Furthering the thought about handling the recoil...
Like in my photo above... I love the looks of the slim Magna grips on an N-frame. I actually bought them for the 57, but they are more appropriate on the 58, so that's where they go, now. I did shoot my pistol once... only once... with the Magnas installed, and even with milder target loads recoil was VERY unpleasant.
The Target grips aren't much better... yes, they fill the gap between the grip and the trigger guard better, but as you saw, the exposed backstrap can really pound your hand. I also had a S&W 686, I bought a very nice set of Hogue wood monogrips for it... but they, too, had an exposed backstrap... and the results were the same.
I bought that set of Pachmayr Grippers originally for my 6" 57... with the cushy backstrap filler... and they have always worked well handling recoil without feeling mushy. That set of grips has survived 4 different S&W pistols... my brother's 57, my 6" 57... and now either of my 4"ers when we go shooting.
A lot of people overlook grips for their pistols... I know I have. Good grips cost good money, and it's hard to justify the expense when the pistol already has some. A well-fitting set of grips can almost magically transform a pistol, however. Even something like a Magpul grip on an AR-15 can change the whole handing and shooting characteristic of it, and a pistol would be that, x10. I don't normally like the looks of aftermarket or custom grips... even very nice ones... which is why I usually swap my factory S&W grips back after shooting, but if you want to turn that sweet pistol into an even sweeter shooting pistol... I would encourage you to throw a little money at it for a good set of grips.
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