Everyone who shoots knows what grips, stocks, friends, and handguards are - but grip caps? They don’t enjoy the same level of recognition. That’s a shame, considering the fact that a missing grip cap is a glaring if cosmetic, detriment to a handsome, finishing rifle or shotgun. Long arms with traditional stocks - that is, rifles and shotguns - typically those with wooden stocks, often have a small component (often made of metal and stamped) known as a grip cap. These caps, which are sometimes ornately decorated and occasionally contain the marks of smiths and makers, screw onto the bottom of the stock’s grip, completing it.
A naked stock, one that is missing a cap, suffers from no real, material deficiency; it will handle effectively in the same manner. The most function a grip cap can offer is some protection to the wooden face at the bottom of the grip. Nonetheless, some smiths and artisans take great pride in embellishing caps before affixing them to gun stocks. Moreover, a historical arm that is missing a grip cap is like one that is missing its iron sights or magazines; functional, but incomplete.
If you’re working on a smithing or restoration project and the platform demands a cap, it won’t be fully finished until you’ve installed one. Luckily, many guns will accept more than one type of cap as long as the dimensions are accurate; in our collection, we carry caps for a wide range of rifles and shotguns. Check here first, and contact us at 610-250-3960 if you have any questions.