Hey guys, I have a 686+ Pro that originally came with Hogue mono grips. I really liked the feeling of them but changed to wood for the cosmetics. Now, I love my wood grips because there's no give in them while firing. But I can be reasonable and see the upside to rubber. Anyone care to share their opinion on functionality, use, accuracy, wear and cosmetics? I can't seem to make up my mind on what to keep on the gun. Any advice, thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

My guns that get shot a lot have rubbers, no matter what they came with.


Sgt Lumpy

Sir,

I have the Hogue rubber mono grip on both my house revolvers, and that won't change. I know that if the unthinkable happens, my sweaty palms will not be a problem for those sticky things. That being said, that is the only reason I retain them for that purpose, so that the gun won't slip on me in a life or death situation. My other guns(with the exception of my carry gun, which features Ruger's combination rubber/plastic grip) have wood grips.

I realize I haven't completely answered your question -maybe I'll have more time later.

Regards,
Andy

To me, a gun is something that has a use, so functionality is almost everything. Many of the best revolver grips made are rubber, and most of those are made by Pachmayr and Hogue. For me, Pachmayr SN-S Presentations are about the only satisfactory grips for an N-frame SB. Obviously, people with different hands will have different results. Also, even just for me, I'm not aware of any reason why grips as good as or better than SN-S Presentations couldn't be made out of wood. But it looks like it hasn't happened yet.

I also have a 325PD which is a little light for a .45. I would have sold it if I hadn't tried Hogues, which not only make the gun shootable, but are probably the lightest grips around, and are slim for good concealment when carried in a holster.

Pach Pres are also probably the best non-custom grips for my K22.

The above said, there are plenty of guns with factory Magnas to which one can add nothing more than a Tyler and have a very concealable and usable revolver. I also find Rogers plastic grips to be extremely fine grips for K SB.

Good grips are where YOU and YOUR HAND find them. Sometimes the best are rubber. Sometimes they aren't.

those laminated wood grips you have dont fit ME at all ,way too thin. the k/l frame hogue monos fit my hand very well,but as you have said the rubbers arent very pretty.
ahrends stocks fit well and are beautiful ,80s vintage finger groove combats also fit well ,if you can find some. your rb frame might pose a problem there though? not sure mine are all square butt

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the rules? there are no rules

From very early on I got my hands on Pachmayer Presentation grips for the N-frame revovler. I've been using them ever since. In fact I'm still using the first pair I ever bought ... about 1980, they are currently mounted on the grip of my 625-2. I know... it's a round-butt and the grips are for a square-butt, but it's what I have and so far it has worked so, until I can get some round to square butt grips, it'll have to do.

I have over a period of time accumulated some nice to very nice S&W magna and target grips for my revolvers. Most of these revolvers are currently stocked with these pretty grips. I am careful how I use them because I don't want to ding them up. If I'm going out in the woods/field or plan to maybe carry one of my revolvers, it will not be wearing one of those nice sets of grips.

Day in and day out, I think the Pachmayer PG's best suit my needs. Especially on a SS revolver, they are just about ideal. JMHO. Sincerely. brucev.

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<><

I tend to bounce back and forth, wood to me looks the best but honestly the Hogue rubber finger grips are the most comfortable to shoot, especially on the the 45acp and the 357 mag. That being said I still like to put the wood grips on both of them from time to time.

Would you put wood tires on your car?

Rubber might feel better shooting but like you I prefer the wood.

My 640-1 came with rubber grips but I purchased a set of wood grips that someone didn't like on their S&W Model 60 Pro.
I especially like that because my other revolver is a 60 Pro.
I like having same grips on both and if I get another J Frame I'll do my best to buy another set of the same wood grips that come with the 60 Pro.

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For God and Country

My eye candy gets wood, the shooters get rubber.

I wouldn't be caught dead with rubber grips on a gun . Guns are metal and wood (real wood, not laminate or synthetic wood) Also , a man's gun is not made of plastic (toys are made of plastic) .
And I don't drink light beer either( light beer is for girls and men that wear fanny packs ) I don't drive a Honda Toyota Hundai etc. I drive
a 1970 Mercury Cyclone 429 Cobra Jet .
I feel a man's gun is a reflection on what kind of man you are , in much the same way as your car is .
That's just me personally . I'm old school . I like my Cars, guns, music, etc from the past . I like things that have a little history to them . They just mean alot more .
Do you think Harry Callahan would have been as "cool" if he had a big silly rubber grip on his 29 . I think not .

Lewis

Well, no. Then again, I wouldn't put rubber legs on my coffee table, either. What's your point?

so you are outdated, inefficient and probably half worn out and a little rotten in places people cant see?

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the rules? there are no rules

I definitely prefer wood stocks. To me if the stocks fit your hand, you don't need rubber for recoil control, (except with a 2" 940 and +P loads). I do have some rubber (which is original to the gun) on a few, but which I may change out as time goes by.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I like wood grips that feel right. Can't deal with Magna's or most Target grips.

I never was much of a rubber grip guy as they tend to stick to clothing when you don't need it, kind of large, and (IMHO) BUTT Ugly!

(80% of my guns have the Factory wood on them with a Tyler T and the others have Ivory or Stag.

For those of you who do favor the Pachmeyers, inspect them once in a while to make sure the metal insert (stiffener) hasn't carved through the inside of the rubber and isn't scratching up the grip frame. I have had that happen on a few of mine and that was the last of the Pachy's for me.

You know cars originally had wooden tires. Not rubber. You know.....If you like real metal and wood and all. Try it

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I use Pachmayrs, usually the Presentation or Presentation Compac, but Grippers on a GP-100. I had a lot of trouble finding grips thtr fit that gun and me.

I also like the discontinued Uncle Mike's.

wood is fine for looks, but for function, I have pachmayr presentation (small size) grips on all my "K" and "N" frames....

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There's nowt so queer as folk

Big fan of wood grips on all my purdy guns but my snubby carry wears Pachmayr Compacs. Looks doesn't matter when it comes to my or my wife's protection.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Been using Pach/presentation since they first came out - still the best for me. Wood grips are for looks - Pachmayr for serious combat type speed shooting. They also work very well for fast reloading.

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Martin Co,FLA(finally made it)

Rubber is the only way to go. I know wood looks better but you can't shoot a 357 mag with wood not if your at the range !!! Your hands start to shake..... If you are going to carry the gun,then wood is ok. NOT FOR THE RANGE !!!! If you really like the wood grips buy them and take a picture then put the rubber back on. Now if you can find rubber with wood inlay -like Ruger did with there SP 101- that's cool !!
In the pictures...The SW snub has wood but that's my carry gun. That's ok. Then you have the SW -44 mag- that's my range gun. Has Rubber.
You can buy two guns. One with rubber and one with wood. Do you know how many times i wanted to buy wood also but you can't shoot bullseye.

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You can get these big butt grips. I have them and it works for the range. Your not going to carry....

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In the old days, the guys on the sheriff's dept that had packys on their revolvers were like the "tacti-cool" guys. The shooting team, SEB, ESD etc all had packs. Regular patrol guys just had stock S&W wood.


Sgt Lumpy

There's nothing that can match a good looking piece of wood on a gun. But on my ccw guns I prefer rubber were I can sink my fingers into the grips with a vise pressure grip. In my ccw redhawks I use stout loads for ccw carry.

I respectfully disagree.

A lot.

I prefer wood and that's what is on many of my guns. I never really cared for the feel of rubber or the shape of either Pachmyer or Houge rubber grips. However, my Model 29 does wear Pachmyers because that thing is rough on my old hands with full house loads.
As with all things there are exceptions. Many of my revolvers which might be used for defensive purposes wear the old Uncle Mike's/ Butler Creek rubber grips. These were copies of Craig Spegal designs made out of rubber. While not near as pretty as the real Spegals, they fit my hand perfectly and were about 1/4 the price. In short, they work for me.
Unfortunately, when the licensing agreement ran out, Spegal chose not to renew it. So these are no longer made. They do still show up from time to time on the auction sites and new in the package examples are fairly common. They usually sell pretty cheap too.

As the younger kids say today.. You agree to disagree !!!
How old are you ? When you hit about 50 parts of your body
shake loose. It's just like a old car, starts to shake -rattle n roll.
This is true.. I saw a old guy shoot his son's 44 mag at the range. When he shot the gun-his false teeth flew out of his mouth.lol

I have 3 686s all with rubber grips, they fit my hand well. I think I shot better with the rubber grip. I like wood grips they look really cool.

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Carpriver.

I guess to narrow down the discussion more, I'd like everyone's opinion on which grips would be better for marksmanship. If the difference is even 3/8" is that worth it? I shoot quite a bit and don't seem to lose any accuracy/range time by using wood grips. But, in a competition setting, which one will bring in the win? Or is it all just individual preference?

