Custom calibers

I have two .45 mag. and two .50 AE Grizzlies and was wondering if any one knows if the .45 mag. chassis are capable of withstanding the effects of the .475 Wildey, as I would like to modify one.
Bobbby

1994 Grizzly brochure

Hey Gents ,

I just aquired three factory LAR brochures from 1994 . All three are in the factory " crispy condition " ...... among the fliers inside , was a 1994 price list , a " When a Grizzly WinMag roars , everything listens ! " flier that Cam posted a few threads down , and a flier announcing the arrival of the MK V .50AE .

The front cover of the bi-folded brochure is like the one Cam posted a while back , but this one has the added text on the front cover welcoming the MK IV and the MK V .....

Enjoy .....

Grizzly Mark V Grips

Hello fellow Grizzly Fans,

I have a quick question that I hope somebody can help me with. I recently was able to purchase Mark V 50 AE and was wondering if anybody knows where I could get custom grips made for it. I would prefer aluminum or titanium but wood, horn or carbon fiber would be fine. So far, I'm striking out.
If anybody needs custom work done on their Grizzly, Bob Cogan of Accurate Plating & Weapory (http://www.apwcogan.com/) does a fantastic job and is not afraid to work on them. Not too many people will do smithing work on them.
For a great holster system for your Grizzly visit http://www.wwlholsters.com/. They make great rigs to carry the big semi-auto in many different configurations.
Also, can anybody tell me how many, if any, stainless steel Grizzlys were made especially in the Mark V version.

Thanks guys.

sct7853

Plum colored Grizzly frames

Guys ,

A good friend of mine just purchased ( with a little prodding from me ) , this gorgeous MK I chambered in 45 win Mag ..... it also came with a 45 ACP conversion kit ( that was obviously used more than the original chambering ) .....

I know that this " plum " colored frame topic has been brought up in the past : click on me , but I'm seeking clarity regarding the finish ( how , why , how many )

As the attached older post specifies , this pistol was one of the first to come out of the factory as evidenced by the serial number ( under 200 ) . It was made - according to L.A.R. , in 1984 .

Some folks may consider the plum hue to be a flaw ( as stated in the older post ) , but I've got to say that it has one of the nicest contrasts of all the finishes offered by L.A.R.

Also , the 2 magazines that came with the pistol are welded on the bottom as opposed to the spring loaded ball detent design ..... how rare are these ? ...

My additional questions are :

( 1 ) how rare are these plum frames ?

( 2 ) do these specimens come with a premium ?

( 3 ) is the reason explaining the plum finish ( in the attached post ) valid ?

( 4 ) are the wood grips a factory offering ?

Either way , my friend owns one of the first ones off the line - and a nice one at that !


Thank you in advance Gents .......


grizzlyglen

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