Revolver "soft" grips.

[Changeling]

I have only ever had to buy 1 pair of revolver grips and they were for a 44 Magnum years ago. They were Presentation Packmar (spelling) witch I like very much.

However it's been a long time and would appreciate who makes the best now since there is probably something new by now. I would consider my hands to be average.
They will be for a BlackHawk 45 LC.

[Bass Ackward]

How do you consider your gun?

I ask this because the best shooting is often done when you can control the recoil. If you have perfect alignment and the gun recoils perfectly every time, then you can go soft grips.

Don't believe me? Try it. Have someone hold your gun (that is unloaded of coarse) in a fairly firm grip and you reach out and grab the muzzle applying pressure 360 degrees very S L O W L Y and watch how much you can move the gun without moving his hand or wrist.

So if all cylinders are perfectly aligned, you are in like flint. No more soft grips for me. :grin:

[44man]

I love Pachmeyer grips. They are narrow enough and get my knuckle away from the trigger guard. ALL of my revolvers have them.
I hate fat grips. I have very large hands too.

[9.3X62AL]

Handgun grips are a pretty subjective thing. Pachmayr retail displays at one time had actual grip examples exposed where a customer could go "hands on" with the products to assess their feel.

Hogue Grips and Micheals of Oregon both produce neoprene handgun grips in a variety of styles to fit a number of autopistol and revolver gripframes. Specific to the Ruger Blackhawk and the "plow-handle" grip frames found on them, my own preferences with loads up to the level of 357 Magnum and 45 Colt/1873 power are to have the factory grips allow the revolver to "roll up" in the hand during recoil, and not really attempt to "control" that motion. The hammer comes to rest in easy reach of the thumb for follow-up shots.

I prefer the Bisley grip for any single-action revolver producing more recoil than the amount described above. Bisley model Colt and Ruger revolvers feature a lower-profile hammer spur design, which may be a tacit indicator that the Bisley grip-frame isn't designed with the recoil roll in mind. Just my guess, as to that.

[odis]

On my black hawk 45 I have the Hogue monos, they are ugly and look out of place on a sixshooter but I have never shot the gun so well with any other grip. My hand likes them much more then the Pachmeyers.

[yondering]

I have no idea what Bass Ackward was trying to say.

I had a set of Hogue overmolded grips on my 4-5/8" Blackhawk for a little while. They did reduce roll in the hand, and made the gun shoot way way low. They also wrenched my fingers upwards during recoil with heavy loads, from the tacky grip surface and the finger grooves.

I've figured out that the Bisley grip handles recoil the best, and don't plan to ever go back to a standard Blackhawk grip.

[Bullshop Junior]

Pachmeyer are good.

[Sprue]

I've only had one set that I ever liked. That said you can have the rest. (Pachmayr that is)

[GSM]

Hogue black rubber (neoprene?) seem to be real good right now - good combination of squishy & sticky at the same time.

[Dale53]

I am shooting my new Ruger Flattops with Pachmayr grips (they were originally intended for a Colt SAA). With the factory grips the trigger guard strikes my middle finger HARD! Using the Pachmayrs, it is just pure pleasure shooting these revolvers.

I also have a new SS Bisley .45 Convertible and with .45 Colt level loads it works fine. I just recently got this one and have yet to shoot it with any heavy loads.

Personally, I get better control with the rubber grips and my shooting shows it "on target". I have Pachmayrs on just about everything I own.

Dale53

[stubshaft]

Another vote for the Hogue grips. Looks like heck but they work for me.

[44man]

I have a friend that is funny. He loves Freedom guns and the smooth, shiny grips. He is more of a gun polisher then a shooter! :mrgreen:
He brought his .475 to shoot and it beat both of us so he went home and ordered the rubber grips.
Then it was nice but when he gets home and cleans the gun, he switches grips again. Well, he forgot the last time out and it was a bear on our knuckles. Don't let anyone tell you a Bisley is nice! :veryconfu:veryconfu:veryconfu
It is no wonder he only shoots the gun every two years. :violin:
The reason I don't like fat grips is the same reason narrow grips are on bows, less side torque. Too hard to get the same feel shot to shot.

[bobke]

related to the bisley, i've tried hogue micartas-which with a little work with a dremel tool might wind up being best yet. have also tried the vintage/half checkered hard rubber grip, which other than not coming with the proper escutcheon setup-were way to wide at the base, have put a granular spray on texture coating from brownells over standard ruger bisley grips, even stuck an inner tube over them to find some form of grip. not shape as much as 'grip'-holding on to the gun. a combination of very dry hands throughout the winter, now a bit cool in texas and it's hell to hold on to the gun the same way, each and every time.

my idea of perfect might be a properly shaped grip panel either from uncle mikes, hogue or pachmayr-for the correct texture and 'stick'. not oversize, maybe a bit longer to fit over the heel of the grip for those with a wide hand. would still let the gun roll, but would sure improve the ability to hold on to the gun with heavier loads it seems to prefer and might assure a consistent hold, which seems to be the holy grail of a correctly placed shot.

anyone know of someone out there making something like this? i'm getting desperate, a spray can of automotive bumper texture's sitting in the garage waiting for it to warm up enough to spray another set of grip panels. please don't make to resort to this!

