respect and support in the shooting community he so richly deserves.

Regrettably, when finances got extremely tight, I was forced to sell my beloved pistol, and now years later coming back to it, I'm saddened by it having been discontinued.

With all of that said, I'm strongly considering moving to a Mark IV, in .44 Mag. I'm actually high bidder on one on Gunbroker, as I type this. I'm very interested in learning from owners and shooters how these perform. My .45WM functioned flawlessly, but I'm admittedly a little concerned about the rimmed cartridge in a semiauto platform. My motivation toward the Mark IV has primarily to do with the commonly available ammunition in that caliber, as well as my ability to save a bit in bulk purchase from folks like Ammoman. I know the DE has been working successfully with them, but am very interested in hearing first hand experience from owners on this system. Additionally for those that know, how do the Mk1s and 4s compare side by side? How about shooting characteristics?

Thanks for your time and attention, and to Cam for welcoming me back into the Grizzly community.

Respectfully,
Harry

LAR GRIZZLY Ad and Order Form...

I have never seen one of these before... I thought Grizzly fans would be interested. Note where they are still advertising the 9mm Win Mag and the 9mm Lugar as well. This must be really early in the Grizzly history.

If any one else out there has any Grizzly memorabilia... I would love to get it on our blog site. Let me know!

Thanks,

Cam