How do you guys actually grip your gun? Could someone take a pic and show me what you do. For me it's virtually impossible to bend my right thumb down enough to be out of the way of my trigger finger.

I've asked this before and I don't think I've ever gotten a response that made sense to me.

1 time I saw a pic of Clint Smith with his right thumb straight, underneath the cylinder. I could do that. But I also would be worried about messing up the tip of my right thumb.

I only ask because some day I might want to try to set my 442 as a BUG and put boot grips on it. Right no it's my primary carry gun and I have hogue tamers on it. Which allow me to get my thumb out of the way when bending down, because of the extra material on the backstrap. I love the way the gun feels with those grips. But I also would like to have the option of making it a bit smaller. But have no clue how anyone actually shoots them with boot grips on there.

Pics would be helpful.

Thanks guys.

No insult intended, but do you have arthritis or very long fingers. I don't like boot grips, but sometimes that's what you get. When I grip any J frame, I have to draw my trigger finger back a bit where only the first pad or the first joint is pulling the trigger.

I prefer the extended combat grips on my J frames, easier to use, harder to conceal.

Posted by my Commodore 64 using tapakeyboard

__________________
NRA Benefactor

I believe that it depends on you. I have a 642 which had boot grips, but they were so painful to practice with, I took them off in favor of some TALO grips that originally came on it. If it's just a matter of worrying about your thumb, my suggestion would be if you need to actually use it in a defensive situation, you won't care about your thumb. Once you know the pistol works and you can shoot it with the grips, it's up to you whether to keep them or not.

__________________
Loving retirement!

Can't tell you about boot grips.

I use the original wood grips on all my M 38's along with a tyler t.

Plenty of space for my thumb to go down touching my middle finger.

One of the reasons I like the humpback with the tyler t is that I choke up high on the grip. The humpback with factory wood and t grip lets me do this.

No I don't have arthritis. But I do have longer fingers than some. But I figure they're more like medium sized length. I have seen people with much stubbier fingers than me though. Dudes that were taller and bigger. LOL.

How about pics. I did youtube and have seen a a few people.

I guess maybe I should've asked, people with longer ish fingers.

It's not about caring or not caring. It's about if I try to wrap my right thumb down, it will impede the progress of my trigger finger if I have the trigger in the first joint. I guess I could try to pull the trigger with the tip of my finger, but that just doesn't seem right. I'd take pics, but I don't have boot grips on my J frame right now. I only have 1 j frame. Boooooooo....

I'm curious if some of you guys would take pics of your grip, or at least a 1 handed grip so I can see where your thumb is ending up.

I had the same problem. As I pulled the trigger, my trigger finger would come in contact with my thumb producing a flinch.

Try this. Don't bend your thumb. Extend your thumb straight forward. Now you won't contact your thumb with your trigger finger. But you have to learn where to place your thumb so it doesn't get torn up by the cylinder release. Extend your thumb below the cylinder release. Sounds more complicated than it is. Practice a bit and it becomes second nature.

__________________
Accuracy supercedes Speed

thumb down on top of my other thumb pushing down into my left index finger which I wrap around the trigger guard.

Best pic I have with my LCR and boot grip.... none of the 442 but same grip.

Zoomed in for you.

First photo on the left is merely to show you that I have pretty big hands.
I am gripping the stocks of Herrett's Jordan Trooper stocks on my model
19 Combat Magnum.

Those small revolvers 442/642 (and many others) were made for
concealed carry. Full size stocks defeat the purpose of concealability.
I have used several types of full size stocks on the small revolvers,
and still do, but for the best concealability, I use the Spegel designed
Uncle Mike's boot grip shown on my 642.

Notice in 2nd photo from left how the grip is relieved so a speed loader
has better access to the cylinder. It is in that recess that I bend my
thumb.

My grip on the boot stocks is shown in 3rd photo from left.

Hope this helps.

I imagine someone, or more, will tell me how wrong I am.
After all I am only an NRA Certified Instructor with 72 years
shooting experience. What do I know?

