I am right handed and have a round butt Smith and Wesson 686+ with 4 inch barrel currently outfitted with Ahrends retro target round to square butt grips. In fast double action work with full power ammo, I find my right thumb is getting unmercifully chewed up by the cylinder release latch. I'm tired of bleeding on my gun. I believe my hand is climbing the back strap of the gun during recoil, resulting in an even higher hold on the gun by the time the gun is empty, thus getting my thumb even closer to the latch. I lock my right thumb down with my left when gripping the gun, and grip high on the back strap. I would say my hands are average sized, as I wear a size large glove. Any grip suggestions that might be better than the Ahrends retro target style that would assist me at all in keeping my thumb away from the latch? The rubber grips (non-Hogue) that came on my gun fit my hand very well, keep my thumb away from the latch, but also cover the back strap, and cause issues with the rotating hood of my duty holster. Would finger grooves or rubber grips be better? Thanks.

I’d suggest rubber grips for extended range sessions and bandaging your thumb before shooting. This is a common problem for right handed shooters but since I’m a leftie I’ll let others weigh in on the thumb thing.

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LEO (Ret.)

I like Pachmyer "Compact"; rubber, round butt grips on my custom 4" round butt 686-nuttin for shooting a lot of .357.

They cover the backstrap....... not sure about the holster thing.


Though there are "Compact Professionals" Pachmyer with open backstrap......more of a concealed carry grip

A picture, showing how you actually grip your gun might help.

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Stocks are hard to get the perfect fit for you. As you know, we are all different. My favorite aftermarket sets are Herrett's. My 686, has Hogue round to square conversions on it. Bob

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A tough one. I've got a heap of grips for different ones that I've tried on different Smiths and brand C. My 581 wears the original magnas with a grip adapter, but I don't shoot the big stuff. The Compac is great for round butt and heavier loads, they let you get a full grip for them hand masher loads.