Clint A Teeter
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Category: Auto Mag Pistol
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Forum Description: Message Board
URL: http://www.amtguns.info/forum_posts.asp?TID=2116
Printed Date: 03 Oct 2023 at 6:13am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Clint A Teeter
Posted By: wbautomag
Subject: Clint A Teeter
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2016 at 12:06pm
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As in the last set of grips I posted for sale I referred to them as Jurras - Teeter style grips and I have been asked a few times by some of the newer members who Teeter is . Will through a friend I found out that Clint Teeter is still around and I had to talk to this guy to see if he was the reel Teeter well he is and he is alive and well and is 79 year's young and I must say a super nice guy he said he had not thought about Auto Mags in a long time until we contacted him I talked to him for a while and learned a lot he said he made his first set of grips for Lamont and made his grips between 1975 and 1980 but got out of it and has not made any in over 35 years but in the span he made them he made over 800 sets which I had no ideal he had that many sets of grips out there any way it was fun talking to him and like said hes a really really nice guy. |
Replies:
Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2016 at 8:24pm
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And if my rusting and aging memory is still functioning at all, I seem to recall someone circulating the rumor that Mr Teeter was also Kent Lomont's cousin or relative of some nature. Anyone care to provide additional details??? As for the grips he made, some were quite impressive to look at, and I have head the more basic versions referred to as "the ugly plywood grips" by a Browning Shotgun guy who was into really fancy and exotic wood. GH ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: TRX302
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2016 at 9:15pm
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I've been looking through some old Gun Digests lately. Thirty years ago you'd pay a hefty premium for a laminated stock on a rifle. And a premium over that for a "fiberglass" stock. Now plywood and plastic are standard equipment, and you pay a premium for "coachwood," and a premium over that for walnut. |
Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 12:11am
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And if you have to ask the price for wood better than walnut, well you probably wont pay the price,,, gh ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: wbautomag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 1:47am
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He did not say if they were related to each other but he did say they were both engineers but of different fields but I don't remember what they were and he also mentioned about making some grips out of the plywood trying to find a wood that would hold up to the Auto Mag he also said when he first started making the grips he was getting $35.00 a set I told him they were bring a lot more then that now for sure. |
Posted By: usrguns
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 3:02am
Oh George!!!!! You know I wood  ------------- If you can't have fun doing it, then don't do it. |
Auto Mag wrote:Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 3:55am
I think Kent once told me he was a chemical engineer and had worked for one of the big outfits like Dupont maybe. gh ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 4:02am
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Oh yes I have no doubt Larry, and truth be told so would I, well so long as it struck my eye just right. Matter of fact I keep shopping for a Browning A-Bolt Gold Medallion in .22 and the only reason I haven't spent that insane amount of money for a .22 is I just have not yet found the right combination of wood and caliber and configuration (no factory sights, factory scoped only and either .22 LR or 22Mag) when you find one with the extra fancy stock they look sooooo good. gh ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: wbautomag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 1:23pm
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You know that $35.00 for a set of grips in 1975 was not pocket change and got me to thinking I have had some in the past tell me my grips seem a little high but if you add in the rise in cost of every thing I should be charging $350.00 when my grips are hand made even Teeter did not make all his by hand and think about I remember I didn't by my first new car until 1979 it was a ford thunder bird and was setting on the show room floor white with red in side it was sharp had all the bells and whistles and I paid $6,800.00 for it man they wont even let you look at one for that now. How times have changed. |
Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 4:08pm