Attached Images

	SAM_0422.jpg (34.5 KB, 193 views)
	SAM_0482.jpg (43.4 KB, 187 views)
	SAM_0481.jpg (61.3 KB, 232 views)

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

I cannot shoot with boot grips. Never have been able to. But these S&W "banana" grips fill the bill for me and don't affect concealed carry

__________________
John

I don't shoot any revolvers with boot grips. I have a couple, but they don't get shot. I want 3 fingers on the grip, and have enough with grips long enough. I carry in my front pocket and don't have a problem with them fitting.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I shoot my two main j frame carry pieces with boot grips. I actually prefer it. My 637 has the S&W stock grips on it and my 640 has a set of Altamont Rosewood boots. My grip on the gun is pretty much what crazyphil showed in his pic. I have medium,(I guess), hands with long fingers. Hope this helps!

I'm not quite sure where you're meaning to put it straight. But I'm guessing you mean like I was thinking and just let it ride underneath the cylinder.

Well that's something I've never seen before. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks for taking the time to post those. It almost looks like your fingers are either shorter than mine. Or it kind of looks like you have your hand more to the right on the grip than what I'm used to.

Yeah, the Hogue Tamers I have on my 442 are similar sized. But they go further up the backstrap and I like the hard plastic on the very bottom. It helps the clothes not stick to it.

ABPOS:

Unfortunately, I do have arthritis in my hands and wrists. I have probably medium sized hands (size 7.5 surgical gloves, medium sized work and dress gloves). Pictured below is my Model 642-1 with my favorite CT LG-405 laser grips. I have included photos of my one hand, as well as my two-hand grips, as well as a close-up of my one hand grip. I hope this is useful.

Regards,

Dave

Attached Images

	Model 642-1 #1.jpg (99.3 KB, 115 views)
	Model 642-1 #2.jpg (99.2 KB, 121 views)
	Model 642-1 #3.jpg (73.9 KB, 121 views)

As can be seen in the photos posted so far in this thread, there is quite a bit of variation in people's hands. Ultimately, you have to find a grip that works for you.

I went ahead and took a couple of pictures, one with my finger on the trigger before pulling and one with the trigger back (note: gun was unloaded and a safe backstop was used off camera):





My hands are somewhere between a small and medium glove size. I can get about half of my pinky finger on the grip. I'm using the Centennial version of Spegel's boot grips with the tall "ears," so I can grip a little higher.

I don't notice my trigger finger touching my thumb. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I don't place my trigger finger's joint on the trigger face, it's more like the trigger face is immediately to the left of the joint, if that makes sense. You might be able to tell that on the first picture. My trigger finger does slide across the trigger face a little as I pull it, which isn't a problem since my focus is on pulling the trigger straight back. The amount of finger through the trigger guard doesn't really matter so long as the trigger is pulled straight back.

This is how I grip my carry gun. Thumb straight out. If I don't hold my thumb out then when I shoot my trigger finger hits the end of my thumb..
Works great for me.
Hope this answers you guestion.

Attached Images

	20170516_064916.jpg (102.4 KB, 81 views)
	20170516_064909.jpg (106.9 KB, 88 views)

In reality, the goal is to hit what you are aiming at. Find grips that allow you to conceal to the extent you desire and learn to shoot with them on the gun. Other than keeping your thumb away from the front of the cylinder,
there are a lot of ways to grip the gun, but there is no one universal grip that works for everyone.

I shoot my 642 pretty much as pictured by Phil.
J Frames grips come in a wide range of shapes and materials.
If the Boots don't work for you, move up into a longer- fatter grip.

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

Sawlog posted pictures of what I am talking about. Apparently Sawlog is a lefty so he doesn't have to worry about the cylinder release cutting his thumb. But for righties learn to extend your thumb straight along the frame under the cylinder release.

Now I rarely shoot semiautos, however I believe in just one grip style so my weak hand wraps over my strong hand with my weak hand thumb also straight forward and parallel to my strong hand thumb. I know Miculek says wrap the weak thumb over on J frames but I don't want to have to think if I ever use my gun as a weapon. My grip works well for me and can for you with some practice.

