Wood vs. Rubber Stocks... Why do I have to choose between comfort and appearance?

The Ahrends retro-targets are not bad but they're not perfect either. I find them to be too narrow at the backstrap.

Crowman said:

Would love several sets of wood brown Pachmayr Diamond Pros.

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I see nothing wrong with a blued gun with black grips, but the contrast against stainless is always better looking to my eye. Here is the Diamond Pro on my 629-8 Classic 5": This grip works well for my smallish hands, and the palm swell seems to help with recoil. With my Blackhawk I have to put a Bandaid on my right (strong hand), middle-finger knuckle, and that keeps the trigger guard from taking the fun out of shooting the gun. The 629 doesn't present that problem.


I should note that none of my carry guns use rubber this tacky, because it sticks to clothing.

I think many gun owners see their handgun stocks as a fashion statement. There are many who see the stocks as a practical choice. It is your dollars and your choice.

Ive used both over time, I find well shaped factory S&W Target grips the best overall for me. Poorly shaped and fitted ones are miserable though. I didn't realize why some felt great and some didn't until looking closely at a set of targets on a 1950s Highway Patrolman. I took one side of its grips and one side of later Smith targets and traced the outline on the front side, and duplicated that, and duplicated the beveling/shaping of the rear and front edges. The best feeling ones fit the frame shape very well at the hump and backstrap, and were very well sloped back from the edges. Later factory grips feel very square and blocky. Ive reshaped a couple dozen or so, many people that felt them thought they were the best feeling Smith grips they've felt.

So far all the rubber grips Ive tried were way too thin at the top rear, the part that slams into the web of your hand. That's all wrong to me, that should be wider and give more surface area. The Herrets Ive had and seen were also very thin and narrow at the top rear. Ive traded of a couple sets without even shooting them. They came on the gun and I just wasn't interested. I guess they work OK for some folks. The grips Craig posted pics of look like they are wide enough at the top rear, and the lighting looks like they are shaped well.

If the hand is held as far up against the hump as they comfortably and practically can be they shouldnt be moving much when shooting. Certainly shouldn't require the hand to be repositioned every shot. The target hammer spur on Smiths is too long for DA shooting when the hand is bedded well at the top of the grip. Ive ground all the 44 hammer spurs to service size. The extra length never seemed like it really helped, and certainly hurt performance if it didn't allow the hand to be positioned well or required the hand to be repositioned when shooting. A bench grinder and a service hammer to compare to makes a short job of it. The ones Ive done, the only way to tell the difference from factory is the lack of color case hardening on the edges where it was ground shorter and narrower. Cold blue can help with that, but in the long tern doesn't hold up well like real blue or color case hardening. The finish on the edges doesn't bother me either way though, I'm just happy they don't cause problems any more.

One thing about shooting heavier caliber handguns, the more you do it the more your hand toughens up. When I shot my 4" 29 with smooth targets on it regularly, heavy loads didn't bother me at all. If I wasn't shooting it much, it would somewhat until I got my hands back in shape a bit. Ive never ever has checkering on grips hurt my hands. Toughening up the hands may help that.

Completely agree single actions are easier ion the hands than DAs with similar heavy loads. I also round over the inner edge where the Ruger factory and many custom grips leave a squarish edge. Never understood that, the best feeling SA grips Ive held were rounded over in that area right behind the trigger. Ive reshaped a number of Ruger factory grips and improved them quite a lot. Ive gone so far as the make a bevel on the rear edge of the grip frame right behind the screw behind the trigger. The percussion era Colts, and I believe some early SAAs were beveled off right there, it allows the curve to work all the way around to the frame above the trigger, with no squared edge at all. Properly fitted grips helps even more, my favorites being some one piece rosewoods I made for a couple Rugers. To properly fit SA grips, they really should be on the gun and worked right down to the metal, then the metal refinished. Most Ruger grips are slightly oversize to the metal and have a weird flat spot at the wood to metal transition. I guess their priority is no fitting required on any gun they go on, which they achieved, the end result being they really don't fit any of them truly well.

Added a pic. I made red lines to the edges of where I shaped the squared edges back to, duplicating the feel of the best older factory targets Ive felt. On smooth targets, the lines can be continued through the checkered zone. Theres a small poorly fitting area at the side of the hump, these grips were shaped for a different gun. Generally, if you can see the side of the frame, the grips arent fitting at their best, nor should they be higher than the metal. The only way to get them at their best is shaping them on the individual gun. If the grip medallions stick out, they need to be reset. Ive never tried it, just got rid of grips that weren't easy to shape well. Sad that Smith let such poorly made grips out the door. I saw a number of them in the 80s when I messed with grips the most. It seems that over time, Smiths wood factory grips just got worse and worse shaped and fitted.

This is a crazy idea but hear me out, I hear there is a remedy for full bore .44 Magnum loads , it's called the .44 SPL. There has been some great comments here regarding grip material but ya gotta answer a question are you perhaps a bit recoil sensitive? If you are id think the lower powered round would be of more use to you than grip material.

As to the primary questions of why manufacturers don't make woody looking rubber stocks?

I think there's been a backlash building since the 1970s or so, agaist materials being faked up to look like something they aren't.

Remember the thin "walnut" paneling in your grandpa's basement den? Well, since that lofty nadir we've moved away from faux wood grain and cubic zirconium.

I think the one current exception I can think of is the "gr-ivory" stocks some are trying, but that's a special case as the real thing is becoming illegal.

If I was a stocks and grips maker I'd make products in lots of different materials but I'd never make them faked up to look like what they aren't. It would just be gauche.

That's just my way of looking at things, but I'd guess it has a lot to do with it.

