Hi all,

I was wondering if I could get some input from some of you who have any experience with ahrends grips. I'm looking into a 3 inch 686 and would like to put a nice set of wood grips on it. It appears that both the retro and the tactical grips have 3 finger grooves and stop at the same place on the frame. I like them because they seem to be a bit more compact when compared to the stock rubber ones or the talo wood grips.

Thanks!

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Thats all I use on my L and N frame smiths. I love the way they fill my hand. Fit and finish are top notch, and they don't interfere with the speed loader.

What style are those if you don't mind me asking?

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Round butt tactical

Here are Ahrends moradillo combats on a 686 2.5. I like all Ahrends grips. Great, fit, quality and price.

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My experience has been with Ahrends' K-frame grips. I prefer non-grooved grips so that's what I had. I've used both retro and tactical versions. I believe the retro version was the boot grip. I didn't like the tactical grips because the flat front didn't fit my hands very well, but my hands are on the small side (probably somewhere between a small and medium glove size) so that may have been a factor. The shoulders at the sides of the frontstrap were also a bit too squared off for me. I found the more rounded shape of the retros to be more comfortable.

I hope that helps. I'm not exactly sure what kind of input you're asking for.

Works well for me.
Ahrends tactical.

Ditched that optic very quickly, BTW.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Here is a pic of mine on a 686SSR Pro series. When I put them on they snap. Fit is super!!! I removed the poly finish and applied 20 coats of 100% tung oil.

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Thank you all who have posted! The grips truly are beautiful. How do they work for large hands? I'm 6'9" with large to xl mits... Another question is about the coating he puts on. I see the tung oil on a few, is it worth the extra cost? Does it make the grip slippery in any way?

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On my 66 3" I put the retro combat fingergroove on. They are a somewhat dark & light grain goncalo alves. With smaller hands the fit me well. I have several sets of ahrends & every one has fit the gun perfect.

As I mentioned, I have small/medium hands, and they were a bit of a handful for me, but not too bad. I don't know how they'd work for you.

I highly recommend the tung oil finish. I've used both the tung oil finish and the standard polyurethane finish. The tung oil finish was less shiny and less slick. It was a smooth finish, but gave a good grip in the hand that wasn't at all slippery, at least to me.

Giant mitts? Probably not.
I wear 9-1/2 gloves and there's no room to spare on my Ahrends.

For giant mitts (like Bill Jordan) Herrett's is the place to go.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I have one pair, conversion retro targets, on an N frame. I like them a lot. Tung oil finish is definitely the way to go IMHO. Worth the extra $ for sure. The look is great (shows the full character of the wood without being 'flashy'. Is smooth without being slippery or overly tacky depending on palm-sweat. And of course if you hit it with solvents being a little aggressive in your clean-up routine it's no harm done. I have large, bony hands. Can palm a basketball. I have heard some others with large hands say that they wished they were a bit bigger, but that honestly has not been the case for me. I am going to be buying a 686 next myself, and the first after-market grips I would seek for it would be retro combats. Attaching a pic of
My retro targets. Conversions. I would stay with round combats for a shorter 686 -

While my examples are N frame guns, I am fond of the "Retro Banana" grips. They are the closest things to the K/L Round Butt Target grips that S&W put on the 547 and were available as special order on other K frame guns. The original S&W grips are getting expensive today and the Ahrends have a similar feel, although not checkered.

N frame 25-2 with Ahrends Retro Banana Grips



Another example: 629-3 Carry Comp




Model 13-3 with S&W Round Butt Targets for comparison

__________________
Bill

My 617 with Ahrend's Retro Combat grips in Goncalo Alves wood.

__________________
"In God We Trust"

I'm thinking these might work for you. Here's mine on a 627 Pro.

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__________________
Accuracy supercedes Speed

I always order Ahrends grips unfinished. Then, I reshape with 80 grit to fine tune to my hand. I sand to 600 grit and follow with Pure Tung Oil, cut with Turpentine. Repeat. I touch up a couple times a year. I use Real Milk Paint Company Tung oil.

Best,
Rick

Do the tactical grips stop at the end of the grip frame and do the retro combats go down past that point? Hard to tell from the pics on his website

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Yes, both Ahrends tactical and combat grips extend past the bottom of the grip frame about 1/4 inch; however Ahrends boot grips fit flush. Here's some Ahrends cordia wood boot grips on my 66-2.

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Work well for me.

Both round-to-square Cordia; the 686 is the tactical and the 629 the retro. I prefer the tactical, less of a sharp edge to it.