__________________
Accuracy supercedes Speed

Do you or have you had any teen age children? If so (as a previous poster said) you know you don't know anything! ;-)

I was trying to have some flexibilty in the gun. But wasn't sure how to exactly. I like how small boot grips are and they make the gun smaller. I'm possibly wanting to go to a bigger gun for my IWB gun and use the 442 as a BUG. Only thing is I'm not sure where yet. But maybe 4 oclock with my primary at my AIWB. For those times where I feel like I want or need more.

As I said before, the Hogue Tamers allow the gun to really work for my hands. But I had a hard time figure out how to even grip it with just boot grips on it. I didn't even shoot it with just the boot grips back when I got it. I put the tamers on and never looked back. But IF there as a way to make a J frame work for my hands, it might give me a few more options. It's definitely not a pocket gun with the tamer grips. At least I don't think so.

Yeah, you guys with shorter fingers are lucky. THIS I can not do. My thumb is too far forward to be able to bend down far enough to not impede my trigger finger. WITH BOOT GRIPS. With the tamers it works perfectly like this.

Yeah, this right here is the technique I need to try. I might have to bust out my stock boot grips and see if this works for me. Thank you for posting that. I think my fingers might even be a hair longer than yours because I think my tip is maybe a hair closer to the front of the cylinder. But I remember seeing a pic of Clint Smith doing that and his thumb was pretty darned close to the front of the cylinder. I was kind of like, eeek. But obviously he knows what he's doing with revolvers.

I can't find that pic but thank you for posting these. And taking the time to do that. It helped me to know that is an option. You ever slide your thumb too far forward if you were trying to be fast on the draw and get a little to close?

I use boot grips an all my S&W revolvers. This includes up to 4 inch barrels. It just feels right. I don't have any problems with wrapping my "pinky" under the grip.
Here is a link to someone who has very large hands, and feels the same way with his 3 inch M686 TALO.


I don't have any DA revolvers longer than 4 inches, so I'am not sure how I would want grips for longer models. My longer revolvers are Blackhawk SA only.
My boot grips are made by Ahrends.

Best,
Rick

I just finished conducting a kind of extensive test. My forearm is tight from as many times as I dry fired. LOL. My trigger is heavy though. Which is good. The more I dry fire it the more smooth it gets.

Anyways... I have 3 sets of grips. 2 are boot, and 1 the the hogue tamers. All of them seem to have a bit of a compromise going on. Oh yeah, I brought out my set of K frame magnas, for the heck of it..... Obviously they don't fit, but they kind of did when I overlayed them on the frame. LOL. They actually felt pretty good. hehehehe



Those laminated ones are the one I like the best, but in the end I put the Hogue Tamers back on for 2 main reasons.

1. I carry AIWB and the bigger grip allows for a much easier draw, just acquiring the gun in my hand out of the holster. And since I'm carrying it that way, it's not overly big.

2. If I don't have my right hand just so, my thumb can actually stop my trigger finger. It has to be in the right spot in order for this to not happen. Which makes the gun sit a little higher in my hands. This never happens with the tamers. My right thumb is never in the way.

I did try the right thumb straight thing, but I have less control over the trigger and I feel like I really have an opportunity to let my left thumb slip too far forward during recoil and might not make sure it's far enough back at times.... That could be bad.

I like the laminated boot grips the best, WHEN I have the right hold on it. I'm able to work the trigger faster and they look good. But they are also harder to grab at speed. A different holster might help that. One that rode a little higher. I'm using a leather Galco, but I'm not sure if it's the right kind or not.

I guess my fingers aren't all that long, but that thumb can at times get in the way of the trigger finger and it's not good when it does that. Sometimes it just touches it. Which is fine. But a few times it stopped my trigger finger altogether. And trying to place my trigger finger a little further out just feels all wrong and doesn't really stop that from happening. I'd have to go all the way out to the freaking tip to get it to not touch the thumb.





