I recently purchased my first S&W that being the PC Hunter ( emotions took charge! ). The Hogue grips were too small for my hands. I put on a set of Diamond Pro's. My knuckle on my middle finger is just resting against downward the curve of the trigger guard. Today I handled a 29 Classic with the wood grips. I noticed what seemed to have a comfortable gap between my knuckle and the guard. Are they slightly different shapes or is this due entirely to the wood vs synthetic grips? BTW: the 6.5" felt much more balanced compared to the Hunter. Thx

I would say that it’s due to the difference between the wood grips and synthetic. I have rather the opposite problem because I have small hands. My 629-1 has the 8 3/8s barrel and with the factory targets I have a hard time getting a good grip especially for the double action pull but monogrips work really well on there for me.

The hogue grips in rubber or wood fill the area behind the trigger guard so you do not get knuckle bashing. If the standard round to square conversion rubber hogue grips are too small try the model 500 hogue grips if you like rubber grips.

A good option is also the wood hogue grips. They are wider than the rubber versions and better for larger hands and still fill in the area behind the trigger guard. Offered in round to square but conversion or round butt. Your choice of wood type and without finger grooves or with single or full finger grooves.

I would recommend non checkered on a 44. The smooth wood grips let the revolver move in your shooting hand a little during firing and this prevents blisters.

Thank you!

In this pic I’ve installed Pachmayr Diamond Pro’s. My knuckle is against the guard:

Update: just got off the phone with tech at S&W. He said all the trigger guards are the same shape on the 29 and 629’s.

You don't WANT a gap between your knuckle and the guard. If your knuckle is touching the guard, you get a "shove" instead of a "punch". There is no room to accelerate.

If there is a large gap, the gun can accelerate, and you get a "roundhouse punch". It can help to use the index finger of your support hand to fill in the gap.

I am now using the index finger & it’s better.