Do classic S&W and Colt grips actually fit anyone?

[Sa-tevr]

I recently picked up a S&W K frame square butt revolver with Magna grips and it reminded me of my Colt E frame revolver with the tiny walnut grips. Neither revolver is pleasant to shoot with their factory grips. Are they just for style?

The Colt got some Badger target grips pronto and I couldn't order some Pachmayr Presentation grips for the Smith fast enough.

 

[gotboostvr]

I really like them when combined with a Tyler T grip or the similar BK grip adaptor

A nice set of Arhdends are always nice as well however

 

[Fla_dogman]

It seems like older guns had factory grips that were less than desirable. After market grips from Hogue and pachmayer really cornered the market, everybody had them.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

It seems like older guns had factory grips that were less than desirable.

Are you kidding? Have you priced an original set of Service grips recently? Not desirable? Hah!

Neither revolver is pleasant to shoot with their factory grips. Are they just for style?

Style??? No, they are what the factory was making at the time.

First off, let's get a few definitions agreed on.

These are hard rubber Service Grips. Grips like these were on the first K frame Hand Ejectors at the beginning of the 20th Century and continued to be issued up until around 1940. This particular M&P was made in 1939.





These are wooden Service Grips on an N frame Triple Lock. They were called Service grips because thousands of policemen and servicemen learned to shoot revolvers with grips like these.





Do I shoot these old revolvers with these old grips? Absolutely! I wouldn't dream of bowdlerizing these fine old revolvers with replacement grips. My heartbeat quickens when I see a nice old Hand Ejector with its original Service grips still on it, my heart sinks when I see some off brand replacement grips on an old Hand Ejector.



These are Magna grips. Elmer Kieth claimed credit for talking Douglas Wesson into creating them, to lessen the effect of recoil with the older Service grips. Magna grips first showed up around 1950. Personally I find Magna grips very comfortable when shooting a 38 Special like this Model 14-3.





When I bought this Model 19-3 in 1975, these grips were known as Oversized Target grips. I have always found them very comfortable when firing a light revolver like this with factory 357 Magnum ammunition.





But when firing factory 357 Magnum through a heavier N frame, like this Model 28, I have always found the Magna grips to be perfectly adequate.





This 44 Hand Ejector, 4th Model is very comfortable to shoot with its original Magna Grips.





On the Colt side, I always prefer original grips, particularly hard rubber like on this Army Special from the 1920s, whenever I find them.





So, keep your rubber grips, use them all you like, but I prefer the original grips that came on any revolver every time over replacement grips.

 

[Sa-tevr]

Perhaps we have different ideas on shooting....

I use a 1950 Colt Officer Model Special (Stovepipe) for Distinguished Revolver competition and the factory grips didn't support precision shooting. My medium size hand had the pinky wrapped around the bottom of the grip and falling asleep from the corner of the grip.

The S&W M64 4 inch is for speed use, as I find some revolvers are natural pointers and this might work well for it. The Magnas that came on it feel like 1/3 -1/2 the grip is missing compared to 1911's and other target automatics.

Badger and Herrett seem to make grips for my hand. Hogue and Eagle are a bit thin. Rink, Morini and Nill do pretty well too.

What do you hold on to with these small grips? If I remember correctly some high volume shooters were complaining 60-70 years ago the factory grips were too small.

 

[BSA1]

With S&W K-Frame revolvers I prefer Magna style grip with Tyler T-Grip Adapter. It is a case of function over beauty.

When it comes to S&W N-frame revolvers though I like the oversize Presentation Grip.

Single action revolvers plain wood and stag grips without much bark. I shoot single handed so I want the gun to rotate in my hand for easier cocking.

 

[Drail]

S&W has always built very fine revolvers - and the absolute worst grips I have ever handled. They may look beautiful to all of the collectors but if you are going to shoot it they're terrible. The grip REALLY needs to fill in behind the trigger guard and get your finger out of there so the gaurd doesn't smack you. The factory grips just position your finger right behind that trigger guard. Every S&W I own has had the factory wood grips replaced. BSA1, I started out with a Blackhawk in .41 Mag and it certainly did rotate in your hand when it recoiled - and took skin off of my palm. I hated it so much I finally traded up to the Bisley. Much better. I can shoot hot loads all day with it now. But to be fair that grip frame was never designed with heavy calibers in mind. It works very nicely with black powder and medium loads.

 

[eldon519]

The few I ever handled never felt very comfortable to me.

 

[rcmodel]

With S&W K-Frame revolvers I prefer Magna style grip with Tyler T-Grip Adapter. It is a case of function over beauty.

This!!

S&W or Colt DA grips of any persuasion never really fit anyone.
And certainly never offered any recoil control for follow-up shots.

The J-K-and N frame Magna's squirm around in your hand under recoil.
And the Target grips are too big at the bottom where your short fingers are, and in the way of speed loaders.

Magna grips with Tyler T-Grips, or the old S&W grip adapters fit everyone perfectly, and feel good under recoil, as far as I can tell.

rc

 

[Ed Ames]

I recently picked up a S&W K frame square butt revolver with Magna grips and it reminded me of my Colt E frame revolver with the tiny walnut grips. Neither revolver is pleasant to shoot with their factory grips. Are they just for style?

I suspect - with absolutely no proof beyond a little bit of physical evidence in the form of things like old tools and gun grips - that most people had tougher, harder, stronger hands back in the day. They were smaller than we are, on average, but they used their hands for countless jobs we have handed off to machines.

Are you kidding? Have you priced an original set of Service grips recently? Not desirable? Hah!

Desired by collectors is different than desirable for shooting.

 

[CajunBass]

I'm not too fond of them myself. Smith & Wesson, Colt, Ruger, Tauruss...any of them.

Unless I add a Tyler's or BK grip adapter.

Then they're probably my favorite grip for a D/A revolver.

 

[stu1ritter]

The Magna's on my S&W's get retired to zip lock bags as they each get replaced with a set of Herrett's which really fit my hand. I just keep buying the Herrett's as I can afford them. Magna grips just have me regripping the gun between every shot as the recoil causes them to move even in my death like target shooters grip. I almost never have to reposition the gun with Herrett's. IMHO.

Stu

 

[bannockburn]

Never have been a big fan of either vintage factory S&W or Colt grips. I take them off, store them away, and use something more comfortable like Hogue or Pachmayr grips. The one exception to this are the factory S&W J frame grips as long as I can add a Tyler T-Grip adapter.

 

[Sa-tevr]

The Magna's on my S&W's get retired to zip lock bags as they each get replaced with a set of Herrett's which really fit my hand. I just keep buying the Herrett's as I can afford them. Magna grips just have me regripping the gun between every shot as the recoil causes them to move even in my death like target shooters grip. I almost never have to reposition the gun with Herrett's. IMHO.

Stu

Which Herretts do you like to use, and what size hand do you have? The only Herrett revolver grips I have are some used Colt target stocks that are a skosh small.

 

[stu1ritter]

I'm a retired Mercedes mechanic and thought my hands were sizable. I sent my drawing to Herrett's and they corrected my impression, telling me I have small hands. I had wanted Jordan Troopers but Herrett's told me they were for much bigger hands and suggested Ropers. I now have 4 pair with 3 more on the way. I have never felt a more comfortable revolver grip in my 60 years of handgun shooting. You can send your hand drawing to them and they will have one of the stock makers call you and suggest what you should be using.

Stu

 

[Sa-tevr]

Too funny. I've heard the Jordan Troopers are BIG. Herrett customized some S&W M41 stocks for me at a reasonable cost and did a fine job.

By the way, I'm a mechanic also.

 

[stu1ritter]

I retired and sold my shop in 2000. I now seem to spend my time reloading/casting. Or to put it another way, my hands have gone soft ! ! ! :~)

Stu

 

[Old Fuff]

Do classic S&W and Colt grips actually fit anyone?

Yes, and they allow the hand to get closer to the bore's centerline which makes it easier to control recoil.

But any advantage disappears if one is shooting some of today's hotter loads because they will usually cause the back of the trigger guard to give the 2nd finger a hard rap - ouch!

So-called target stocks or grip adapters fill in the area behind the trigger guard so the hold is lower and the finger doesn't get hit. But this also causes the recoil to have more of an upward twist.

Anyone who is interested in all this should read Ed McGivern's book, Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting wherein he shoots some fantastic groups in sub-second time frames using his Smith & Wesson's double-action mode. However most if not all of this was done using 148 grain mid-range .38 Special hand loaded ammunition.

 

[Master Blaster]

For the most part I have replaced them with Hogue exotic wood grips which fit my hands and fill in behind the trigger guard. I did keep the target grips on my old K-22s, and on my model 25-2 in .45 acp.The service stocks and magna service stocks do not feel right in my hand. The targets feel great and point well but are no good for heavy recoil.

 

[murf]

ed mcgivern used stock grips because they fit his hand perfectly. he devotes an entire chapter in his book to after-market grips. he emphasized the importance of the grips fitting the hand for precision shooting.

murf

 

[Old Dog]

My short answer to the OP's question is NO.

I have, however, left the factory grips on most of the S&W revolvers in my meager collection, though for the ones I still shoot, I've put on Ahrends or (gasp) even "Goodyears."

My first job, way back in the day, you could tell who the deputies in our department were that actually shot their issue Model 19s -- we were the guys who'd gone out and paid for Pachmyr's out of our own pockets.

 

[GBExpat]

After I got bitten by the .32-20 Bug last year and started seeking vintage revolvers in that caliber, I discovered an issue with the Colt Police Positive Specials. The grip-frame/shape is small and (not sure of how to describe this) sort of "curled under".

If I try to get all fingers around that grip (I wear size Large gloves, btw, long thin fingers), the back of the trigger guard is an uncomfortable companion to the top of my "driving" finger, especially upon firing.

I have taught myself to hold the grip (OEM black rubber, btw) with only 2 fingers, tucking the pinky underneath the grip.

Since it is .32-20, it works for me.

T-Grip style adapters offer no improvement for me.

My S&W m1905s with the original wood grips are fine as are the Colt Army Specials black rubber (their shape is more like the S&W and, so, comfortable in a full-hand grip).

FWIW, I do not seek replacement style grips for my period pistols. I want them dressed they way they left the factory.

I currently have 2/ea Colt Police Positive Special, Colt Army Special and S&W m1905 in the south gunsafe.

 

[CraigC]

Give me a Roper style every time!

 

[ATLDave]

Thanks to Driftwood for the great taxonomy on S&W grips! I've been trying to figure this out for a long time!

 

[420Stainless]

I've liked all I've tried except for those on my Police Positive Special. Something about the way that grip frame is shaped gives me an awkward angle to the trigger and that knuckle rap by the trigger guard that Old Fuff speaks of. Never had problems with any other models, even the similar 2nd generation Detective Special, which is a joy to shoot.