not 100% satisfied with grip yet

[old lady new shooter]

I finally got my 686 Plus a few weeks ago, no range report yet because I've only been practicing with snapcaps so far, haven't yet been to the range with it, but here's the photo folks requested. It shows the gun wearing the Hogue grooveless grip.

This grip is better for me than the Hogue one with the finger grooves, but still not 100% satisfactory. Yesterday I changed it back and forth several times with the original S&W grip to see if maybe that was better after all. Both are fine WRT getting the finger on the trigger properly, but the S&W grip doesn't fill out my palm enough, while the Hogue grip comes down too far behind the trigger guard, my middle finger isn't really comfortable. Looking at the frame with no grip I see there is plenty of room there, it's the design of the grip that's making it too long, and in fact the S&W grip does not come down that far. The second photo is my attempt to use my photo-editing software to show the part I don't like, it's not exactly accurate but you can get the idea.

For now I decided the Hogue grip is better because my hand gets tired faster with the S&W one, but if I already spent this much money on the gun I really want it to fit properly. I don't know enough about this stuff to explain why I'm having this problem, but I can tell you I have large palms but not especially long fingers, so I'm guessing that's the issue.

So first of all, does anyone know of a grip like what the Hogue one would look like without the yellow part on the second photo?

Second question, would it be possible to somehow trim the Hogue grip, or would that be a fool's errand?

Third question, what experience have folks here had with companies where you send them an outline of your hand and they make a custom grip for you? Which company did you use? Did the grip you got really fit better than off-the-shelf ones? How much did it cost? How long did it take?

 

[drband]

Have you looked at the frame with the grip off the gun? I'm not sure there's much more room there where you say the grip is too thick. However, a custom grip maker might be able to help you, particularly with these pictures and your detailed descriptions. I'm sorry I don't have any experience with custom grips to offer. Good luck. Sounds like you're getting close!
One thought--go shoot with the grooveless grip. Shoot enough to be sure--it may still be good. I found it quite different from the regular finger grooved grip-- in a good way.

Edit: just saw you checked the frame--my bad!

 

[BobWright]

First of all I must say I have an aversion for rubber grips, prefer walnut or rosewood for double action revolvers.

Here is my S&W Model 586 fitted with (old) S&W factory combat grips:



These probably are available through Eagle Grips. Their Secret Service grips are slimmer and more easily hidden, as here on a Model 19:




I do like the combat style on my 586.

Bob Wright

 

[rcmodel]

The grip filler behind the trigger guard is there for a very good reason.

And you won't find out what it is by snapping snap-caps.

The filler you don't like is there to prevent your delicate second finger bone from getting smacked hard by the back of the trigger guard under hard recoil.

I'd suggest you go shoot it before deciding what grip feels best in the living room with snap-caps.

Shooting live ammo, and snapping the action in front of the TV are two very different things!!

Herrett Stocks is the only company I am aware of that uses a hand tracing to fit mail order grips.

They are very good at it, as they have been doing it for a lot of years.

They are expensive, but very good grips.

You would have to call them about current delivery times, as it varies depending on time of year, etc.

rc

 

[StrawHat]

When I competed, I rasped the wood from a pair of S&W Target grips until they fit my hand. Now, I am quite comfortable using Magna styled grips with a grip adapter.

Kevin

 

[old lady new shooter]

When I competed, I rasped the wood from a pair of S&W Target grips until they fit my hand. Now, I am quite comfortable using Magna styled grips with a grip adapter.

Kevin

Those are hollowed out exactly where I would need it. Are those the "magna grips"? Is the black part between the white part and the trigger guard the "grip adapter", i.e. the actual grip is only the white part? I tried googling but did not find such for sale. I went googling S&W "target grips", the wood ones that were apparently original some years ago look like a good shape from the side but I can't see how fat they are around the back. Are those the ones you rasped? Where did you have to rasp them to fit your hand?

 

[Coyote3855]

Those are hollowed out exactly where I would need it. Are those the "magna grips"? Is the black part between the white part and the trigger guard the "grip adapter", i.e. the actual grip is only the white part? I tried googling but did not find such for sale. I went googling S&W "target grips", the wood ones that were apparently original some years ago look like a good shape from the side but I can't see how fat they are around the back. Are those the ones you rasped? Where did you have to rasp them to fit your hand?

The white part in Kevin's post is the actual grip and is the same general shape as the magna grips (S&W calls them stocks) that once came standard on S&W revolvers. The grip adapter (the black piece in the pictures) is probably a Tyler T Grip. You can find them here:

http://www.t-grips.com/

 

[CraigC]

IMHO, Hogue does fill in behind the triggerguard more than most. I don't like it either. Probably because they need the meat for their monogrip design to hold together.

Herrett's takes a hand tracing and they do fine grips but they'll also be the least expensive. There's also Keith Brown, BluMagnum and Rob Rowen. Rowen learned from Fishpaw and his pricing reflects that.

 

[Malamute]

I think her complaint about the shape of the material behind the trigger guard is legit. To me they look like they have too much material there and weirdly shaped. It wouldnt require completely removing all of it, just the lumpy looking part right behind the guard looks like it needs reshaping.

Ive never felt a rubber Hogue grip that felt comfortable. I rasp, file, sand and reshape most of my factory Smith target grips, partly in that area, to make them comfortable. Most feel pretty square also, those parts get rounded and contoured. Grips can be pretty individual at times.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Thanks for all the responses.

First of all, to the folks who suggested trying actually shooting with the Hogue grip, yes, I will do that. I shot pretty well with the grooved one, I expect this to be better since I won't be fighting the finger grooves, but like somebody posted in another thread awhile back, I want the gun to feel like my partner and with this grip I don't think that's going to happen. I promise to cheerfully eat crow if I'm wrong. Please see below for a better description of the problem.

Secondly, regarding recoil, there is almost no recoil on this gun, at least when shooting .38 special. I haven't tried .357 magnum, right now that would not advance my skills, maybe down the road.

Also want to point out that neither the factory S&W grip nor any of the photos others posted in this thread come down so far behind the trigger guard.

After having to try to define the problem here I think I can now describe it better -- if I have the top of the backstrap in the web of my hand where it belongs, my index finger is in the right place on the trigger, but my middle finger doesn't reach far enough around the stock because it has to be angled down to get below the part I'm saying I don't want. The result is that the middle finger can't do its full proportional share of gripping the gun, and fighting that causes the top side of the middle finger to be pressed very uncomfortably against the bottom of the grip material. I need the middle finger to be able to go around more horizontally. I measured the distance around the stock from the top of the backstrap to where the middle finger has to grip, on the Hogue grip it's about an inch more than on the factory S&W one -- being that that was the full circumference I guess my actual shortfall is more like half an inch. The factory S&W one OTOH doesn't fill out my palm enough. This all goes back to what I said before, I have large palms but not long fingers -- visualize approximately a man-sized palm with woman-length fingers.

BOB: Any chance you could post photos showing the back view of those three grips so I could get an idea if any of them would be the right fatness to fill my palm?

MALAMUTE: Yes, your description is perfect. My illustration isn't accurate because the shape should be more concave than what I did. If necessary I'd actually be fine with leaving a narrow strip of rubber along the back of the guard if I could hollow out the space behind.

ANYONE: Is it possible to trim a rubber grip like you guys have posted about doing with wood ones?

 

[Crayfish]

I bought a GP100 with the super ugly Hogue grips with the finger grooves. I was able to remove the finger grooves and palm swells with a Dremel tool using a stone grinding wheel (fairly fine one) and it worked quite well if you go slow and do not let the rubber melt from too high a speed on the Dremel. I also wanted to remove the chunk behind the trigger guard as it did not allow me a high grip like I use on revolvers. Sounds just like what you describe in your grip. That's where I ran into problems. Just as I was getting it down to where I wanted it I hit the hard plastic "skeleton" of the Hogues. It was serviceable but, ugly, so I ended up going with the old style Ruger grip and I am much happier and now my wife can also shoot it well with her small hands. It may work great on the area you want to remove but, beware of the hard plastic portion which may or may not be in the area you are looking to remove

 

[bannockburn]

old lady new shooter

I tried a lot of different grips on my Model 686 before finally settling on the Pachmayr Gripper. I have smaller size hands and the factory grips were not a good fit for me; same with most other aftermarket grips. Tried Pachmayr's Presentation grip but that too was not as comfortable to use as their Gripper design. While the Gripper is good to go out of the box I did make some alterations to mine by trimming and sanding down the finger grooves for a better fit.