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William, your prices have always been more than fair in my opinion and well match the quality of the workmanship that went into them. I am personally thrilled to have several sets of your grips. As for prices of anything today, well some things are so much more expensive its hard to even grasp. I was looking at new Dodge MegaCab trucks and seeing sticker prices of well over $50k,,, And yet my first Auto Mag ( 6 1/2" VR Jurras) cost me $1800.00 back in the 1980's. I have seen similar selling for the exact same price today! Yes some Auto Mags are selling for more, and many other things are as well, but look at the cost of computers and TV's and so many other products. I see almost no pattern or consistency. Kinda mirrors the world at large, no pattern or consistency,,, Never under value your work, you are a true craftsman and I admire your skill. Your grip-making skills are far better than anything I could ever do. GH ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: wbautomag
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2016 at 7:53pm
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No I'm not complaining about what I'm getting for my grips I'm just stating statistics I make my prices and try to be fair about them I price them on what there made of and how long it takes me to make them and if some one dont like the prices nobody twisting there arm to buy them and I have adjusted my prices and like I said a while back I am making these grips to try and use up the material I have up and then the grips atfer that will be few and far between the grips I have been making here lately I have sold before I get them finished like on the dymond wood I had left about 10 pair all but three are sold and maybe those to the only bad thing about it is no one got a chance at them but the one that said he would take them before they were finished and I cant get the dymond wood any more so I hope any one that wants some of my grips gets them I dont know this guy may take them all . I'm going to try and finish all the material have left by the end of the year so when Uncle Sam hits me on these grips and my partial unemployment next year at tax time this will be it. |
Posted By: EagleEyeHoosier
Date Posted: 05 May 2023 at 12:37pm
| His name is Clinton Alan Teeters, and he is my grandfather. He is alive and doing very well for, I believe, 86 years old now. He lives a couple miles down the road from me in Fort Wayne, so I get to visit him all the time. I manage a gun store here in town, so we share an interest in firearms. He still owns his 357 and 44 automags, in beautiful shape. He still has a bunch of grips if I'm not mistaken, but he hasn't made a pair in a long time. If you guys think his grips look good, those are some of his more simple and less demanding woodworking pieces. The man has made some breathtaking hourglasses, tables, etc... that would blow your mind. He's been the best grandfather a kid could ever hope for. An EXTREMELY smart and talented man, and even more kind. I dread the day that inherit his beautiful pair of automags. The man has been like a superhero to me, and I'd be happy to answer any of your guys' questions, or contribute information. I just saw his name mentioned on this forum and couldn't help but throw in my .02$ |
Posted By: Bulls Eye
Date Posted: 05 May 2023 at 8:47pm
| Cool, thanks for sharing! |
Posted By: Luvz2Shoot
Date Posted: 05 May 2023 at 10:27pm
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That is amazing that you jumped on and joined the forum to pass along this information. Any and all information of those that had anything to do with the Auto Mag is interesting to learn about. Having a "short story" from him regarding his Auto Mag days would be great to read. Maybe he can throw something together to share and post on here? So, was he an Engineer and related to Kent Lomont as rumored? ------------- If you were happy and you knew it, would you clap your hands? |
Posted By: EagleEyeHoosier
Date Posted: 06 May 2023 at 2:20am
| I'm sure he'd love to share a short story with you guys. And no, he and Kent were not related, but very good friends from work, as they were both gun nuts. Clinton was an engineer in the rubber injection molding industry, but I forget which plant they worked at together. Kent is sort of a legend around these parts, as he was heavy into belt fed machine guns, reloading, and all sorts of large caliber weapons. My grandfather has some pretty funny stories of them clowning around together, and doing a lot of fun stuff that you couldn't get away with today. I think he still has a few big bags of laminate automag grips floating around somewhere |
Posted By: Luc V.
Date Posted: 06 May 2023 at 8:01am
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Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing the info. We look foreward to more history stories! I think the laminated grips are the best looking ones on a AutoMag... Here is the old link to where Lee Jurras said that Clint and Kent Lomont were cousins: http://amtguns.info/detected-the-new-site_topic9_post44.html?KW=popar#44" rel="nofollow - Detected the new site. - AMT Guns forum - Page 1 Oh, in case you want to offer the bags of grips for sale, you're welcome to put up an ad on the gun Classifieds section. Luc V.   |
Posted By: ARMiller
Date Posted: 06 May 2023 at 5:49pm
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I have a single set of unused Jurras Gorilla Clint Teeters (CAT) Grips grips for my mint North Hollywood. As this pistol is never fired, and the grips were only removed once from their original packaging to take photos, they won't get any wear and tear. When I open the plastic bag they came in, they still smell like the varnish Clint used to seal the wood! I sealed them back up and am going to keep them this way.  |