Bruised hand from regular wood grips on Smith 29

[.308 Norma]

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.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/12/08/potd-creedmoor-shooting-position/

During our IHMSA days back in the '80s, most of the top competitors (including my wife) shot from what was called the "Creedmoor" position. When shooting "Creedmoor" style, your "off hand" is nowhere near your handgun.
Notice the blast shield on the guy's leg in the picture. Believe me, when you're shooting "Creedmoor" style, a good blast shield between your large bore revolver and your leg is necessary.
My wife's blast shield is made out of several layers of heavy duty leather. It protected her leg real well from the fire from the barrel/cylinder gap from tens of thousand of full-house 44 Magnum loads. However, the arthritis in her right thumb joint is talking to her today - 40 years later!

 

[mcb]

Find grips that fit you hand properly and are made from rubber and that will probably give you the best recoil management. Wood if for show, rubber for go. I have always found a good rubber grip to give better control and better recoil management than wood grips especially is adverse conditions (cold wet hands etc). None of my S&W revolvers wear wood grips, including my M29. That said grips that properly fit the shooters hand is the number one priority. As much as I am a fan of rubber grips I will take a well fitted wood grip over a rubber grip that does not fit my hand right. But when you combine a properly fitted grip made from a good rubber that spreads the recoil impulse out over time a bit more you usually end up with the best grip for the revolver IMHO.