 

[StrawHat]

Those are hollowed out exactly where I would need it. Are those the "magna grips"? Is the black part between the white part and the trigger guard the "grip adapter", i.e. the actual grip is only the white part? I tried googling but did not find such for sale. I went googling S&W "target grips", the wood ones that were apparently original some years ago look like a good shape from the side but I can't see how fat they are around the back. Are those the ones you rasped? Where did you have to rasp them to fit your hand?

The grips (stocks) in my photo are smooth stag I had made for this revolver. My old rasped grips are on a Model 15 and I will find it and post the photos for which you asked. Basically, I removed all the wood that did not fit my hand. The factory S&W targets are flared at the base, where my hand is the smallest, so I removed enough wood to produce a taper that goes from top to bottom, sort of a "V" shape. I also cut them even with the bottom of the frame.

I'll post a photo when I get the chance.

Kevin

 

[StrawHat]

Here you go, found this photo of an old "L" frame I used in competition, complete with a set of modified grips.

Kevin

 

[Zaydok Allen]

http://www.mactecsales.com/nill_l_frame_rb_s/1841.htm

I have found that Nill Grips from Germany have benefited my Smith revolvers quite a bit. They are pricey, but there are many options that may work for you.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I bought a GP100 with the super ugly Hogue grips with the finger grooves. I was able to remove the finger grooves and palm swells with a Dremel tool using a stone grinding wheel (fairly fine one) and it worked quite well if you go slow and do not let the rubber melt from too high a speed on the Dremel. I also wanted to remove the chunk behind the trigger guard as it did not allow me a high grip like I use on revolvers. Sounds just like what you describe in your grip. That's where I ran into problems. Just as I was getting it down to where I wanted it I hit the hard plastic "skeleton" of the Hogues. It was serviceable but, ugly, so I ended up going with the old style Ruger grip and I am much happier and now my wife can also shoot it well with her small hands. It may work great on the area you want to remove but, beware of the hard plastic portion which may or may not be in the area you are looking to remove

I have a friend who probably has a Dremel tool but I've never used one. If I borrow it, what material would you suggest I practice on before attempting to modify the grip? I always have styrofoam around, but I imagine that gives less resistance than the rubber will... how relevant would that be to learning how to use it? Or would I be crazy to try? Separately, is there a way to know where the plastic skeleton is located inside the grip?

 

[old lady new shooter]

experience with grip at range

First of all, thanks to all the new responders as well as those who added followups to their previous posts.

Yesterday I finally got to the range and could experience actually shooting with this grip. It was definitely way better than the one with the finger grooves but the issue of the material behind the grip did not go away.

In the separate thread I started called "range report, finally" you can see photos of my targets. While I am happy with my progress, I see that the ragged hole part of what I shot two-handed is biased toward the left -- I think the explanation is that my hand slides down the back of the grip in response to my middle finger trying to get more secure, but with my hand further down I probably no longer have enough finger on the trigger.

I wish the grip manufacturers would either post back views or measurements, looking around on the web I see grips that look like a good shape from the side but I can't tell how fat they are. I think my hand needs the part where the back curves out to also be fatter than the part at the top of the backstrap, is that what the term "palm swell" means? This grip is in fact shaped like that, if I could just get a concave area behind the trigger guard for my middle finger I think it would be just right.

 

[fireman 9731]

If you have never used a Dremel, now is not the time to start.

I prefer a lower grip on my revolvers, so they point more naturally. I understand everyone's hands and preferences are different, but have you tried a lower grip? I like my guns to point naturally, and my wrist to be straight. Is your wrist straight or angled up or down when aiming?

 

[Crayfish]

I agree that this is not the time to try out a Dremel tool unless you don't mind the possibility of destroying the grip. My Hogue was only about 20 bucks so I took the chance as it was not usable to me from the factory anyway. Still surprised by all the terrible rubber stocks that come on revolvers today.

fireman 9731 A high grip on a DA revolver greatly reduces muzzle flip (aka Jerry Miculek) and follow up shots are much much faster to get back on target, especially with bigger bore revolvers. And no contest one handed.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

Another source for grip adapters is BK Grips. They are plastic instead of cast aluminum, and you can actually buy them on-line.

 

[gotboostvr]

Some magnas can be had cheap (with or without checkering) and a BK grip adaptor can be easily added.
That's my favorite grip combination on both round and square butt smith's if I don't want a large grip.

I'm also a fan of Arhdends tactical finger groove stocks if it's for a pure range gun

 

[old lady new shooter]

If you have never used a Dremel, now is not the time to start.

I prefer a lower grip on my revolvers, so they point more naturally. I understand everyone's hands and preferences are different, but have you tried a lower grip? I like my guns to point naturally, and my wrist to be straight. Is your wrist straight or angled up or down when aiming?

Well, I've never used a gun before either but I see I'm learning. That's why I asked what material would be good to practice on before trying to use the Dremel on the grip.

Being that everything I've ever read or heard said the top of the backstrap is supposed to be in the web of the hand, it never occurred to me to try a lower grip. I just checked and you are right that my wrist is not straight when using the prescribed position, my hand is angled down. However, if on this grip I grip lower down, at the level where my middle finger could go around horizontally, only the tip of my index finger reaches the trigger, so if I did want to use a lower grip it couldn't be on this grip. DOES ANYONE ELSE AGREE WITH FIREMAN9731 THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO GRIP THE GUN LOWER DOWN?

 

[old lady new shooter]

I agree that this is not the time to try out a Dremel tool unless you don't mind the possibility of destroying the grip. My Hogue was only about 20 bucks so I took the chance as it was not usable to me from the factory anyway. Still surprised by all the terrible rubber stocks that come on revolvers today.

fireman 9731 A high grip on a DA revolver greatly reduces muzzle flip (aka Jerry Miculek) and follow up shots are much much faster to get back on target, especially with bigger bore revolvers. And no contest one handed.

My idea was to first try the tool on some other material to learn how to use it, no way would my first attempt be on the grip.

 

[old lady new shooter]

My question now...

... is whether I should risk buying a different after-market grip whose fit I also can't judge by only seeing a photo. No dimensions, no photos from other angles... :banghead:

Honestly on the Hogue one with the finger grooves I didn't notice the part behind the trigger guard being too low because the finger grooves were so distracting that that kind of took all my attention.

I do not want to end up buying several different after-market ones that don't work for me. Is it pretty much guaranteed that if I order a custom one from Herrett it will fit? If I go that route, is there any FUNCTIONAL difference in different types of wood or only aesthetic?

 

[fireman 9731]

Do you have a friendly local gun shop that you could stop by and ask to handle some different grips? They may be on different revolvers, but it would at least give you an idea.

As far as the the high/low grip goes, yes, a higher grip does reduce muzzle flip. The more in-line with the barrel you are, the less reactionary force there will be.

The design of most revolver grips has always baffled me. The wide at the bottom, narrow at the top design just makes it hard to hold onto for me. Imagine holding onto an upside down cone... Thats what it feels like to me. Then add the recoil, and all of that is transmitted down through the cone. Your hand naturally wants to ride up the grip after you fire, requiring constant re-adjustments.

If I start out with a high grip to begin with, then I'm constantly angling my wrist downward to line up the sights. And thats no fun to me. I prefer to shoot with a straight wrist, so I find grips that allow me to do that. I mostly shoot mild 38s so I don't have a problem with muzzle flip.

It all comes down to personal preference though.