[Mastrogiacomo]

I love the looks of Hogue's wooden grips. Just can't decide which one would be best for my gun -- wooden finger groves or checkered wood with finger groves.... What does everyone else like on their revolver?

[22luvr]

I like my revolver grips, for that purpose, to be very small and totally slick for easy access. I got a pair of Rosewood grips from Taurus for my Mod 85 and they were just beautiful.......very small combat-style.

I generally don't like checkering of any kind on any of my guns.

[Mastrogiacomo]

I wasn't too sure myself about checkered wood. I got the 686P in a 4" recently and while I love the Hogue rubber -- I wanted to see something in a wood grip but not sure which has the nicest look. Obviously, I'm not carrying this gun... :D

[Tamara]

...I think smooth looks better than checkered.

Below are a set of smooth Ahrend's stocks and a set of checkered Secret Grips from Eagle.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=1330397

[Robert inOregon]

Full finger groove, square or round and no checkering is what I prefer. Don't like the quality of Hogue or Eagle and prefer Nill, Ajax or Ahrends.

http://home.earthlink.net/~pkalfonso/s_w657plainvanilla.jpg

[Mastrogiacomo]

First time I've heard a negative regarding Hogue's quality....:eek:

[Ala Dan]

How about Jordan Trooper's by Herrett?

Just be sure you have large paws for these grips!:D :uhoh:

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[Poohgyrr]

I was real happy with Hogue Pau Ferros on my old 4" 686, they worked very well.

I have a set of Ahrends Coco Bolo on a 4" N frame that are great. I hear a lot of good things about Spegel's as well.

[JCM298]

I've got two sets of Badger grips, Lockport, NY. One set is for a Smith J frame and the other is for a Colt Magnum Carry. I like them,

John

[B27]

I like Hogue smooth wood. I usually order them in Coco Bolo or Rosewood with a contrasting butt cap...

http://www.fototime.com/D4147E791BA4B0D/standard.jpg

www.getgrip.com

[Frenchy]

Craig Spegel!

http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/2003781146146414667747.jpg

[Mastrogiacomo]

Thanks folks. :) I'll do a search on Craig Spegel. I also like the look of Hogue's Lamo Camo and Ajax's Silverblack wood....

[Stainz]

My wife won't shoot my heavily checkered, whether wood or rubber, gripped revolvers claiming they hurt. The smooth with finger grooves Hogue wooden monogrip I have on my 4" 625 (.45ACP) is fine with her. She is 5'10", so the larger grips, and most wooden grips will be at least as big as those stock grips on your 686P, are barely acceptable as well. She did like the wooden 'boot' grips I bought for my 296 liteweight .44 Special, but never fired it to find out just how much more painful they are. Recoil - and your grip size - are things to consider. If you have a dealer who stocks those Hogue monogrips, ask him to try them on your revolver - it just takes one screw. If they fit your hand, they are great. If no one locally carries them, try Brownell's (mail order - or 800#)... a friend did so - and returned his for a credit when he didn't like them. They are decent folks to deal with.

Stainz

[Ultraman]

Favorite wooden grip?
Can you say "Craig Spegel"?
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/2003784209728062588899.jpg

[Dave Markowitz]

I like these Herrett's Shooting Stars on my model 28:

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/frodo527/sw_model28.jpg

[Robert inOregon]

First time I've heard a negative regarding Hogue's quality....

Don't want anyone to think that I'm whining or any crap like that. :D Have used Hogue in the past and have not been satisfied with their fit and performance.

Gun above use to sport Hogue pictured below, but they cracked at the backstrap. Second picture is of a set of Hogue grips with an extremely poor wood to metal fit. Right side panel is not even touching the grip frame. Last picture are Lamo Camo with contract butt plate. They're perfect, so far. All I can say is its a hit or miss with these guys.

http://home.earthlink.net/~pkalfonso/dscn0006.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~pkalfonso/dscn0007.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~pkalfonso/s_w625pchunter.jpg

[martin]

Robert I have to agree with you on Hogue. I have a set of their grips for a Sig 228 that broke under the area where the screw goes in - no the screws weren't overly tight. The area simply did not have enough wood there.

As for grips in general, I like the looks of smooth wood much more than checkered. For practicality and good grip I prefer stippling such as on the Nill-Griffe line of grips. For production grips I would go with Nill-Griffe if they are available for your firearm.

http://www.nill-griffe.com

[Bullet Bob]

First of all - Robert in Oregon; can your gun come over to play?

