Great Western’s Frontier model is very well remembered for its “B-Western” plastic faux stag grips.
There are actually 4 faux stag grip variants on Great Western revolvers, these associated with different production eras over the company’s 10 year existence. From left to right on the illustration, these versions are:
Type 1, Pointer Pup branded grips – these are solid resin cast. They are identical if not close to 1st generation Colt grip profile outline. Seen on Great Westerns from approximately serial GW1 – GW6750.
Type 2, black painted, hollow backed grip – Modestly smaller in outline from the previous grip set, and the frame corner at this time has improved geometry to fit the angle of the Great Western backstrap. Seen on Great Westerns from approximately serial GW6750 – 13000.
Type 3, maroon painted, hollow backed grip – perhaps about the same size as previous grip set. Seen on Great Westerns from approximately serial 13000 – 19000.
Type 4, black painted, hollow backed grip – similar to Type 2 but can run smaller vertically. Seen on Great Westerns from approximately serial 19000 –GW22000.
Franzites, on the far right: These are seen somewhat frequently on Great Westerns. They are aftermarket, of lesser quality, and were never factory on Great Westerns.
From left to right, grip types 1 – 4. On the right are Franzite brand grips, which are non-factory but also often seen on Great Westerns.
Great Western Arms Collector 