The stock boot grips seem like they make this problem happen even more than the laminated ones.

I'm sure the boot grips would have much more felt recoil too. But they are more concealable, and allow me, like I said to have a bit more trigger control and I can actually work it faster.


Actually I think the ideal would be the laminated ones with some rubber wrapped around them to give the backstrap some beef to move my hand back just a bit. And soak up a little of the recoil, yet still allow me the better trigger control.

I sometimes see guys wrap some kind of friction tape around their grips. Like on hockey sticks. Anyone see that or use that method?

If I did pocket carry, I think the boot grips would work just right because you may have a little leeway in getting your hand on the gun properly. No belt in the way and might have more time by already having your hand on it if things look wonky. With no one being the wiser that your hand is on a gun.

The other upside the boot grips might bring is that sometimes the takedown lever draws blood from the first knuckle of my right thumb. Because the tamers puts my thumb higher and in a position that is easier to do.

Half the people in here didn't even read the OP...

I have very long fingers and never have a problem with my strong thumb. It's always just floated in neverland. On my 342 I carry it a bit differently than most, but the same as Jerry Miculek . My trigger finger tucks in perfectly behind my thumb, despite hooking my finger all the way onto the trigger, also like you're not supposed to do. Works great for me.

Even shooting one handed, I don't have any issues. But like I said, I've never used my thumb as part of my firing grip. If you're having issues, simply stick your thumb out so it doesn't get in the way. Pretty simple, huh?

1st pic is simply for size reference. That's not my firing grip.



Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

I like the banana grips to they are faster to find and draw. Plus in rapid fire on target and tame recoil. As in all gunfights who ever gets the first with hits will win to see another sunrise!. Boot grips can get you a plot on boot hill!. But they are those to think bannas grips make there jeans to tight. Well butter cup they do not print iwb and are fast! Pocket carry is slow,but a good place for a second snubby should the primary iwb runs dry. But 99% of the time the primary will get the job done!! Get there first fast and center shots and you win. Pocket carry sitting or in the car will get you killed.

You should write a book. You know everything!

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

Been there done that with wheelguns for near 5 decades.

$5 i can draw from my pocket quicker than you can from your iwb holster

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

I really like these banana grips over the rubber boot grip it came with. It's easier to get a correct shooting grip. I carry it as a BUG while on duty in my left pocket and I shoot it with a high thumb grip.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Little bit of friendly competition I see.....

As long as it works for you. I agree that the bigger grips are better for IWB. At least for me they are. But that's not the only way one might carry. And pocket isn't the only other way. But I would think it's not a bad way in some scenarios.

Last night I installed some boot grips back on and did some dry firing. But this time I wrapped 3 good sized rubber bands around the grip. The upper part. That little bit of girth does help my thumb not get overly in the way of pulling the trigger. I still touch it sometimes that way though. I kind of wish there was something in between the tamers and the boot grips. When I do dry firing, I feel I have a bit better control with the trigger with the smaller grips. But the upside to the tamers is soaking up recoil. I might try the Pachmyrs and see if they are kind of a compromise. They seem like they might be a bit smaller. My Mom has a bodyguard .38 and she wants some bigger grips on it. And she liked the Tamers on my 442. So I could transfer them to that gun if I like some other grips.

I'm pretty sure I'll probably be wincing with boot grips during recoil. But maybe not...... I like how those old Uncle Mikes ones look that people have. They seem like they're a bit bigger than the factory rubber ones or the laminated wood ones I have.

As a leftie, I wrap my right hand around so that the tip of my right hand thumb pushes up against the back of the flash guard. Really holds it solid.

At five feet from concealment iwb two shots one hand from chest level center mass 1.7 tenths of a second. TDI snubby class a few weeks ago. 700 RDS in 16 hours. Be safe God Bless.TDI Ohio Snubby Revolver Course Review I do carry two the other back up in pocket 442-1 , back up.

Attached Images

	20170519_185928.jpg (51.0 KB, 27 views)
	20170519_191630.jpg (79.2 KB, 32 views)

Congrats


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk