I would not classify BBQ Guns as Jewelry per say, but since BBQ Guns were mentioned...............
My wife and I have had a lot of such things like jewelry made over the years from some of our adventures, elephant hair bracelets many times from our elephants, we even had custom wedding bands made, 18k White Gold, with elephant hair inside the ring showing in some open windows, nice, but soft, and unfortunately scratched easy. We don't wear them now, they are put away. I wear a watch and wedding band, that is it, nothing else. She on the other hand............. well, women right.
Back to the BBQ guns. BBQ Guns have "Character". It is not about the person, its about the guns. 1911s are very easy to dress up and take out. Really nice grips, I am partial to Mammoth Ivory myself and have had many many sets of these custom made. I also like Giraffe Bone, all the giraffe bone grips I have were made from giraffes I had taken. The grips on the nickle SSA 45 Colts are my giraffe bone.
I love really nice wood grips as well. Wes at Accurate Innovations had some left over Zebra Wood from a rifle stock he did for me, making some 1911 grips out of it. They are on a pair of Commercial Gov Models ........
While these do not match, they are fine hand guns. The one with the buffalo is Mammoth Ivory, Commercial Colt. The other is a rare nickel C-Colt sporting Elephant Ivory.
My first Kimber Ultra with Mammoth Ivory, nothing special except it has traveled around the world with me on many trips in the early years. Lots of sentimental value, and have since given it to my Son Mark David for safe keeping.
I always wanted a Colt National Match, basically the first Gold Cups, this one 1958 vintage, 1 year older than myself.
I have several sets of the Commemorative 1911 WW1 and WW2 guns
Those were superbly well made guns in the late 1960s and early 1970s.....
Another Kimber Ultra .............
This is the first Colt 45 ACP I ever owned in my mid 20s. It was built by Armand Swenson in the 1970s, it was owned by a fellow in Florence SC, a friend of my friend. It has changed much over the years, I changed the big Swenson ambi safety out, many different hammers and sears over the years from wear and tear. When I retired it from duty, I had documented over 25,000 rounds that I had fired in it. In those early days it was the only 45 ACP I had, I was that "Man with one Gun". The slide has been blued several times, some of the writing disappearing. The Walnut grips you see in this photo were made by a friend of mine in Charleston SC, he had a walnut tree in his yard that was blown over in a hurricane, he made lots of things out of it. Including a very fine stock for a O/U Ithacha shotgun I had, and even my Daughters baby High Chair as well. When I was a kid, I had to borrow $500 to buy this gun. That was a pile of money to me in those days, and that debt nearly worried me to death until I got it paid back, which was in short order as quickly as I could. So yeah, lots of sentimental value in some of these. And a hell of a lot of Character .
This revolver was a gift, it was built by the same gentleman with the walnut tree mentioned above. It started life as a 41 Mag, and was converted to 45 Colt for me, it also sports the Zebra Wood Grips.
The Nickel Colt SAA 45 Colt shown with my giraffe bone grips
I am sure this is getting boring to some of you by now, there are a few more, but we will call it a day at this point. BTW, to not think I only have BBQ Guns, I have a foot tub full of working every day guns as well. I no longer carry BBQ guns daily, or keep them in various vehicles. I am seriously partial to S&W Shields and other varieties. One in every corner, truck and drawer. I view these type guns a little differently, but with the same respect. My Kimber Ultras have been replaced with a pair of S&W Shields in 45 ACP or a pair of 9mm Shield Plus, these are now the "Tools Of the Trade" one might say;
And they shoot better than I can shoot.............
