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

Having shot a bunch of different guns and "fixed" both wood and rubber grips that did not fit me well with small patches of packing I'd say that any grips that do not hurt are grips that fit the shooter's hand well. Fit is far more important than material. Show me a set of grips that beats up a person's hands and I'll show you uneven pressure points and even gaps where there should an even all around contact pressure between hand and gun.

The Super Blackhawk I've got was a literal pain to shoot with stock grips. But I made up some fatter more rounded around the upper neck area grips from hardwood and the gun became a dream to shoot even with full power loads.

The only thing I've found where rubber has some advantage over wood is in the grip slipperiness issues when my hand is sweaty. In those cases the rubber slips far less than wood. Mind you an oil finished wood grip set I've got works just about as well with sweaty hands. But it then picks up my skin fats and that means it becomes quite dirty and a little sticky over time and needs to be cleaned with solvent and given another rub down with boiled linseed oil.

CraigC said:

IMHO, utility/function/comfort and appearance are mutually exclusive.

I choose the design and shape for utility, function and comfort.

I choose the material for appearance. Pachmayr and Hogue rubbers have none of the above. People like them because they're cheap and they 'think' that rubber softens the blow. A hardwood grip that fits your hand will be far more comfortable than a rubber one that doesn't.

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This is a variation of the old saw "a hit with a 22 is better than a miss with a 45" and the logic is just as flawed because it leaves out the best option: A rubber grip that fits your hand.

I couldn't care less what they look like IF they make me a better shot, and as soon as I put on Pachmayr rubber on my handgun, my scores went up!



SO, rubber it is, as I bought my handguns to shoot the best I can with, NOT to sit and stare at.

DM

DM~ said:

I couldn't care less what they look like IF they make me a better shot, and as soon as I put on Pachmayr rubber on my handgun, my scores went up!

SO, rubber it is, as I bought my handguns to shoot the best I can with, NOT to sit and stare at.

DM

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But it shouldn't go unnoticed that the rubber is on the double actions, blued at that. With the single actions I think you can maintain the same look with just a fatter grip that fills your hand better, and wood will work and always look better.

natman said:

This is a variation of the old saw "a hit with a 22 is better than a miss with a 45" and the logic is just as flawed because it leaves out the best option: A rubber grip that fits your hand.

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No it isn't. And a grip that fits your hand does not need to be rubber. Rubber is not without its own drawbacks. It can actually abrade the hands, taking the skin off your palm. It also snags on clothing and isn't exactly the most durable material.

If rubber was the best choice, why don't we see it on custom five-shot .45Colt, .454, .475 and .500 guns?

First of all, I tried CUSTOM wood grips, some I made, some made by top makers like Jordan Troopers ect... Pachmayr are definitely better to get my scores up!

Secondly, that Ruger in the pict. is an low round count "Flat Top" that I took in trade back in the 70's, I never shot it much, absolutely didn't like it and haven't shot it since the early 80's, maybe not even then?? I'm keeping it until someone offers me a stupid amount of $ for it.

Lastly, I've owned blk. Hawks, Red Hawks, Dan Wessons ect... I never could get my scores up to my S&W level, and abandoned them soon after...

I can honestly say, the Pachmayr's have never abraded my hands and give me more control than anything wood... I won a lot of metals ect.. with rubber grips on my guns...

DM

"Custom" doesn't automatically mean "well fit to your hand."

I'll admit my intent to meddle, but did you win medals or metals?

The way the grips fit your hand all that maters not material. At least in my experience.

Varminterror said:

"Custom" doesn't automatically mean "well fit to your hand."

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Sorry, I thought everyone who has been around revolvers knew that "Jorden Troopers" ARE a "custom grip" that is made to fit YOUR hand...

Also, I did mention that "I" made custom grips too, and yes I do understand what it takes to make custom grips, I learned that along the way, as I learned to restock rifles...

I guess that just leaves you to nit-pik my spelling and/or grammar errors.... lol

DM

Feeling good in hand, or matching for measurement, doesn't dictate well fit either. Feeling good under recoil and eliminating pressure points while providing a stable aiming platform is what I call custom fit. If you have hand pain with wood which you don't with rubber, especially the narrow back pachmayrs, those custom woods didn't fit your hand well.

I picked that one up along the way making grips and SP stocks too.

Varminterror said:

I'll admit my intent to meddle, but did you win medals or metals?

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Clever! Reading it brought a smile to my face ... Thanks!

