Bruised hand from regular wood grips on Smith 29

[Palladan44]

Shot my 29-2 8 3/8" (new to me) the other day.
Shot some full loads of 23.5 gr WW 296 under a 240 gr slug (nosler jhp)

These were stout loads near the max.
Fired 20 rounds at about 40ft.
Shot a 5" group which for me is well below average.

Bruised the pad of my hand where i have been discouraged to shoot for the last week.

Will new rubber grios of some sort such as hogue or pachmayr help?

 

[.308 Norma]

Will new rubber grios of some sort such as hogue or pachmayr help?

They might - only you can say for sure whether rubber grips will "help" or not. And the only way you're going to be able to tell is by trying them.
That said, I really like the rubber grips on my Smith 69. They don't hurt my hand even with pretty stout loads, and as you probably know, a Smith 69 doesn't weigh as much as a Smith 29. Besides, my Smith 69 only has a 4" barrel.
As far as Hogue's or Pachmayer's goes though, I haven't always been all that impressed with Pachmayer quality control in the last few years. I used to swear by Pachmayer grips, but the last few years whether they fit the gun or not has been kind of iffy. So whichever kind you decide on, I wouldn't order them through the mail if I could help it - I'd want to "try them on" before I bought them.
One more thought - my wife used a left-handed batter's glove when she was shooting IHMSA with a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 Mag with factory standard grips. A left-handed batter's goes on the right-hand, and has some padding in the palm. My wife would cut glove's trigger finger off. I don't think her Ruger Super Blackhawk bruised her palm in ten's of thousands of full-house 44 Magnum loads, but today (40 years later) the arthritis in her right thumb joint is scolding her. We woke up to snow this morning, and the arthritis in my right ankle (that resulted from my breaking it 5 years ago while out pheasant hunting) is scolding me pretty bad too.
Anyway, welcome to the forum Palladan44!

 

[whughett]

IMO The only thing that helps is to reduce the loads to a sane level. I’ve two of those 29’s and I’m the first to admit Dirty Harry I am not.

 

[Project355]

As a bit of an aside.... Back in my range days, as an employee, we took in a virtually unfired 2-3/4 inch Model 29, a Lew Horton exclusive. The owner, who was well known, said he liked it, but the recoil was a bit too much. I am not recoil sensitive, so ... I bought the gun from the range. After about 100 rounds, and a really, really beat up knuckle on the middle finger of my shooting hand, I sold it to another range employee. Another hundred rounds, he sold it to another range employee, who finally put it in the case for sale. Nobody could handle that thing for more than a few shots, and even light loads seemed a bit over the top. I can't remember who finally bought it but we all figured good riddance to that little brute.

To this day, on cool to cold mornings, my knuckle remembers the beating it got some 40 years ago!

 

[toivo]

Hogue Tamer is a great grip to soften felt recoil, but I don't think they make it for the Model 29. They do make a rubber monogrip that covers the backstrap. I think that would help quite a bit.

 

[243winxb]

Rubber can rip skin under heavy recoil.

Glove can work.

Shooting 2 hands- Knuckle on gripping hand can be protected by placing the forefinger of the other hand between trigger guard & knuckle of shooting hand. Jam it in there, has to remove any free space.

Most owners today will not port their "collectible "

 

[Walkalong]

The answer is to buy a Redhawk.

Pachmayr grips will help a lot with your Smith.

 

[edwardware]

I don't care for Hogues. . . they seem slightly sticky, too soft, and collect fuzz.

Every working revolver I own wears whichever model of Pachmayr grips are largest for the frame. All came to me used, and they can't be beat.

Make sure you find a set that covers the backstrap; I also have a strong preference against the finger-ey grips.

 

[forty_caliber]

Sounds like a poor hand fit to me. I had the similar problem with the 500SW factory rubber grips as they were much too narrow for me. I got a custom set made for that were wider and added some palm swell. Much more comfortable to shoot now.

Check out Badger Custom grips. David was easy to work with and provided great service.

.40

 

[Reloadron]

Will new rubber grios of some sort such as hogue or pachmayr help?

My Model 29-5 and adding the rubber grips was like a day and night change. I do have the N frame wood but with wood, shooting stout loads does sting and after say 50 rounds my hand just plain hurts. Hogue or Pachmeyer should run about $25 today and really tame felt recoil.

Ron

 

[SharpDog]

As a bit of an aside.... Back in my range days, as an employee, we took in a virtually unfired 2-3/4 inch Model 29, a Lew Horton exclusive. The owner, who was well known, said he liked it, but the recoil was a bit too much. I am not recoil sensitive, so ... I bought the gun from the range. After about 100 rounds, and a really, really beat up knuckle on the middle finger of my shooting hand, I sold it to another range employee. Another hundred rounds, he sold it to another range employee, who finally put it in the case for sale. Nobody could handle that thing for more than a few shots, and even light loads seemed a bit over the top. I can't remember who finally bought it but we all figured good riddance to that little brute.

To this day, on cool to cold mornings, my knuckle remembers the beating it got some 40 years ago!

Like this one ?

I love it, but I keep it to 200 gr or less target loads.

 

[kelbro]

Are there Bisley grips for a 29?

 

[H&R Glock]

I have 629 and a 29 both in 8 3/8" I load down with 200 grain plated bullets and minimum load of Unique. Both pistols Mag Ported and both with Pach rubber grips. I use a pigskin glove on my shootin hand'. Middle finger still gets whacked. Don't fire either gun very much even with these precautions.

 

[Palladan44]

View attachment 954090

My Model 29-5 and adding the rubber grips was like a day and night change. I do have the N frame wood but with wood, shooting stout loads does sting and after say 50 rounds my hand just plain hurts. Hogue or Pachmeyer should run about $25 today and really tame felt recoil.

Ron

This is the info i hypothecised, and was hopin

IMO The only thing that helps is to reduce the loads to a sane level. I’ve two of those 29’s and I’m the first to admit Dirty Harry I am not.

The answer is to buy a Redhawk.

Pachmayr grips will help a lot with your Smith.

I own a Redhawk, and i agree that it soaks up recoil better than a 29. But the Dan Wesson 744 is even better at that than the Redhawk. She is a brick!

 

[Mr. Zorg]

The Astra 44 Magnum (and some 41 Magnum) revolvers with 2-3/8" barrels at one point named and stamped "Terminator" were sold solely with rubber grips, for a reason. I have one in 44 Magnum manufactured prior to the "Terminator" name and stamping.

 

[ms6852]

Man, you guys are tough. I carry the 686 deluxe with a 3" barrel. Bought it because of the wooden grips but when I shoot it, I can only shoot a box of ammo before I have to put on a glove. I shoot 158 grainers, and I can't imagine shooting a 44 magnum out of a 2" barrel...ouch!

 

[whughett]

In the winter shooting is done in the indoor range. The 6 position firing line is separated from the waiting room by a noise reducing thick wall with plexiglas glass Watching my oldest shoot the 29 with full bore rounds. Those windows would vibrate with every shot. The fireball rivaled a blackpowder load. I can only guess what a 50AE must be like to shoot. No thanks. I keep full bore rounds on hand but a standard fun round is 7 grains of Unique and that’s stout enough even in a heavy N Frame like the 29.

 

[cfullgraf]

I put Pachmayr Presentation grips on virtually all my S&W K, L, and N-frame revolvers. I like the feel under recoil, it is not as harsh as with wood grips and I like the looks. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued for the N-frame. They can be found used on ebay and at gun shows.

I have one or two of the current Pachmayr offerings for the N-frames and they function fine for me, I just am not as fond of the look versus the Presentation grips.

Hogue rubber grips also cushion the recoil for me but I do not care for how some of them are installed or the looks. Both of those are personnel preferences.

I like the looks of wood grips but I just do not get along with them. Smooth grips move too much in my hands and checkered grips abrade my hands. Again personnel reference and I'm not a fan of wearing gloves while shooting.

My two cents worth.

 

[ShootMeStraight]

Bruised hand... I hope your purse has a shoulder strap or it's going to be a rough week! (Sorry couldn't help myself)

 

[Typetwelve]

I had a 4" 629 that wasn't very fun with the stock grips. I popped on Altamont's "Round Conversion 'Coke Bottle' Target" grips and woa-momma, those were miserably painful to use with hard hitting magnum rounds. It was beating the snot out of the second inner joint on my strong hand thumb, and yes, they literally bruised me. Those came right off.

In the end, I popped on the x-frame grips and those helped out quite a bit.

 

[1KPerDay]

I like the Pachmayrs that are soft and cover the backstrap on my N frame.

 

[DanK3Pos]

One more thought - my wife used a left-handed batter's glove when she was shooting IHMSA with a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 Mag with factory standard grips. A left-handed batter's goes on the right-hand, and has some padding in the palm. My wife would cut glove's trigger finger off. I don't think her Ruger Super Blackhawk bruised her palm in ten's of thousands of full-house 44 Magnum loads, but today (40 years later) the arthritis in her right thumb joint is scolding her. We woke up to snow this morning, and the arthritis in my right ankle (that resulted from my breaking it 5 years ago while out pheasant hunting) is scolding me pretty bad too.
Anyway, welcome to the forum Palladan44!

With the stock grips on my SBH, I've had to adjust my hold so that my off hand is cupping my right hand, else that squared off trigger guard beats up my knuckles on the off hand. Aftermarket grips (Hogue, Pachmayr) address this by shifting your grip down on the gun. I am not impressed with the fit/finish, either, though.

 

[sisyphus]

my (recent) experience with my first 44, a Redhawk:

I found the recoil to be not as bad as Youtube videos would have you believe. It was more, and it did strengthen my thought that maybe 41 magnum is the perfect handgun caliber.

Grabbed my new Redhawk out of the box, thought the grip angle felt fine and somewhat reminded me of my 41 magnum Bisley. Then I shot it, and I found that the Redhawk grip angle did indeed make me print slightly left of poa, and felt a little like the gun wanted to jump up and left a little despite having a good grip on the handle. Later in the day and many rounds into shooting fatigue, I found that if I did not have a good grip on the Redhawk, it would bang my second finger knuckle pretty good off the trigger guard. Not to the point of bruising, but to the point of that knuckle feeling tender and me being aware of it.

Got home to look at what options I had for an aftermarket grip. I saw the palm swell on the wood Hogues, and saw how they moved that second knuckle from right behind the trigger guard to right below it, anticipated liking having some checkering, and that sealed the deal for me. This payday I'm ordering a set of hardwood Hogues, which look like they'll be a big improvement over the stock Ruger panels.

That's my experience with a Ruger. For your S&W, I will say that after trying 3 sets of grips, I stayed with the Altamont bateleur, which I find very good on my 686+.

 

[Bat Rastard]

I tried 2 different Pachmeyers on my 629. The small ones with the finger grooves are somewhere in the basement. The big ones (Presentation?) are on the gun.

 

[aarondhgraham]

I have both the original wood grips and Pachmayer rubber grips for my 6" 629,,,
It's just as uncomfortable (to me) to shoot the gun with either of the grips.

It could be that I'm merely a recoil wimp.

About one cylinder of factory rounds is all I want from that gun.

Aarond

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