Thin grips on revolvers

[TNsailorman]

oldhenry, I had a pair of N frame target grips from the 1960's that were in rough shape when I got them on a used S&W 1937 .45acp. I decided since they were in bad shape anyway to try and see what I could do to make them fit my hand. I stripped them, and then started slowly removing a little wood at a time until I got the fit that I wanted. Worked out great for me. I finished them with by first filling the grain and then a rubbed oil finish and I now have a set of N frame grips that fit me like a glove. If you can find an old trashed set of the Target grips, you might want to try doing the same. It is not very hard if you take your time and work slowly. james

[LeonardC]

oldhenry: once upon a time Dan Wesson sold an inletted blank grip (at least for the small frames). You started off with a rectangular hunk of wood and could shape it however you wanted.

[Bazoo]

I have large hands and normal or slightly short fingers. I like the factory grips on standard Blackhawks and single sixes. I don't care for the gunfighter panels that are thinner. I like the Ruger GP100 grips, though I've changed the panels out with elk panels that are thicker, and I like them better than the wood.

Glock large framed pistols like the 21 are too large for me, not the grip, but the trigger reach. A 1911 with flat mainspring housing and flat trigger is a bit long for me, but the arched housing and short trigger are just right.

[oldhenry]

TNsailerman & LeonardC:

The obstacle to our train of thought boils down to the fact that there are not too many old geezers like us left. Everyone wants a bolt-on/turn key everything. We have an entire generation missing out on the satisfaction of sanding & shaping a beautifully grained piece of wood to fit their hand exactly.

The best I've found out of the box for my S&W revolvers are the Jerry Michaluk grips (for my hands). They were made for DA shootin'.

[Rodfac]

The best I've found out of the box for my S&W revolvers are the Jerry Michaluk grips (for my hands). They were made for DA shootin'.

Yep, I've got two pair, one on a M57 Smith .41 Magnum, and the other on a M66 Smith .357. Both work extremely well with my size "L" hands in DA work, but neither will allow me to fire a entire box of full house magnums without some web discomfort (read: PAIN).

Jerry, I think, designed them for light/moderate loads used in competition, and not full house magnums. But with either type, they do very well in DA. SA work is another whole ball game; and frankly, with that type of slow-fire, deliberate shooting, the grip does not need to have the fit that DA shooting requires. YMMv, Rod

[fatelk]

The obstacle to our train of thought boils down to the fact that there are not too many old geezers like us left. Everyone wants a bolt-on/turn key everything. We have an entire generation missing out on the satisfaction of sanding & shaping a beautifully grained piece of wood to fit their hand exactly.

In our fast-paced, instant gratification society, there doesn't seem to be much patience left for things that a lot of people used to enjoy. I'll admit, working and raising a family takes all my time at this point in life, so I don't have the patience to do anything very slow and time consuming.

Here's another set of grips that I made some years ago. It took many hours to get them just right, and it's a simple set for an old Ruger Standard:

[namsag]

I cannot use the big round plowhandle grips on Ruger Blackhawks and Vaqueros. The gun rolls back in my hand on recoil and I cannot hold on to it. I like them quite a bit thinner and flatter, I can control them better. I order from Henry Lance at Texas Grips, let him know the thickness I would like across the bottom of the butt, and tell him I would like them as flat as possible, almost like he is making a set of semiauto grips for a revolver. He does them very nicely, they feel great and shoot great to me. I am looking forward to another set arriving in the next couple of days.

[Iwsbull]

I have fairly large hands and on a Ruger Bisley grip I like a thinner panel than what came from the factory at least on my 44 special. The thicker ones lined my finger up just perfect with the trigger guard so that it would deliver the maximum impact to my knuckle. I do wish the grips were a bit longer as well, anyway with a thinner grip it saved my knuckle with the 44 magnum and 480 Ruger.

[VariableRecall]

After waiting a Long, Long time and being very patient when I sent my Order Form in Nov, my Tyler Manufacturing T-Grips finally arrived and solved the problem of not having enough meat underneath the trigger of my Model 10-5! The Military Style grips were from another Gunloads User, but now my 10-5 can masquerade as a Victory model AND be comfortable to use!

[Green Frog]

Back to Altamont grips, I was excited when I saw that they were making a set of grips in what they called the Roper style. I bought a set of them in walnut for one of my S&W square butt revolvers, the recreated Model 16-3. They look very nice, but I found them entirely to thin for me to shoot comfortably. This is my experience with my hands, as with all things involving fit and comfort, YMMV.

Froggie

[oldhenry]

In our fast-paced, instant gratification society, there doesn't seem to be much patience left for things that a lot of people used to enjoy. I'll admit, working and raising a family takes all my time at this point in life, so I don't have the patience to do anything very slow and time consuming.

Here's another set of grips that I made some years ago. It took many hours to get them just right, and it's a simple set for an old Ruger Standard:

Nice job on those grips.