Musings on Revolver Grips/Stocks

[Charles Graff]

As a child I was utterly fascinated with handguns. As a geezer, I still am. Growing up, I would look long and hard at the handguns that rode on the hips of law enforcement officers. When I was old enough to get a library card, I would check out copies of the early Gun Digest and pour over the catalog section of Colts and Smith and Wesson in the back. I would use this knowledge to identify the handguns in the holsters I saw.

When I got old enough to have a handgun, I found shooting it was allot more difficult that shooting a rifle. The result was I undertook a serious study of how to shoot a handgun. I read everything I could get my hands on and asked questions and advice of everybody I knew that had or shot a handgun. There were no training facilities for kids or civilians either back in the early 50's.

After, I learned stance, grip, sight picture, trigger and breath control, one thing I learned was the grip on the handgun made a very big difference in how well I could shoot it. Thus began a life long search for the perfect handgun stock/grip. Here are a few things I learned early on.

1. The grip must be big enough to get a good grasp on the handgun, but not so big as your hand lost control wrapping itself around a huge piece of wood.

2. The grips may a big difference where the sights pointed when your brought the handgun up to eye level.

3. The grips made an every bigger difference when point shooting or shooting without sights. It made the difference between hitting and missing.

4. The grips made a big difference in keeping your trigger finger off the handgun frame.

5. The grips made a big difference in soaking up recoil and having the ability for a rapid second shot either single or double action.

6. The smaller the revolver the more important the grip is.

7. The grip really is the only contact point you have with the revolvers and they make a big difference because of the above reasons and more.

Over the past almost 6 decades I have bought , sold and traded for many hundreds of grips in search of what works well for me. I have learned that I must put aside nostalgia, romantic notions and aesthetics and concentrate on function. Too many people have the wrong grips because of these reasons. The good grip is the one that enables you to shoot the handgun effectively the way you shoot handguns.

Below is the grip I have on my Colt Detective Special. The closed back give me great double and single action control. The length of the grip keeps my hand away from the frame and the thickness keeps my trigger finger off the frame. These grips enable to shoot single action with deliberation and fast double action and recoil control is a snap. These grips work for me, but they may not work for others. Handgun grips are a very personal thing.

These are Mustang grips from the now defunct company of the same name. They are oil finished walnut and I keep them waxed for protection and to give the wood a tacky feel. These grips do not slip around in my hand.

Many of you have traveled down this same road. What have you learned along the way?

 

[smokeywolf]

Nice write-up sir.

I must admit that on recreational handguns I let aesthetics influence my choice of grips to some degree. However, the other aspect to that is, I've become so used to the not so ergonomically or anthropometrically perfect grips on my handguns that they have evolved into a natural and comfortable extension of my hand.

As far as handguns designated for defensive in addition to recreational use; I have experimented with other grips and found the original or oem grips to be difficult to improve upon.

Although it is hard to imagine after 40 years of using the same grip, changing now, after reading your OP, I may have to re-examine alternative grips for the Detective Special.

 

[RicinYakima]

Well, I have short wide thick palms and short fat fingers. Nothing has ever been better than the K-frame round butt with a Tyler T-grip adapter or a Colt model 1911, not 1911A1 with long trigger. The "BIG" breakthrough came when I made friends with a retired FBI agent. My grip is only on the front and rear of the grip, you can slide a pencil between my palm and side of the grip. There is no side pressure on the grips. Trigger pull is straight back, through the grip, front to rear, and down the center line of the forearm. If the front to back dimensions are correct, the stuff on the sides does not matter to me. But I do like fancy wood!

 

[Rick]

Good write up and excellent points Charles. What I have learned in 34 years of long range revolver competition is that the grip is one of the most critical parts of success. What I always told new shooters about grips expands on one of Charles points. Make the grip properly fit your hand, pretty grips that don't properly fit you are downright ugly and you have two choices, you can either look good or you can shoot good. Pick one. My New model BH in 30 Carbine is a perfect example, sitting there on the bench this revolver has the ugliest grips you ever saw, while shooting and those grips are in my hand they are the most beautiful grips I ever saw.

I also agree with Ric, no side pressure on the grip and the trigger pull is straight back with the pad of your finger. If the grips don't allow the pad of your finger to naturally center on the trigger the grips don't fit you. Three fingers in front of the grip and the back of the grip in exactly the same place in the palm. Placing the little pinky under the grip as some do will aid in spreading out the shots.

Not a death grip, just a gentle firm grip that is absolutely identical from shot to shot. That revolver ain't no chicken and you can't choke it to death. The harder you squeeze the grip the more you increase felt recoil and the larger your group.

 

[Brad]

I suppose I'm the odd one, I have never swapped out grips on any handgun from those that were on it as it left the factory.
I also am more of a plinker than anything with most handguns so I never really gave it much thought. I can certainly see how a properly fitting grip makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Charles Graff]

I give a rousing amen to keeping the trigger finger isolated. It as the only moving part of your hand and if the trigger finger contacts the grip or handgun frame, you are likely to push a shot off when the trigger is release. Still after all these years, I have to remind myself of this every time I alight the sights of a handgun and am ready to fire. If left to my own devices, I will fail to isolate my trigger finger. I should think this would become rote after all of these years, but it does't seem to work that way for me. If my shot goes off, it is always because I have failed to put one of the basics in plate, i.e. grip, trigger finger isolation, don't jerk the trigger and sight alignment. About the only thing I don't forget is breath control. That is a carry over from rifle shooting and I do that without thinking. It seems like their is a handgun shooting demon that wants to take me down the path of bad shooting if I don't keep him in check.

At age 72, I am also finding that stance in more important that it used to be. With the loss of some general muscle strength I need to get maximize the muscles of the arms and legs to keep the pistol steady. There is a fellow I shoot competition with that is very good with such things and his coaching has improved my shooting. Even after all these years, I am still learning. As we get older, if you still desire to shoot with the big boys, we have to learn some new tricks.

The handgun is difficult to master and we can't forget the basics, if we want to keep our shooting on point. I hope to keep shooting the handgun for many more years and teaching the whipper snappers what a geezer can who is paying attention. I do not intend to "go gently into that good night", I will do it like Gregorio Cortez, "Con pistola en el mano". The basic point is, grips do matter as they can help you to get er done right.

 

[Charles Graff]

Well, I have short wide thick palms and short fat fingers. Nothing has ever been better than the K-frame round butt with a Tyler T-grip adapter or a Colt model 1911, not 1911A1 with long trigger. The "BIG" breakthrough came when I made friends with a retired FBI agent. My grip is only on the front and rear of the grip, you can slide a pencil between my palm and side of the grip. There is no side pressure on the grips. Trigger pull is straight back, through the grip, front to rear, and down the center line of the forearm. If the front to back dimensions are correct, the stuff on the sides does not matter to me. But I do like fancy wood!

There is nothing like Herrett's "made to measure" grips. They make them to fit the individual size of hands. I have been using their grips since 1959. While the price goes up and up, they are the best around. I do like some off the shelf grips like the Mustang for small frame sixguns, but for the K and N it is Herretts for me if possible. I do keep them on the handguns I want to shoot with ultimate precision. Herrett does wonderful wrap around checkering, but on a handgun of much recoil, it will chew up your hand pretty quick.

 

[Charles Graff]

Being chronically short of money, I have also gone with "Herrett Cheap" grips on some of my handguns. I start with their off the shelf Shooting Star grips, which are a horrible design. I remove the thumb humps, checkering and round off the bottoms. What is left is a thoroughly usable handgun grips for not much money. Here are some Shooting Stars so modified.

 

[Ian]

Here's a problem that has plagued many shooters since 1873: Stumpy grip frame. Ruger copied the same mistake. I shoot the 1860 Army much better because I can grip the revolver with my bottom three fingers and float my trigger finger as Charles mentioned. Tough for me to do that with just middle and ring fingers unless it's a 1911. My solution was to solve both the short stocks and the fact that I need a little more width in an SAA-style grip by making new stocks from a well-seasoned Mesquite root burl and some Rock Maple. Of course this required new hardware, so I sourced some standard hardware from Ace Hardware and modified the nut to suit me. The extension is glued and doweled to the left stock, and has brass pins that lock in the right stock at the bottom. Both stocks also are drilled for the factory roll pin at the bottom of the grip frame. It's a little bit of a puzzle to engineer but the completed stocks assemble/disassemble easily. My reason for using a contrasting wood for the spacer was that I always liked the walnut inlay on the back of the maple necks of Fender Stratocaster guitars (it covers the inlet channel for the neck tensioning rod). I may add some small checkered panels someday, but I've been on the fence about that for four or five years now and still can't make up my mind if I want the extra traction or not with this .45 Colt.



Now here's something REALLY cool, no picture at the moment but Uberti started making the 5.5" 1873 "Cattleman" revolver with an 1860 Army-style steel grip frame, which solves the problem quite nicely. I waited a year for Taylor's to finally get one in stock (also has the ACP cylinder) and it's everything I'd hoped it would be...except dadgummit they don't make it with a 7.5" barrel like God intended. Can't have everything I guess.

 

[Charles Graff]

The Colt/Ruger single action grips are the worse possible design. They are still around because of nostalgia and not because of function. There are of course, after market grips that are longer with a filler behind the trigger guard to keep the weight of the frame off the trigger finger. They work great, but are abhorrent to the traditional single action shooter. The rubber grips by Pachmayer also cure the problem.

 

[358156hp]

The best all-around fitting grip I've found for me for small frame revolvers have been Pachmayer Compacs on a J frame. So far, they're the best all-around fit I've found, and make the guns point naturally for me. I need to find someone to make me a few sets from wood though, rubber grips have their place, but I do prefer the feel of wood. A guy on the S&W Forum made a set, but he seems to have left the forum, and now I have no way of contacting him. I will be trying the larger Compacs for larger frame revolvers to see if the basic design works in other sizes for me.

 

[Charles Graff]

The best all-around fitting grip I've found for me for small frame revolvers have been Pachmayer Compacs on a J frame. So far, they're the best all-around fit I've found, and make the guns point naturally for me. I need to find someone to make me a few sets from wood though, rubber grips have their place, but I do prefer the feel of wood. A guy on the S&W Forum made a set, but he seems to have left the forum, and now I have no way of contacting him. I will be trying the larger Compacs for larger frame revolvers to see if the basic design works in other sizes for me.

Yes, they do work, but a guy has to have standards. You will never catch me with rubber grips on my sixguns. I didn't say I don't use them, I just said you won't catch me using them.

 

[Ian]

I could say the same about a few things.....

 

[Winelover]

I purchased a Ruger RH when the first were introduced. After the first shooting session, I immediately started searching for replacement grips. Those OEM walnut grips looked nice but were just too small and didn't cover the back strap serations. I tried Hogue's, Pac's and finally settled on Uncle Mike's rubber ones. They are not much to look at but they fit me and were a welcome addition to the usually cold Michigan deer season.

Ian, I have a set of Eagle stag grips for a my Colt Python that has a maple filler similar to the ones you made. They are smaller than the standard walnut Colt grips which were perfect for my wife's small hands.

 

[smokeywolf]

Actually Ian, they are making a "Cattleman" with a 7-1/2" barrel. They're even showing it in their video.

 

[Charles Graff]

I just want you guys to know I an somewhat of a hypocrite and not immune to the nostalgia bug. Here is a U.S.Ptn. F.A. clone of the original civilian model Colt SA. I can't bear to put any other kind of grips on it other than the original one piece walnut. I also have a 45 ACP cylinder for it and currently am shooting 45 Cowboy Special brass and 452423/4.5 BE. A snappy load and it shoots very well considering the rather primitive sights.

 

[smokeywolf]

Charles, that really is a beauty. I have a soft spot for the SAA. Shoot an Ideal/Lyman 454190 in mine, on top of 8.2 grains of Unique. One of these days I'd like to find a decent 1st generation artillery model in 44-40. I've already got a matching set of grips.



Color difference in the pic on the right is poor lighting. They're a perfectly matched set. I also have the rampant colt medallions to inset in the pair awaiting another Colt SAA.

 

[Ian]

Actually Ian, they are making a "Cattleman" with a 7-1/2" barrel. They're even showing it in their video.

Actually I was wrong, it's the "Gunfighter", and it only comes with 4-3/4" and 5-1/2" barrels. http://www.taylorsfirearms.com/cart...single-action-revolver-series/gunfighter.html

They are hard to find. The one I have actually didn't come with the ACP cylinder, but the identical Cattleman I have did and it times correctly in both guns, so I just keep it with the Gunfighter since I like the revolver better. I'd love to put an 1860 grip frame onto that Cattleman and stretch the barrel of both of them another two inches, and (while I'm wishing) come up with a second ACP cylinder.

 

[Charles Graff]

Matt Dillon would be proud of those stag "handles".

 

[freebullet]

Absolutely stunning, all of them.

The ugly black rubber houge does well for me, but those stag stocks have me thinking.