These are Herrett Troopers, fancy walnut (I like pretty wood, what can I say); they feel great:

http://www.fototime.com/5F3CB629DD490A9/standard.jpg

And these are by Roy Fishpaw; I find them incomparable for fit and feel - Roy doesn't have a website - he's a one man band; you have to get on a waiting list, and then send him the gun for him to fit the grips (almost any natural material you can think of).

http://www.fototime.com/EFF11906F72E332/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/F78DAC616E49104/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/277A31D19719402/standard.jpg

The bottom gun in the picture above is now wearing polished sambar stag by Roy:

http://www.fototime.com/64E43D648FA2116/standard.jpg

[Majic]

I like smooth grips, preferably a lightly contoured fingergroove. The old Smith & Wesson Combat grips on my 24-3 are acceptable, but the Ahrends on my MG will have the sharp fingergrooves sanded down. They are way to sharp for my tastes. A nice set of the Combat grips for the MG will be even better.

[Shane]

My favorite: Coco Bolo wood, NON-checkered, NO finger grooves.

Finger grooves never fit my hand correctly, and are a nuisance IMO.

Checkering is typically abrasive like sandpaper and hurts during recoil--despite the fact that it helps you hold on better I don't like it. Plus, I consider checkered wood ugly.

I've tried both out (grips with checkering and finger groves) and grips without both, and I prefer plain grips made of Coco Bolo.

Just IMO, YMMV.

[Wil Terry]

1. My fingers have no problems lining up so I do not need finger groves.
2. My hands tell me checkering/checking on a sixgun grip will get nasty under any moderate to heavy recoil so I don't need checkering/checking either.
3. After spending a pile of money on handgun stocks over the past 45 years my hands tell me NOTHING is better than the Skeeter Skelton style stocks on any K, L, or N frame S+W sixgun [ and I own one of only two J-frame Skeeters ever made; perfection on a sporting J-frame!! ]
4. You can hardly make such stocks too thin; the closer you can come to closing your hand entirely upon the sixgun the better off you'll be. If the wood stocks are nearly transparent they're about the right thickness [ only a slight exaggeration ]
5. Hogue's without those finger grooves and thinned about 50% are damn fine too!!
6. I miss skeeter Skelton as he showed us the way, the truth, and the light.
And so it goes...

[Erich]

Amen.

[Archie]

I will say the best "off the shelf" stocks are Herretts; Shooting Stars with the exposed backstrap work best for me (small hands).

Like Terry M says, I don't need grooves. In fact, my fingers usually end up on the lands rather than the grooves. I like checkering, but only on the front side of the grip, where it helps my fingers get purchase, not on the rear where it digs into my palms.

You're on the right track, MG. Wood is better.

[TheFrontRange]

For me, those big ol' Smith and Wesson wooden "target stocks" work just fine. I love the look and feel of them on K- and N-Frame Magnums!

Thus far, I've not been closer to a set of Skeeter Skelton-style grips (like those from Blu-Magnum in Colorado Springs) than the pages of a Sheriff Jim Wilson article...but I CRAVE a set of those grips, too! Of course, I think I'd need a nice, minty four-inch Model 19 or a five-inch Model 27 to properly enjoy them! :)

[Mastrogiacomo]

I love the look of the Lamo Camo wood...:D Quick question, why do the S&W triggers look so ugly next to the Colts and other guns shown here. My trigger almost looks black but it was once stainless steel....I've tried to polish it but no way to get the original look back.

[4v50 Gary]

Factory target stocks for Colt Python. Nothing fancy, but it feels good. Any grip with the "finger grooves" makes me hold the gun too low and gives me less control. Curse of the small mitts.

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

I made 300 of these in 1975 and have 2 left for a K-38. It is for Olympic/ISU/ISSF use. Bet you havent seen anything like it.

Paul Jones Fitz Pistol Grips retired 1979

[mainmech48]

Herrett's Shooting Master. I have big hands, but not anywhere near as big as Bill Jordan's were. Tried a set of the hard plastic Pachmayr "Jordan Troopers" on my 625 and didn't like 'em at all-WAY too big for me.

Made-to-measure and a bit pricey, but they're the only ones I've found that make an N-frame fit my hand like a glove and point naturally.

[Poohgyrr]

Hey all,
I have a set of Fitz Combat grips (walnut) for my old 3 1/2" pre M27 that are really nice, I like them A LOT and would recommend them without hesitation. I've also handled a set of the grips he pictured above and they look pretty good as well, anyone into shooting tiny holes far away might want to look into them. I had never seen that style of grips before.

[Tamara]

Quick question, why do the S&W triggers look so ugly next to the Colts and other guns shown here.

In the picture below, the light-colored S&W triggers are flash-chromed (usually found on '80s-'90s stainless guns) whereas the mottled-looking ones are "case colored" (the same process used on the frames of the guns in Bullet Bob's bottom two pictures.)

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=90790

Why do S&W's have case-colored triggers and hammers? I dunno, why do priests wear robes or BMW's have funny-looking grills? Tradition, I guess.