Single actions bust my knuckle

[swheeler]

Pardon the drift but, I have never fired a handgun of ANY type that will beat your middle finger knuckle quite like a T/C Encore in 454 Casull.Gp

TC Contender in 444 Marlin shooting 265 Hornady and full load H335, 458 Win in 7.5 pound mauser, 500 gr Hornadys and 74 gr IMR 4895 and some idiot put a sling swivel in the tiny splinter forearm of the stock, by 3rd round fore finger of left hand pouring blood, middle finger of right hand "Stone Bruised", ah come on finish the other 47 rounds or you ain't got a hair! Gotta love the good ole days!

[DougGuy]

well kind of. there's more room behind the trigger guard and it doesn't flair out as much at the butt.

Actually, the Bisley may abate more recoil because of how the back of the grip frame contacts the palm, but in reality the Bisley grip frame is the shortest distance between the back of the trigger guard and the front/inside of the grip frame, the XR3 RED is next, and the most distance goes to the SBH. If you look at all the Ruger SA grip shapes superimposed on one another you will see what I mean:



Photo courtesy Jeff Quinn/Boge Quinn.

[swheeler]

The Ruger BH I shoot now rolls up in my hand with heavy loads. It doesn't take many rounds of RanchDog 190 gr(195 actually) with enough LilGun or H110 to get 1150 fps to make me say "enough". I put a set of Pachmyer on my Super BH, still org wood on ,357 since 84.

[44MAG#1]

Firing hand. Made my knuckle bleed more than once. Painful even wearing a shooting glove. That firearm went down the road. Gp

How did it do that? How were you holding it?

[contender1]

As you can see by the many varied posts here,, there is NOT a single answer, or fix.
In general,, different people have different hand sizes, as well as how they grip anything.
No one design works for everybody.
BUT,,,,,,,,,, as an instructor,, and a serious fan of the SA handgun, I can attest to a few facts.
One,, MAYBE,, it is possible you are using a wrong gripping method. Have you studied the idea of getting a qualified instructor of SA handguns to see if they can help? Over gripping,, or fighting the recoil can easily cause pains. It's a physics thing.

Next,, if you do have a good grip method,, have you considered a different design?
The Bisley design,, as well as modified Bisley designs have a pretty good following among serious handgunners,, who shoot heavy recoiling handguns. There is a reason why,,,,,,,,,,,,,! It works to prevent knuckle busting under heavy recoil for many! Look into the serious handgunners, who hunt with a heavy recoiling handgun, and see what THEY prefer. Look into the custom gunmakers websites & books, and you will see a trend,, when looking at the heavy stuff.

Have you considered the possibility of custom grips that are made to fit YOUR hands? It's another option, that can solve the problem.

Without seeing how you shoot, it's hard to diagnose why you have the knuckle busting.

Oh,, I LOVE it when a guy comes to me to sell me a heavy caliber Ruger SA,, because it "kicks too much!" Bought several that way,, cheap!

So, do the studying & research,, and if possible,, get a good instructor to assist you.

[Ozark mike]

I too prefer the plowshare over any other style

[LAH]

I had the problem for years & this is how handle it.

[Walks]

It doesn't seem to matter to me.
I grew up shooting Colt SAA's and Ruger Blackhawks.
Shot Colt's with .45Colt and Keith .44Spl loads.
The Ruger's in .357Mag, .44Mag And SBH in .44Mag.
Preferred the SBH Grip Frame for it's extra 1/2" of length.
Had one of the 1st Bisley's in .44Mag back in the 1980's.
Didn't seem to make a difference to me.
Currently have a NM's in .357 - 6 1/2" and .45Colt - 4 5/8's. Fitted with SBH Grip Frames. A pair of SBH's, both with the Dragoon style grip frames. 7 1/2" & 5 1/2" HB.
I have a set of Herret's grips for SBH, never cared for them. Same with a set of Hogue's, they push my middle knuckle forward to get whacked by the triggerguard. And they're hard to use, my fingers are too big.

I'll just stick with plain frame fitting grip panels, that let the Revolver roll up in my hand the way it was designed.

[dhom]

One solution for knuckle busters comes from Jack Huntingdon @ JRH Gunsmithing. He redesigns your grip frame to get more "knuckle" room.

