S&W 44mag Mountain Gun

[siamese4570]

I've got to change out the Hogue grip that came on my 629 Mountain gun. It does not cover the backstrap and is too skinny at the top, consequently the web of my hand takes a pounding. I'm shooting 260 gr swc at about 950 fps, so this is not full boat 44 mag ammmunition. Has anyone tried either the Pacmayer Presentation or compact grips on their 629? I've tried the Pacmayer Decelerator on my 44 Redhawk and found it to be too skinny. I finally settled on the Presentation grip on the Redhawk although it is about the diameter of a fence post. Anyone have any experience here?

Thanks

Siamese4570

[RKJ]

I found the pachmyers to be not much more comfortable than the wooden factory grips on a 629 I had some years ago, but liked the Hogues. Sorry, I know that doesn't help you much.

[Dale53]

The newer Pachmayr Decelerator grips work extremely well for me. I have rather large hands with long fingers. I MUST have the back strap covered to have proper trigger position. The Decelerator grips are cushiony and absorb recoil quite well.

Dale53

[Slow Elk 45/70]

I think you answered your own question, if the Decelerator grip is too skinny use the Presentation grip or take a look at the Houges...good luck, you can spend a bit of $$$ trying to find a grip that YOU like. [smilie=b:

[bdutro]

Karl Nill, Jim Badger or X-frame Hogues.

[bearcove]

I have a mountain revolver with the pachmayrs the put on them back when it first came out. Must of been 86-87. They fit me good. So they work. They are the ones with the finger grooves.

[crabo]

X-frame Hogues.

These have the pad on the backstrap.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Originally Posted by bdutro
X-frame Hogues.
These have the pad on the backstrap.

And IIRC they have are made of a special rubber formula that is supposed to be more absorbent of recoil. This would be my first choice, considering the concerns you mention.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive used the pac compacts on hard kicking L frames and actually liked them better then the factory grips. My 396 with keith level loads would chew my hand up the same as yours and everytime i shot it i bled. The pac compacts took care of that.

[Randall]

If you can find them the Uncle Mikes grips cover the backstrap and do not feel like a 4x4 post like the Pachmayer presentation. They are hard to find anymore but do a better job than any other brand unless you get custom fitted grips.

[Dale53]

Here is a picture of my 625-6 (5" barrel) with Pachmayr Decelerator grips. They fit me extremely well.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QDalesRevolversandPistols-1720-1.jpg

Dale53

[AlaskaMike]

I can't stand Hogues--I had a .44 Anaconda with a pair for awhile and hated them. I replaced them with Eagle's Oversize grips in rosewood and am very happy. While they're wood instead of rubber, the felt recoil is definitely less.

One big problem with rubber grips that I haven't seen anyone mention yet (at least for me anyhow), is that on a hard recoiling gun if I don't have gloves on the rubber grips my skin enough that on a longer shooting session I'll get a pretty big blister on the palm of my right hand. If I wore gloves I was okay, but with the smooth wood grips from Eagle it just isn't an issue anymore.

Mike

[Dale53]

Mike,
This illustrates that we are all different. I have never had a problem with Pachmayr grips but the wood grips of ANY (I have tried a large number of them) cause serious pain at the base of my thumb. Just a personal thing...

Dale53

[redneckdan]

I have a 4" 629 round butt. It came with the factory hogue grips....they suck. I found a set of pachmyer presentations for a square butt at a gun show, they were cheap. Even though they fit sloppy on my 629 they are a very big improvement. I still need to order a set of proper grips for my 629. Believe it or not I like the factory wood grips that came on the square butt 629s.

[44man]

How the grips work and feel will be different for everyone.
The thing is that the light packing guns are not made to shoot steady, sight them, get a little used to them and carry them. They are going to beat you up, no way out of it.

[GLL]

Dale:

Although most my revolvers wear pretty wood grips they get a set off Pachmayrs when they go to the range or out into the desert ! :)

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/D6DBB36312AD6AD/orig.jpg

[OBXPilgrim]

Wow, I'm kind of shocked.

I put Hogues on all my revolters because they fit so much better than the originals (wood target N frame square butt & Pachmayr decelerators). Guess I'm just the opposite as everyone else that posted in this thread.