[Three44s]

Grips ....... are a very personal thing.

I've never been able to figure out what's gonna work until I shoot with them ........

Back in the day ....... Elmer's day ........ guys must have been tougher ......... looking at the grips he used ...... no Goodyears then ........... stag and other non-forgiving materials used instead.

We must have lost something over the years?


Three 44s

[44man]

Grips ....... are a very personal thing.

I've never been able to figure out what's gonna work until I shoot with them ........

Back in the day ....... Elmer's day ........ guys must have been tougher ......... looking at the grips he used ...... no Goodyears then ........... stag and other non-forgiving materials used instead.

We must have lost something over the years?


Three 44s
No, what we shoot today would have had Elmer looking for a ton of foam rubber! :wink:

[Bucks Owin]

I am shooting my new Ruger Flattops with Pachmayr grips (they were originally intended for a Colt SAA). With the factory grips the trigger guard strikes my middle finger HARD!
Dale53
Know what you mean Dale, my avatar FT .44 did the same. No matter how I gripped, I'd end up with a bruised middle finger (and a flinch) by the time I'd fired a couple dozen hot loads. I finally swapped grip frames with an OM Single Six and just that extra 1/8" of the "RED" GF made all the difference for me. (And the SS feels nice with the FT gripframe on it)....FWIW, Dennis

[MtGun44]

People that have handled Elmer's carved ivory grips say that the steer's head is
a real palm swell that helps the recoil a whole lot. Never handled them, so just
reporting someone else's opinion.

I also suport the point that a lot of the loads today are a lot hotter than Elmer shot.

Bill

[Bass Ackward]

I have no idea what Bass Ackward was trying to say.

I had a set of Hogue overmolded grips on my 4-5/8" Blackhawk for a little while. They did reduce roll in the hand, and made the gun shoot way way low. They also wrenched my fingers upwards during recoil with heavy loads, from the tacky grip surface and the finger grooves.

I've figured out that the Bisley grip handles recoil the best, and don't plan to ever go back to a standard Blackhawk grip.



What I was trying to say is that soft grips do mitigate recoil when a hard grip doesn't fit your hand. Guns that recoil exactly the same with each cylinder will perform with soft grips. But if you have one that does NOT and needs to be controlled more like a Ransom would, or if you like to alter your grip, then you are screwed with rubber. Some rubber even changes the way it controls the gun as you squeeze more or less.

But .... if you get a hard wooden grip to fit your hand and the gun totally, recoil is dissipated everywhere in your hand and recoil feels less (much less) than with any generic rubber grip I have used. And I have arthritis so I am more sensitive than most. Grip change is virtually impossible cause the hand always goes to the same (proper) location on the grip.

I am slowly replacing all the rubber I have with wood as I can afford to do so. Starting with the heavy recoiling stuff first.

[Changeling]

I'm going with the Packmahr. I remember now that the original SBH grips ( wood on the 44 Mag) just didn't give me that feeling of control that everyone wants, the Pachmahr's did. Anyone that has a set for a Blackhawk , I'm interested.

[Ekalb2000]

Had Packmahrs on my SBH44, beat me up. Then I made my own out of wormy chestnut. They are thinner than stock rosewood. It works for me.
The grip frame on the redhawk is another story. It pushes back like a rifle. I prefer the roll of the plow grip.
Dont really feal anything on the .357 after shooting the 44's.

[Three44s]

............................

I also suport the point that a lot of the loads today are a lot hotter than Elmer shot.

Bill


Not picking on your post but just trying to make a point.

Elmer certainly worked with the .44 mag's and .45 LC's in different formats.

AND I have a picture of him shooting a revolver built on .45-70 .......

Now, the super rounds .... .454 Causul and the .475's in particular ...... that's a different story .......... the .454 was in it's infancy while he lived and the others were perhaps just glimmers in their founder's eye?

But the .44 loads of 'old ....... were anything but creme puffs.

How we perceive recoil ....... HAS CHANGED!

What was once accepted as just the way things are ................

....... is now something we expect conqueered by modern technology.

That's what I was trying to convey.

