Hello All, I hope some of you may have had experience with the Pachmayr American Legend grips...the ones with rubber finger groove fronts set into wood grips. I'm especially interested in any experiences and thoughts (good or bad) with these grips on a K frame (specifically a 19).

I'm wondering if they would be any good to a shooter with increasingly arthritic hands.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and thanks even more if you can help me.

Cheers,
John

I haven't tried the K frame version, but I do have an older set for a round butt N frame. They're fairly slick (not tacky), the backstrap is too narrow and they're very deep (front to back). They actually seem to accentuate the recoil.

I understand that they've been redesigned, so the current version may be better. See if a local shop has some in stock and will let you open the package and handle them. I think you'd be better served with a set of Pachmayr Presentation, Gripper or Compac grips and they're a lot less expensive.

__________________
"I also cook."

Hello S&W Chad, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I do appreciate it.

I guess I don't find your comments surprising. I had suspected that the narrowness of the grips might increase rather than reduce felt recoil. Rubber at the front and wood at the back is, I suppose, kind of backward when it comes to being gentler on old hands. The deep depth of the grips is not a negative for me as I have rather large hands that used to find the grips on Hi Powers quite a good size.

And thanks for your suggestions as to alternatives. I'll give them a look.

Cheers,
John

Also try the Pachmayr Decellerators.
They are the most comfortable I have found.

I cannot speak about the new version they recently brought out, but the ones that first came out in the 1990s looked great but felt horrible. From the old ad I have, they were made by Pachmayr with influcence from Herrett's. They were very well made, and looked sharp. I really, really wanted to like these grips. However, they were simpy too narrow for me - hard to get a good grip on. Plus, as was noted, the design is backwards. It has the rubber where you need the smooth wood and the wood where the recoil absorbing rubber should be. Ruger had it right with the old GP100 stocks - rubber with wood inserts.

If the new ones are the same size as the old ones, I would say they would not be well suited for arthritic hands. They were not even comfotable to hold and dry-fire with. If you must have the wood, I would recommend Hogue. They do not absorb recoil as a full rubber grip, but the Monogrip design seems to distribute the recoil evenly and allows the hand a good positon for control.

Just watched the opening credits for the old movie, "Blue Steel". Great close up of what I took to be a model 10 with pach grips. Pretty nice.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Just remember, that what works for some, may not be right for you. Many of us have extra stocks/grips lying around because they looked good at the time. Try to handle guns with different stocks on them. ( gun show, store, or gun range) Good luck on your hunt! Bob

I have a Model 13-1 and I have found the Pachmayr Presentation grips to be great for me. I tried the Grippers with the finger grooves but they just were not as comfortable as the Presentations.
They also tame my Model29-2 down to very manageable levels. Also, they do cover the back strap.

Thanks everybody. I really appreciate your input.

Cheers,
John