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

If we all fell in love with the same woman it woulda been a hell of a fist fight---------well, in this case I guess it woulda been a firefight.
Blessings

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TEXAS, by GOD

Checkered wood grips hurt my hands. I'm retired, no rough manual labor, no calluses, and arthritis in wrists. Wood grips fill up the storage space and Hogue monogrips are on the shooters. 38 Special works with wood grips on an K- or L-frame revolver where I “get a grip” and nothing moves from recoil.

Besides, with what some people pay for the grips I have, why risk damage by shooting the revolver with wood grips? When was the last time some one felt bad about a blemish on a rubber grip?

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S&WHF 366

I am kind of like the guy who likes big classics. I ride a Harley,drive a 35 chevy hotrod,etc. I am 60yrs and use wood on my 625-10 snub nose, and love them. I have the rubber also but the wood conceals better and I just like them better. Maybe my hands are in better shape than some, but I love shooting the snubby 45acp with the wood.

Wood grips are alright as long as they fit. When I had this Model 27 (still miss this gun!) these Ahrends grips did just fine when I shot full loads, and that was one handed.



They didn't work bad on these little j-frame guns either.



then of course there's always the option of stag

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Vaya con Dios

I use both but have gone more to rubber grips on my carry guns as I've got older as recoil hurts more than it used to. I still have wood on 1911s and revolvers for sport shooting. The wood certainly looks better and some of my guns will always have them.
I find too the little combat wood grips work almost as well as rubber ones on my carry snubs.

The one that you spend thousands and thousands of practice rounds and hundreds of thousands of dry fires with.


Sgt Lumpy

I have been a fan of the Pachmyer Gripper Professional for some time and both of my wife's stainless S&Ws wear them. Low maintenance guns for a low maintenance wife.

Within the last 5 years or so I have developed a fondness for Hogues. I bought a 6" M28-2 with Hogue rubbers and found it fit my hand better than Grippers and dampened the recoil and increased control with heavy loads. I saw no reason to change.

Not long afterward I came into a set of Hogue wood finger groove grips for my (now my son's) M15. Same great control, very concealable. If it hadn't gone to him I would have never parted with it.

S&W Targets work great on my M17 and I am happy with the Uncle Mikes Boot Grips on the 642.

My guns are tools, not fashion statements. I hope I wear out before they do, but I'm not preserving heirlooms for posterity.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

They both have their place.
My "tools" wear rubber, my "sweathearts" wear wood or bone.

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Dave

i like both ,but both have there place close to my side

I like wood for looks but rubber for practicality.

I've always THOUGHT that rubber was the most comfortable to shoot especially the big bore revolvers. But my Lew Horton 24-3 came with the combat wood grips and I shot it a few times like that cause they looked so dang good I hated to change them out.

To my surprise and delight I found that these wood combat grips are just fine and only very slightly less comfy than the rubber ones. I won't be changing out the wood grips now under any circumstances.

One thing I will say is that I HATE plastic grips like the ones that came on my Ruger SP101. I fired 25 rnds of .38 spl and 25 rounds of .357 mag with those plastic bone breakers and never fired it again until I had a chance to get a set of Hogues on it. That smooted it out nicely and now I can go through 50 rounds of .357 mags and feel no pain.

The first pic (can y'all tell I like to post pics of this beauty?) is the Lew Horton 24-3

The second pic is the Ruger SP101 with the original plastic grips

The last pic is the Ruger SP101 with the Hogue rubber grips. I'm not wild about how they look but they have turned that little Ruger into a real shooter!

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Real men love cats!

I have the same Altamont grips on my 586.

In my opinion they are the perfect balance of comfort, function, and looks.
I love them.




Rubber grips are an abomination.

For me, wood looks better but rubber shoots better. I have arthritis in my hands. When I go to the range I like to shoot as well as I can. I don't care what my grips look like. I care how small my groups are.

See my problem! Aye....

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S&W 686-6 Plus Pro Series

+1^^^ Rubber especially on my 41 and 44mag.

stocks must fit your hands,regardless of material. my 629 would cut my hand with the stock targets, would bludgeon my hand with rubber hogues .i then tried ahrends square butt tactical finger groove stocks.perfect. i can shoot all day without injury or discomfort.
k frame hogues fit nice ,but i can get the same accuracy and consistency with s&w combats. i still own several pairs of hogues and pachs but id rather have wood .anyone want to trade their s&w combats for rubber? ill trade 2:1 even though the rubber ones are better ok 3:1 but thats my final offer

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the rules? there are no rules

I prefer rubber on guns that are shot regularly and save the original wood stocks for posterity.

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"Shall not be infringed"