Swing and a Miss on Hogue K/L Grips...Requesting Suggestions

[ScottN]

Well, I made a play for some Ahrends grips on eBay yesterday but lost out. I was in the lead going into the last hour, then the bidding got crazy. They ended up going for about $125, which was significantly more than I was willing to pay.

 

[Lou_NC]

Scott, have you thought about taking those Hogue grips to a belt sander and "personalizing" them to your hands? I wouldn't hesitate to do that myself, but I've been a woodworker for 50 years.......

Good luck,
Lou

 

[ScottN]

Scott, have you thought about taking those Hogue grips to a belt sander and "personalizing" them to your hands? I wouldn't hesitate to do that myself, but I've been a woodworker for 50 years.......

Good luck,
Lou

Actually, I did think of that. Great minds think alike! I ordered some supplies yesterday off Amazon that should arrive later this week. I'm gonna strip them and try my hand at sanding down the palm swell a bit, then do a tru oil finish. It will be my first time doing something like this...we'll see how it goes.

I also bought some barely used Altamont Bateleur conversion grips that will arrive this week.

Sometimes the "chase" is almost as fun as the final solution.

 

[jughed440]

Scott, have you thought about taking those Hogue grips to a belt sander and "personalizing" them to your hands? I wouldn't hesitate to do that myself, but I've been a woodworker for 50 years.......

Good luck,
Lou

Great suggestion. Ahrends are great for making customized stocks. I've done few sets. These were all reshaped for a better fit. Those sharp edges had to go too.

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

Actually, I did think of that. Great minds think alike! I ordered some supplies yesterday off Amazon that should arrive later this week. I'm gonna strip them and try my hand at sanding down the palm swell a bit, then do a tru oil finish. It will be my first time doing something like this...we'll see how it goes.

I also bought some barely used Altamont Bateleur conversion grips that will arrive this week.

Sometimes the "chase" is almost as fun as the final solution.

I was going to suggest going down to your LGS and seeing if they had any Smiths with the Batleur grips on them from the factory. My LGS had more than a few 686's with those grips on them.
To me, Those grips feel very similar to the slim rubber grips that come stock my 617 and likely other recent K frames.
I guess you will find out soon enough.

*No, even after my desperate attempts at getting my friend to pick up that 3", it was gone by the time he got there

 

[minconrevo]

The problem with any in-use grip is how they feel in the hand in a static situation versus how the feel while shooting is often totally different. The proof of the pudding is in the shooting and to some extent in the carrying. Of course there is the variable on individual hand fit.

For S&W revolvers I've settled on Miculek wood grips and the now discontinued S&W factory "rubber" boot grip for J frames. For K, L and N the Hogue "rubber" grip is a cost effective 2nd choice.

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

The problem with any in-use grip is how they feel in the hand in a static situation versus how the feel while shooting is often totally different. The proof of the pudding is in the shooting and to some extent in the carrying. Of course there is the variable on individual hand fit.

For S&W revolvers I've settled on Miculek wood grips and the now discontinued S&W factory "rubber" boot grip for J frames. For K, L and N the Hogue "rubber" grip is a cost effective 2nd choice.

Great point. I have had some goofy large grips on my 1911 that feel odd in the hand at my desk but work wonderfully at the range.

 

[colt_saa]

If you like the Hogue Bantam grip, just not in rubber, why did you not simply order wood Bantam grips from Hogue ?

They can be purchased in any of the woods that Hogue offers

 

[ScottN]

If you like the Hogue Bantam grip, just not in rubber, why did you not simply order wood Bantam grips from Hogue ?

They can be purchased in any of the woods that Hogue offers

Fair question. The rubber bantam grip extends beyond the bottom of the frame to give me a full three finger grip. I thought the wood bantam grips were a boot grip that stops at the frame, which would only give me a 2.5 finger grip at best...and that's just not what I want.

 

[ScottN]

Quick update.

I was able to try out my silver black Altamont Bateleur grips yesterday. I like them. Fit and finish is nice and they feel great in my hand. I put several cylinders of 44 special down range and I couldn't find any nits to pick. I also shot a couple of 44mags to see how it would feel...not something I'd want to do often but not as bad as I thought it would be. 44 mags would definitely be manageable with gloves. These will fit my needs fine.

I also happened to stumble across some rosewood Altamont Altai grips while rummaging around in my safe looking for something else. I forgot I had them for a k frame I sold a while ago. They look great but are a little too slim for my hand. Probably should sell them but did I mention they look great?

Might get started on modifying the Hogue's this weekend. Should be a fun project. Hopefully I don't mangle them!

Sorry for the low quality pics. It's the best I was willing to do yesterday.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
I have changed ALL my smiths over to Pachmyer or Hogue rubber.
The hanging up can be helped with a little sanding or burning [melting of the grip ]
I have never had this problem with belt holsters.
The old "PoPo" in me remembers turning a nice set of Python grips
into toothpicks on the likes of car doors,chairs,door frames etc...
The give in the grip helps with magnum loads, and will help even if rained on.
Look bad-Feel good---

 

[bananaman]

I recently purchased Hogue 19300 wood grips for my 69 2.75" k frame. The grips are combat style with finger grooves (see attached pic). The 69 is a woods gun for me and had been wearing Hogue Bantam rubber grips which fit my hand well and are comfortable when shooting. The only problem with the Bantams is that they can get caught up pretty easily on your shirt when drawing...so I ordered the Hogue wood grips thinking they'd be similar in contour to the Bantams.

Well, the fit and finish of the wood Hogue's is great but my hand didn't like the contour at all. Too much swell and/or arch made them uncomfortable just in the hand and even worse when shooting.

I have weird sized hands that are long-ish but narrow. I can get a full three finger grip on a Shield with the flush mag just to give you an idea of how narrow my hands are. Long, skinny fingers force me to wear large gloves otherwise medium gloves would fit my palms better.

So, now to the request for suggestions. I would like to get wood grips that allow a full grip and have mild to medium palm swell but not a lot. I'm considering Altamont Bateleur conversion grips or Badger conversions. I would love feedback on those two grips as well as other suggestions on grips that may fit my criteria.

Just for more perspective, I have experience with Altamont Altai k/l frame grips and find those to be too thin (not enough swell).

Thanks!

Unfortunately, MANY of us have bought stocks that looked like they would be comfortable but they did not feel right. I have quite a few. Bob