[alfadan]

I found a nice set of rosewood finger groove grips for SBH .44. They fill in the gap behind the trigger guard and make it much more controllable and look great. Can even shoot it one-handed now.

[lar45]

Brownells used to carry a finger recoil pad that was a padded elastic ring that slipped over your finger. I was going to take a picture for you, but couldn't find where I put mine.
I did a google search, but this was the only one I could come up with.
https://www.mackspw.com/Creative-Sou...d-Finger-Guard


I'm not sure how far North you are, but I have pretty much one of everything if you want to try different grip frames. I'm halfway between Beebe and Lonoke and have a short range in the front yard.
The Bisley grip frame on a 500 Linebaugh doesn't bite my finger, but the BFR in 500 JRH does. The BFR grip frame is really close to a SBH but has a rounded trigger gaurd instead.

[blueeyephil]

Brownells used to carry a finger recoil pad that was a padded elastic ring that slipped over your finger. I was going to take a picture for you, but couldn't find where I put mine.
I did a google search, but this was the only one I could come up with.
https://www.mackspw.com/Creative-Sou...d-Finger-Guard


I'm not sure how far North you are, but I have pretty much one of everything if you want to try different grip frames. I'm halfway between Beebe and Lonoke and have a short range in the front yard.
The Bisley grip frame on a 500 Linebaugh doesn't bite my finger, but the BFR in 500 JRH does. The BFR grip frame is really close to a SBH but has a rounded trigger gaurd instead.

Wow, never heard of anything like that.

I live in Yellville so a hour and a half or two away I'd guess. Thanks for the offer. Don't know when I might be able to, but I'll keep you in mind.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[tazman]

I have the same issue as the OP. I always read these threads because I like the feel of a single action in my hand and the looks of the gun.
Currently, I can have as much fun pounding on my fingers with a ball pein hammer as shooting a single action.
I would like to find someone within 100 miles of the quad cities in Illinois/Iowa that has a bisley grip on a revolver that would let me visit and try it out.
I live about 40 miles south of there.

[elmacgyver0]

What would be so wrong with just loading them a little lighter?
That's what I do.
If I think I'm going to run into a Grizzly I will load the heavy ones.

[GL49]

I gave my mom my 5 in 44 mag cause she liked it but bought a Hogue rubber grip cause it would bite her. Ive heard lots of people have this problem. My bfr doesent bother my knuckles but i have sprained my wrist with it but that was because i locked my elbow with a retarded load

I need to change your wording to fit my situation, though I didn't sprain my wrist.

"My SBH bothers my knuckles, but that was because retarded I locked my elbow with a load"

Go you you-tube, search for John Linebaugh and see how he shoots the big boys. Works for me, but my SBH with the Dragoon triggerguard will still get me once in a while if I'm not careful, the Bisley grips on my Ruger 454, 480 and Linebaugh 475, no. Lightweight, skintight, Maxiflex gloves also made heavy loads much more manageable.

[alamogunr]

One solution for knuckle busters comes from Jack Huntingdon @ JRH Gunsmithing. He redesigns your grip frame to get more "knuckle" room.

The reforming of the grip frame does work. I had a new model Blackhawk(square back trigger guard) that made my middle finger look just like DougGuy's, if not worse. I sent it to Jack Huntingdon and had it converted into a 5 shot .45 Colt. He also furnished the stocks for the reformed frame. I've shot it with much heavier loads than a .44 Magnum without all the pain. Looks a lot better too!

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Full on magnum loads can do that. Best to practice with medium loads and save the full power stuff for big game.

[Bazoo]

Changing grip panels to checkered wood, or something like buffalo horn or stag should help control because those are more tacky than wood.

[44MAG#1]

Simple solution comes in the form of band aids and/or tape. Too much over thinking. Tape or band aid and shoot on.

[smkummer]

Everything said above. Original colt bisleys feel good under recoil. Colt SAAs I let roll. Heaviest is a colt 7 1/2 NF 44 special with the Kieth load. It’s only reserved for less than once a year. Skeeter load so much more enjoyable. I have several Colt double actions with both factory and pachmayr stocks that tame .357 quite well. True that be told, standard ammunition gets shot so much more than magnum and it’s so much more fun.