Dave DeLaurant
Member
Over a period compassing more years than I care to remember, I've tried out a wide variety of revolver grip sizes, shapes and brands. When they first came onto the market, I thought the Pachmayr Gripper and later the Hogue Monogrip were the absolute bee's knees with their radical-looking finger grooves. However with time and experience I found they weren't the best fit for me at the range, probably because my hands are a bit bigger than the 95th percentile. My third and fourth fingers tended to get a bit crowded together, and while I could work around finger grooves they seemed fiddly in my hand.
In time I came to accept that the much more conservative-looking Pachmayr Presentation-style grip worked better for me than most of the more stylish options. And since they were almost universally available, I could also get basically the same grip on most of my revolvers.
When it came to small frame short barrel revolvers, I had long ago fallen in love with the original Pachmayr Gripper's shape. The pinkie groove wasn't so much a finger groove as a way to reduce length front-to-back at the butt while providing more girth for the 3rd and 4th fingers. Pachmayr changed their design by the time the Ruger SP101 came out, and this new, narrower shape doesn't fit my hand quite as well as the original design.
There are a few wood grips that fit me equally well, such as the Colt factory grips on my Detective Special, but these don't play nice with HKS speedloaders.
[BTW, the little Colt actually shoots a bit better in my hands than my other snubbies due to the smooth DA trigger and beautifully configured fixed sights.]
I also like Pachmayr's black version of the Bill Jordan designed Trooper grip, but trying finding just one set for sale today. (Dark Troopers sound a bit Star Warsy nowadays)
Do you have a favorite grip shape? And have you considered standardizing one shape across multiple revolvers?
In time I came to accept that the much more conservative-looking Pachmayr Presentation-style grip worked better for me than most of the more stylish options. And since they were almost universally available, I could also get basically the same grip on most of my revolvers.
When it came to small frame short barrel revolvers, I had long ago fallen in love with the original Pachmayr Gripper's shape. The pinkie groove wasn't so much a finger groove as a way to reduce length front-to-back at the butt while providing more girth for the 3rd and 4th fingers. Pachmayr changed their design by the time the Ruger SP101 came out, and this new, narrower shape doesn't fit my hand quite as well as the original design.
There are a few wood grips that fit me equally well, such as the Colt factory grips on my Detective Special, but these don't play nice with HKS speedloaders.
[BTW, the little Colt actually shoots a bit better in my hands than my other snubbies due to the smooth DA trigger and beautifully configured fixed sights.]
I also like Pachmayr's black version of the Bill Jordan designed Trooper grip, but trying finding just one set for sale today. (Dark Troopers sound a bit Star Warsy nowadays)
Do you have a favorite grip shape? And have you considered standardizing one shape across multiple revolvers?
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