Another aspect of rubber grips I haven't often seen mentioned, they smell bad. Perhaps I notice it more than most, but all the rubber grips Ive handled smell slightly rubbery/skunky to me and leave that smell on my hands. Its a really unpleasant smell to me. Dont like. At all.

Regarding loads, I shot more full power magnums early on, but I settled into 9 grs Unique w/240-250 gr cast bullet for the majority of general shooting and carrying anywhere but where the bears live. Much less muzzle blast and much less kick, noticeably flatter shooting over several hundred yards that factory level 44 spls.

Barry the Bear said:

This is a crazy idea but hear me out, I hear there is a remedy for full bore .44 Magnum loads , it's called the .44 SPL. There has been some great comments here regarding grip material but ya gotta answer a question are you perhaps a bit recoil sensitive? If you are id think the lower powered round would be of more use to you than grip material.

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Unfortunately, that's not a full-time remedy. If you're hunting with a .44Mag, practicing solely with .44Spl's doesn't help much.

Sam1911 said:

I think there's been a backlash building since the 1970s or so, agaist materials being faked up to look like something they aren't.

Remember the thin "walnut" paneling in your grandpa's basement den? Well, since that lofty nadir we've moved away from faux wood grain and cubic zirconium.

I think the one current exception I can think of is the "gr-ivory" stocks some are trying, but that's a special case as the real thing is becoming illegal.

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Oh yes, my grandparents had it throughout the whole house! Easily the equivalent of that old Jay Scott/Fitz/Sile crap.

I actually have to admit to kinda liking the way the old Rogers/Safariland fake wood grips look, though I don't own any because the shape sucks.

In 4 days it will be 28 years since I bought my RB 3" 629-1.

The smooth, surprisingly "cheap", wooden grips that came on it bloodied my hand after very few shots.

I installed a set of Pachmayrs on the pistol for a number of years. They were not "right" but they did not bloody my hand.

Then I installed a set of Hogues. They, too, were not "right" but they were an improvement over the Pachmayrs.

Several years ago I became aware of the new Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips and ordered some.

They are very close to "right" and will probably be the last grips that I put on this 629. Very comfortable.and they do not adversely affect my accuracy.

FWIW ...

Rogers/Safariland fake wood grips look

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Those look a bit like Bakelite which has a retro charm all its own.

Yep.

There's no demand for fake wood rubber grips.
"...vinyl or laminate flooring, window frames, siding and shingles, furniture and fencing..." None of which is required to help absorb 6.3 to 22.6 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. Rubber grips are.
Pachmayrs' are rubber not neoprene.

sunray said:

"...vinyl or laminate flooring, window frames, siding and shingles, furniture and fencing..." None of which is required to help absorb 6.3 to 22.6 ft-lbs. of recoil energy.

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If not the vinyl flooring, exactly what do you believe helps absorb the 70 ft-lb of energy from my 35 lb dog jumping off the 2 foot couch?

What do you believe absorbs the 350 ft-lb of energy from my 175 pound self sitting on a 2 foot high vinyl bench?

Just as a reference for the op, I have extra large hands that are boney and thin. As a result I really need a gun to fill my hand or I get beat up.

For S&W revolvers, I really prefer Nill grips. They offer open and closed blackstrap designs, and are at a much more affordable price point than true custom grip.

Sorry, I know I've posted this many times.

The best result of all the great comments on this thread is that "One size, or material, does not fit all".

Which explains why there are numerous grip choices and manufacturers out there.

Yup, "the trouble with bucket seats is that everyone has a different size bucket."

More on the Diamond Pros. I have extra large hands yet those grips fit mine well. There is enough padding on the blackstrap to fill my hand. A buddy of mine with medium hands liked mine so much that he got a set for his SP101.

As to printing on carry guns...that is true to a point. Lightweight "city" shirts and jackets will grab, but I wear old western style canvas vests which have enough body to resist this. I adapt my dress to fit my carry guns. My town carry gun is a M&P 340 that wears them because from time to time, I shoot 158 grain JSP magnums in it. My EDC Spring/summer gun is a 640 Pro Series and it also wears a set. Wood grips split my hand web wide open in both these guns when I shoot this load; however, I can shoot this load in relative comfort with the Diamond Pros.

As you age, the hand looses mass and padding. I've shot magnums regularly for 50 years and more so now than when I was in my 20's so conditioning is no longer a factor. You get old, you improvise, you adapt and you overcome. Sometimes, it just be that way. For me, rubber rocks.

CraigC

This was the only Rogers Combat Grip that I liked; made for a J frame S&W. For my small hand it was a good fit but the grip itself was a just a little bit too long for concealment purposes. I much prefer the boot style grip S&W currently uses on their J frames.

I have a set of finger groove grips on a Ruger GP-100. They are factory. Everyone bitches
about them and replaces them as soon as possible. They fit me perfectly and shooting that
pistol with full house .357 ammo is a dream.

Zeke

I put this Pachmayr on my Special last weekend and my wife slapped me!

dickydalton said:

I put this Pachmayr on my Special last weekend and my wife slapped me!

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Love the way that looks and I agree with your wife, I'd put some stag grips on it. Reminds me of one of my grail guns, the Smith and Wesson 544 wagon version, never heard of a .44-40 DA revolver before I heard about that one.

Barry the Bear said:

Love the way that looks and I agree with your wife, I'd put some stag grips on it. Reminds me of one of my grail guns, the Smith and Wesson 544 wagon version, never heard of a .44-40 DA revolver before I heard about that one.

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Is this a little better?

Three things I'm still waiting for:
1. Functional wood grips.
2. Attractive Hogue rubber grips.
3. Free lunch.

Untill then, I put up with ugly Hogue rubber grips. They are the best there is for functionality, especially for guns that buck and kick.