My 44 SBH has a good many rounds thru it and lately I have noticed a definite but very slight lateral movement of one of the stocks. It has not effected accuracy but it is there. There are no cracks I can see and they are screwed as tight as I dare. I will probably shoot it this way until a failure or accuracy is noticed. My question is "is this a normal failure that is usually fixed by purchasing new grips or is this something in the frame that will have to be resolved another way?

Thanks ahead of time.

That's bad, the stocks are going to crack. You need to rebed the grips with epoxy. Probably need a touch at the top of the grip frame, and around the roll pin at the bottom.

The screw is just there to hold the two halves together. Tighten it too much and it'll split them for sure.

What Mike said...

I noticed that a set of the new rosewood grips I had on my OM BH had become loose. I checked the grip screw and it felt tight. So I took the grips off, and the wood on the back side of the grips was pulling through. I learned real quick that the rose wood grips are not as forgiving as walnut when it comes to tightening the grip screw.
To fix the loosness I'd also suggest doing what MikeG said.

Joe
Joe

First, if your grips move around it is a bedding/fit issue, not a loose screw! A grip screw should never be tightened more than just snug as you can pull the escutchion through the grip (see miller) or if pearl, hard rubber, or some plastics they will break.

Don't forget to use the release compound, and be sure to plug the hole in the roll pin with some clay first.

My SBH was not where I wanted to do my first bedding project. Would not new grips be an option or will they need the same treatment?

I have an old Mosine that is my learning and project gun. I might bed it just to get used to the process. What do you guys think.

Chief, I'd say go for it. The grips will be easier to mess with than a rifle stock if only because they are smaller. Get some paste wax for wood floors as a release agent and some two-ton Devcon expoy for bedding material. Paste wax on everything that you don't want permanently joined, that's about a complicated as it gets as long as the epoxy can't lock itself into a hole. All you'll need is a very thin layer of the stuff, anyway.

The grips are going to bust anyway if you don't do something, so might as well start with them. If you only do one of them at a time, there really won't be any way for them to get permanently stuck (just use some tape to hold them to the grip frame till the epoxy dries).

Good luck.

Get a Brownells acraglass gel kit. They are available at most gun stores. It's got everything you need and nice clear instructions. Do what Mike G. says and do one side at a time. Ya learn by doing.