Gripping a J Frame

[sixgunner455]

I like the S&W banana grip on an airweight Jframe for shooting. They give a full, comfortable grip, but they do make it harder to conceal effectively since they make the grip longer and fatter.

I like the current little rubber grips that are an updated boot grip for carry. I carry mine in a pocket, so fit is better, and they shoot almost as well as the banana grip.

The banana grip is not compatible with my speedloaders without modification.

My current Jframe practice loads are 125 gr lead round nose over a little bit of Bullseye. They do not beat up the shooter's hands.

 

[Jaymo]

Rubber grips for range time, and the smaller grips for CC.
You could always load your own low-recoil range loads.
A single 000 buckshot with a mild powder charge makes a nice, plinking load.
Great for getting used to the trigger and handling of a particular revolver.

 

[BRE346]

I sold my 642 because of the pain of recoil.
I bought a J-frame S&W 60-4 3-inch. Much nicer. Much.

 

[BRE346]

I strayed. Sorry.

I put the weak thumb behind the web of the strong hand, like Jerry Miculek advises.
My long fingers make a strong wrap and the result is pretty good.

Either way I must concentrate on a strong grip without trembling.

 

[bbuddtec]

yeah if grip change isn't your thing, get the feel through lower power or just trade up or get a steel j.

of course, if you try out a scandium .357mag snubbie, you just might not mind as much...

...sorry, don't mind me, I started thinking of the trigger sting I get from my fnp 40...

 

[marcclarke]

It doesn't do any of those things for me, and it doesn't do them for HIM, either, with any other gun but the J-frames (which includes the .500 Mag!).

But there must be some reason he likes it.

You are correct; he explains his reasoning here.

http://www.shootingusa.com/PRO_TIPS/MICULEK2/MICULEK2-PRINTER/miculek2-printer.html

 

[j1]

The t grips you put on it are cheap but do not meet your needs. Put on better grips and try it again.

 

[PabloJ]

The t grips you put on it are cheap but do not meet your needs. Put on better grips and try it again.

Those are not cheap. Full size J-frame rubber grips with S&W logo are only couple of dollars more then piece of metal that appears to serve no purpose. Not sure who make those for them but S&W store price is $27.75 plus shipping. If those do not work out your palms are too large and bigger revolver is needed.

 

[PRM]

Lot of good info posted. J Frames do have some different considerations brought on by size. Dependent on size of your hands, the grip size on the gun itself comes into play. I do well with the standard factory grip. Others like a T-grip or go to larger grips all together. What works best for an individual is kind of trail and error. Same with small variations on how you physically grip the gun.

I prefer the steel frame models over the lighter alloys for recoil management and overall comfort of shooting. Also, I like the three inch heavy barrel models over the shorter versions.

I almost exclusively go with the lower powered standard velocity ammo. No hand gun is a guaranteed one shot stopper. Handguns get you out of a fight or to a long gun. Expectations within their design limits is a good rule of thumb.

 

[KenW.]

After shooting 45 Colt out of a derringer, I found .38 +P loads in my J-Frame rather pleasant.

 

[sidheshooter]

I shoot my j frame more than any other revolver since (aside from Pabloj's model 12; a great carry revolver), it's the one most likely to be with me when I need it.

It might sound odd, but I really like the shooting characteristics of a Barami hip grip, along with the Tyler grip adaptor. With a high hand grip on the gun, the wide flare of the hip grip's belt hook creates a larger surface area to spread out recoil force. At least, that's my theory. I definitely prefer the feel of the Barami and Tyler to just the stock panels and a Tyler.

YMMV, of course.

 

[beatledog7]

If you have a truck rated to tow 9,000 lbs and you do that day in and day out, it will need a new transmission prematurely.

If you shoot +P in a J-Frame day in day out, you will wear out your hand prematurely.

 

[340PD]

Yesterday. Fifty rounds of handloaded low power .357 mags out of my 340pd with CT 405 grips. Much of it was very rapid fire. No problem at all. Hardest part of shooing a small handle revolver is keeping your grip for the followup shot. With those CT grips, @ 50' slow fire, produced remarkably small groups. Thumb over, is great, but very unnatural for me to do on the drawstroke. I just use the left thumb on the right thumbnail grip. (RH shooter)

 

[xXxplosive]

That's why I own a Model 36...steel....no recoil problems what so ever and accurate with all ammo.

 

[Remllez]

Before you go doing anything drastic.....buy a hand squeezer at your local Wal-Mart and use it to the point of exhaustion every night for a month whilst watching TV. Every night try to last longer than the night before, really push it.

At the end of the month take your revolver with your choice of grips back to the range and shoot em up!!......bet it doesn't hurt like it did just one month prior. What have you got to loose?