I think the Hogues are as close to perfect as I could find.

[TDC]

As others have said, try the 500 grips on your 629. They fit and do a better job of absorbing heavy recoil. I've tried just about everything and have learned to adapt the grip to the caliber and how it's used.

As 44man said, one of the main considerations needing to be made when buying a very light weight N frame is the often punishing effect of recoil with any grip. If a few ounces are desired to be saved the trade-off can be a rather uncomfortable handgun to shoot.

Also, everyone's hands are different and we simply have to try them all to find an ideal we can live with. The only reason I like rubber grips for hunting is I can't stand to beat up wood grips, otherwise fine fitting and smooth wood grips tend to feel the most comfortable.

My current shooters, all with different grips except those on the 500...

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/tdcorp/CurrentShooters-boolits.jpg

[Three44s]

Grips are about personal choice. I realize that this has been posted already ...... but I don't think you can overstate this fact.

My "goodyears" that came with my Mountain Gun (Hogues) are dang near perfect ..... but I would like the backstrap covered as well. That's according to the web of my hand .... not my trigger reach.

And though wood is as pleasing to the eye as just about any material could be ...... I too am most sensitive to beating up a set of nice woods. My guns ...... with few exceptions need to "work" ..... looks are secondary with most of them.

I would suggest looking at the "X-frame" for the mountain gun in a rubber grip and the Roper style of wood grips.

I had a good set of Roper style on a Dan Wesson (large framed) and they were GRAND with one exception ....... they were a little torquey and some checkering on the sides would have eliminated the bit of twisting I fought with them ..... but they developed a crack and I set them aside until I get the courage to try to repair them. In their retirement, I have installed a set of rubber Hogues.

So for your issues ..... I'd try the "X's" or a set of wood Ropers.

Best of luck in your endeavor

Three 44s

[S.R.Custom]

Wow, I'm kind of shocked.

I put Hogues on all my revolters because they fit so much better than the originals (wood target N frame square butt & Pachmayr decelerators). Guess I'm just the opposite as everyone else that posted in this thread.

Not everyone... I like 'em too.

In the beginning, I hated 'em. But then I realized something-- The shape of the Hogues are such that they force you to hold the gun the exact same way every time, and this resulted in a tremendous improvement in my accuracy when I was first learning to shoot.

Subsequent to that, I got into weight training, and I increased my hand strength and grip by quite a lot. Once I did that, the whole exposed backstrap problem became a non-issue. I even began to appreciate the stock Dragoon grips on the Ruger SBH.

But I digress. Anymore, I only shoot Hogues on the S&Ws, and if the revolver is a round butt, I opt for the square butt conversion grip. They feel the best for me, and I shoot better as a result.

[redneckdan]

If anyone wants to swap me for my factory houge grips, I'm all ears.

[Shuz]

Wow, I'm kind of shocked.

I put Hogues on all my revolters because they fit so much better than the originals (wood target N frame square butt & Pachmayr decelerators). Guess I'm just the opposite as everyone else that posted in this thread.

I think the Hogues are as close to perfect as I could find.

I've got Hogues on all my 629's and all my Ruger 44's. They really seem to fit my hands better than others I've tried. The only drawback I see is that a few of my Hogues have a metal S&W medallion imbedded in them that I wish wasn't there. I'd be willing to trade them for like Hogues if anybody was interested.

[Ed K]

I too like the factory Hogues but wouldn't mind a little more cushion. Heard a number of times about the X-frame grips. How do they affect trigger reach?

[siamese4570]

I appreciate everyones replies. Here's what I came up with. Looked all over these parts (Tulsa) trying to find either a set of Pacmayer Presentations or the Compacts for my mountain gun. No one had any so I rolled the dice and ordered a set of the compacts from midway. Got them yesterday and put them on. Felt pretty good, were definitely wider at the top than the factor hogues were. Had a match military bolt match at the club this morning. Tried the grips after the match. Probably not the best day for it. It was just above freezing and a steady wind blowing. They felt ok with my really cold hands. Noticeable improvement over the hogues.

siamese4570

[Dark Helmet]

Compacs:bigsmyl2: