Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Handgun grip style and recoil question

Since I'm going to begin shooting more powerful ammunition (300gr cast core) in my 6" S&W 629 I got wondering if different grips would make the recoil easier to handle. Currently the gun has factory wood grips.

Are the rubber grips of assistance in reducing felt recoil? I looked at Hogue and Pachmayr's sites and saw two rubber grips. Anyone have these and notice a difference?

http://www.hoguestore.com/index.php...;cPath=22_37_91_279&products_id=1594


http://www.pachmayr.com/decelerator-grids.php

Or, alternatively, should I just go with a pair of PAST gloves and call it good?

Thanks, Jay

How a grip fits YOUR hand is pretty important to how you will feel recoil. My experience leans me towards the Pachmayr grip because of its complete coverage of the backstrap. The Hogue does not give that extra shock absorbing coverage.

Your experience may be different based on how your hands fit the Pachmayr or how they fit the Hogue.

I have some full-wraparound Pachmayrs on a Redhawk, and tried open-backed/finger-groove Hogues before. The latter weren't as good for heavy recoil, but they also weren't as big so I could grasp the whole thing better. Some wood grips do pretty well, too, depending on size and shape versus shooter's hand.

FWIW, I think size and shape -- and how that fits into the user's hands -- is more important than the material. Argues for trying before you buy, if you can arrange it. That said, the resilience of rubber does seem to help... in my case.

YMMV.

I do sometimes also use a set of PAST gloves, primarily for load development and testing specific recipes at the bench, especially for heavy 300+ grain bullets. The gloves help in that situation too.

-R44

IIRC, I've read that many favor the X-frame grip, only available from S&W, I believe.

That's exactly right. Some put them on their 329's to help absorb that gun's vicious recoil.

Personally, I think a lot of it depends on the type of gun and also what you are looking to do. As far as just cushioning felt recoil, I think that Hogue's in particular, do a good job on Double Actions. On single actions, I've never liked Pachmayer's because they act like a peeling out muscle car and have left rubber burned on my hand just like that. I prefer the slick, hard surface of wood or ivory to allow the gun to naturally roll up in my hand on a single action. On a double-action, you don't get this same affect anyway and since this decreases quick follow-up shots, I like Hogue's on double actions. I'm not as worried about quick follow up shots on single actions.

I would rather be shooting that load in a Freedom Arms SA revolver or an old model Superblackhawk. And I own both FA's and N Frame S&W's. The SA will slip in the hand as the gun rises, dissipating a lot of recoil. The shape of the S&W grip won't allow that. So, I guess the rubber makes sense. It just depends on the shape and the size of your hand. The Pachmayrs are big bulky and of course, ugly. You get a handful when you use them. The Hogue, for me, sits the gun too high in my hand. That exaggerates the torque on the wrist as the gun recoils. I guess I would go for slick walnut, no checkering, with the hand positioned as high as possible on the gun. I don't think your hand or the gun needs an overabundance of that ammo. I'd sight it in and hunt, practice with something else.

IMHO.

DF

My only Smith is a 642, and on it I only have the original rubber boot grips it came with (made by Hogue, I think) and a set of Pachmayr Compac grips. For what it's worth, I find that the Pachmayrs do take a bit of the edge off of recoil. I think it's a combination of how they cover the backstrap with rubber, and also how they fit my big hands much better than the itty bitty boots.

However, the Pachmayrs don't seem to have the sleek fit & finish of the other grips. I'd rate them a B- in this department.

My advice is to go with the one that feels better for you, the Pachmayr Decelerator or Hogue X-frame grips. You can see what the Hogues feel like by holding a model 500 or 460, and Smith sells the grips on their website.

You can also get your barrel ported. I find it helps at least as much as the rubber grips do, but it's one more surface to clean. I think Magnaport can do it without affecting the warrantee.

I should have added that I prefer the width of the wrap-around Packmayrs, but the length in turn makes them a slightly larger circumference than I'd prefer.

The open-backed Hogues were too skinny to suit me, and the uncovered backstrap can add some jolt... but the circumference was better.

I don't know if anyone makes an off-the-rack grip that covers the backstrap a little, is wider than original grips, and does NOT cover the frontstrap so circumference would be more suitable for my hands.

Custom wood from somebody like Herrett Stocks would possibly be about as effective.

I should also add that I haven't checked in the grip market about handling heavy recoil in prob'ly 15 years.

-R44

It seems to be a personal thing. I have had several Charter Arms revolvers from the .44 Bulldog to the .22 Pathfinder. I used the Pachmayr Compac's on all of them.

I think that the Hogue Rubber Mono Fingergrooves are perfect for my .41 BlackHawk and my Mod 638 S&W. Good luck.

My .357 Blackhawk came with Pachmayr Presentation grips on it and I really like the way they fill my hand up. I have a friend with the same gun with the factory grips and they seem too small for me and let the gun move around too much.

My N-frame 25-5 had a big chip out of the grip so I swapped them out with a set of Pachmayr Presentations I picked up at a trapping convention. They are a really ugly camouflage pattern but they only cost me $5 I think, so I couldn't beat the price.

I've never owned any Hogues. I've held guns that were wearing them but never could get used to the finger grooves.

I never cared for either Pachmyers or Hogue grips. So I went on thinking that the rubber grips didn't make a difference. Until I tried a Tracker. Those ribbed rubber grips they have were awesome. Which leads me to believe they just fit in my hand better. So I'll echo what was said above. TRY them first. You should be able to find people with them or rent a gun at a range if you have any near you that do that.

The rough texture on Hogue grips tears at my hands, so I don't like them for heavy recoiling guns. My favorite rubber grips for a Smith & Wesson are the Pachmayr Decelerator and Presentation grips.

My SHR .454 came with the hogue grips that have some kind of insert cushion in the back. It does not hurt my hand, even with full power loads - which is all I shoot...otherwise, what's the point of having a gun that's built like a bank vault.

My SRH .44 mag with the older Hogues, without the insert, actually is much harder on the hand.

I don't know if they make these for the 629, but they definitely work.