I let MY scores speak for themselves...

I do believe you just want to argue about what WORKS for ME, and that would be something you know nothing about.

I think now, I'll take the "High Road" and let you convince yourself that you are right. lol lol

DM

CraigC said:

A hardwood grip that fits your hand will be far more comfortable than a rubber one that doesn't.

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natman said:

This is a variation of the old saw "a hit with a 22 is better than a miss with a 45" and the logic is just as flawed because it leaves out the best option: A rubber grip that fits your hand.

Click to expand...

CraigC said:

No it isn't.

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It most certainly is. There are four possible combinations.
A wood grip that doesn't fit
A wood grip that fits
A rubber grip that doesn't fit
A rubber grip that fits.

Just like the "miss with a 22" argument, your argument unfairly cherry picks the best argument for wood, "A wood grip that fits" and compares it to the worst option for rubber, "A rubber grip that doesn't fit". Worst of all it pretends that the most comfortable option, "A rubber grip that fits" doesn't exist.

CraigC said:

And a grip that fits your hand does not need to be rubber. Rubber is not without its own drawbacks. It can actually abrade the hands, taking the skin off your palm. It also snags on clothing and isn't exactly the most durable material.

If rubber was the best choice, why don't we see it on custom five-shot .45Colt, .454, .475 and .500 guns?

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Now you've changed the subject of "most comfortable" to "best".

DM~, if Pachy's are comfortable to you and improved your scores over the Jordan Trooper, then the Jordan Trooper was too large a grip for your hands. They were designed by Bill Jordan, I'm sure you know, who was way over six feet tall with monster paws. The Pachy's are WAY more narrow. The two grips are at opposite extremes.

natman, do you have an actual point?

Brand names don't always mean a good fit either.

I can't shoot worth a darn with the flat shape of the rubber Pachmayers. But SOME of the Hogue rubber grips fit me to a "T". A set of Hogue wood grips that I was enthusiastic over given my success with the rubber version had slightly different finger groove spacing and didn't fit me worth a darn. Pulled my hand down too low on the gun.

The very best fit for my larger and somewhat skinny fingers has proven to be a set of Arrends grips I was able to buy at a swap meet and that are on my Mod 28 Highway Patrolman. When I get around to making grips for K frames these are going to be the first shape I copy down to the K frame size.

I'm with the OP. There have been little significant improvements to handgun grip materials/design in 30+ years. As an engineer with experience in composites, I can say that it wouldn't be real hard for manufacturers to marry shock absorbing urethane to wood (G10, or any other good looking material) to produce the best of both worlds.

Major manufacturers cannot provide the best of both worlds. They are stuck with one-size-fits-all, while every hand is different.

Tacoma said:

I'm with the OP. There have been little significant improvements to handgun grip materials/design in 30+ years. As an engineer with experience in composites, I can say that it wouldn't be real hard for manufacturers to marry shock absorbing urethane to wood (G10, or any other good looking material) to produce the best of both worlds.

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If a grip fits and fills your hand properly, the material they are made from is meaningless in my opinion and experience. I used the narrow rubber grips on a 44 mag Redhawk that were brutal with heavy loads. I have grips made from walnut that fit my hand properly that tames recoil to the point my hand didn't take a beating.

Sometimes the best answer is not the one you're looking for.


PS, Pachmayr used to do them in woodland camo.

ShootingIsFun

If I remember correctly Gerber Knives use to make some of their composite knife handles in camo and there was also Ranger Leather who made camo pattern holsters and belts, around the same time as the Pachmayr camo grips. So not everything has be black; maybe rubber grip manufacturers just don't have a big enough demand for colored grips.

bannockburn said:

ShootingIsFun

If I remember correctly Gerber Knives use to make some of their composite knife handles in camo and there was also Ranger Leather who made camo pattern holsters and belts, around the same time as the Pachmayr camo grips. So not everything has be black; maybe rubber grip manufacturers just don't a big enough demand for colored grips.

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Except for pink.

I've found two sets of grips that suit me well.

Arhends Tactical finger grooves and square butt Magnas with a grip adaptor alá Tyler T-grips.

My Round butt guns get the Arhends, my square butts get magnas and a grip adaptor.

I've struggled shooting anything else as well. Pachmeyers just feel alien to me, and the open back houges are a little off. The closed back X frame grips aren't too bad, but don't work as well for me.

Wood grips:



Rubber grips: