Folks, I handled a model 36LS, 2" .38 spl "Ladysmith" with the small wood round butt grip. This is an all steel 5-shot revolver. It was in good shape, though a tad pricey (aren't they all).
I am a man with small-to-average hands. I didn't buy it because I was concerned the small grips would make accurate shooting difficult for me. I compared it in my mind to a later model Colt Detective Special with Pachmyr (sp?) grips I shot recently. That Colt fit me perfectly, and I was able to shoot it very well. And I'm very comfortable with the square butt grips on my model 10 and model 15 Smiths.
The Ladysmith 36LS felt like I was holding a fat stick for a handle, and the hammer squeezed the web of my hand when I cocked the gun. I must admit to being a "high holder". The gun was otherwise of a good solid weight for my taste — not like the lightweight scandium Smiths which I'm not fond of.
I read in my Smith litterature that the Ladysmiths were designed with grips to fit a woman's hands. I guess they're not for me. It is a lovely gun, though.
Do the SW Chief's Specials J-frame revolvers have fatter round butt grips, or are they the same as that 36LS I saw? There were no other round butt guns in the store at that time, so I couldn't compare.
Am I worrying too much about the "fat stick" feel? Can a person accurately shoot such a small-gripped gun as easily as a larger gripped revolver (I'm talking .38spl here)? Or should a person stick with similar size grips on his revolvers? You see, I've never shot a Ladysmith, so I really don't know if the small grips are a problem or not.