Three 44s

[Bucks Owin]

Had Packmahrs on my SBH44, beat me up. Then I made my own out of wormy chestnut. They are thinner than stock rosewood. It works for me.
The grip frame on the redhawk is another story. It pushes back like a rifle. I prefer the roll of the plow grip.
Dont really feal anything on the .357 after shooting the 44's.
That wormy chestnut looks good! And I agree about the plowhandle grips, I've always felt more recoil from a M-29 than a SBH with the same load...FWIW, Dennis

[44man]

I shot IHMSA for years with Pachmeyer grips on my SBH. I could shift my grip depending on target position without losing a target. I did all kinds of grip changes during a shoot.
This was a NO-NO with a S&W or SRH.
I feel the hog leg is the most forgiving grip ever made but I never let it "ROLL" in my hand. I hold it very firm and let the gun raise my arm.
Working with many Bisley grips has shown they are sensitive to hold also.
For extreme accuracy, the grip is very important and sometimes it has nothing to do with how it feels or comfort.
I don't think any grip that pushes straight back is as accurate as one that lets the gun rise. It might have something to do with body tension between shots. I can't pin it down, but give me a hog leg every time.
You can tell right away if the grip is a problem. Shoot a good group, then put the gun down. Load it and shoot another group and if the POI is different, the grip is the cause.

[Bass Ackward]

You can tell right away if the grip is a problem. Shoot a good group, then put the gun down. Load it and shoot another group and if the POI is different, the grip is the cause.


Yes exactly. If you have the generic hand to take advantage of the generic grip, then you are good to go. (for short runs)

But for me a fair test is to lay it down and pick it up several times. If you have a POI change then your hand is NOT establishing the same grip even if it did it twice in a row. It's not from the gun type, but the grip. No gun type is less vulnerable than another, it does lay with the grip.

If short term is the key, you have more flexibility. If a long term shoot is the game, then you will find comfort as well as repeatability enters into the picture. IMO. But seldom are single actions shot for long strings anyway as they are for snap shooting.

[Groo]

Groo here
Rubber grips are good for damp conditions and to soften the grip , I use on most all smiths..
A smooth grip seems best on a heavy kicker that allows the gun to slide.
Checkered grips [and some rubber] hold the gun tight to the hand [not to be used with most heavy kickers.
In most cases, aslong as your hand is on the grip in the same place and you let the gun run a little[ don't fight it combat style] the gun movement and bullet will be gone before you know it.

[44man]

Groo here
Rubber grips are good for damp conditions and to soften the grip , I use on most all smiths..
A smooth grip seems best on a heavy kicker that allows the gun to slide.
Checkered grips [and some rubber] hold the gun tight to the hand [not to be used with most heavy kickers.
In most cases, aslong as your hand is on the grip in the same place and you let the gun run a little[ don't fight it combat style] the gun movement and bullet will be gone before you know it.
No, Groo, the harder the gun recoils, the less slip you want. If you want super accuracy, the gun should never move in your grip.
You will get all kinds of vertical stringing with a grip that rotates.

[Changeling]

No, Groo, the harder the gun recoils, the less slip you want. If you want super accuracy, the gun should never move in your grip.
You will get all kinds of vertical stringing with a grip that rotates.

That's exactly why I bought the Pachmahr's for the 44 mag some years ago. Recoil would want to spin the grip a little upward in my hand with wood grips. That stopped with the Pachmahr's. :grin:

[jameslovesjammie]

To me it depends on the gun. I have shot Pachmyers on a Contender and loved them. I shot them on a K frame and hated them. I have a Hogue monogrip on my 686 and love it. I bought one for my CZ and hate it. I settled on a palm swell walnut for it. I tried the factory on a SuperBlackhawk and hated them. I kept getting my fingers slapped with the trigger guard. I would try ANYTHING else in a heatbeat.

I guess I fall into the camp of try a couple and see if you like it. The pachmyer and hogue are both cheap enough to buy both and sell or return the other.

[Changeling]

To me it depends on the gun. I have shot Pachmyers on a Contender and loved them. I shot them on a K frame and hated them. I have a Hogue monogrip on my 686 and love it. I bought one for my CZ and hate it. I settled on a palm swell walnut for it. I tried the factory on a SuperBlackhawk and hated them. I kept getting my fingers slapped with the trigger guard. I would try ANYTHING else in a heatbeat.

I guess I fall into the camp of try a couple and see if you like it. The pachmyer and hogue are both cheap enough to buy both and sell or return the other.

The SBH .44 Mag is what I have. The Pachmahr grips made a load of difference for me, but that is with my hand, yours could be different. But like you say, they are cheap enough to give a try then you wouldn't have to use up that heartbeat, LOL. I should add the SBH .44 Mag is the only big bore I have till I bought my Ruger 45 Black hawk, and shooting that is a while away, but it WILL have the packmahr's on it, because I know all about that finger/knuckle!

[dk17hmr]

I have Hogue grips on my SRH 454 and my S&W N-Frame 357 Magnum, they arent much to look at but I use my handguns.