I have been looking at grips and I love the look of the old magna grips but how comfortable would they be on a 642? I assume they would be easily concealable.

Yes! Especially if you have small hands. If not, the addition of a Tyler T-grip will fill in the gap (so to speak) nicely.
Also unlike the rubber grips they put on 'em today, wood doesn't grab cloth or make you concealing garment ride up! Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

I have tried probably a half dozen different grip types on my M60 over the past 35+ years. The service grip/T-Grip combo is my final choice. Comfort: adequate, concealability: the best. Everything is a compromise. This one works for me...

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Well I ordered some today so I'll post some pics in 7-10 days when I get them!

FWIW: The service grips on my Model 60 LS beat my hand up. I cannot get a good grip because there isn't enough to hold for my short fingers, even as small as my hands are. That leaves a loose grip, and the gun hammers my hand on recoil. 38+P feels like full 357, and full 357s are at 44 mag level felt recoil.

Maybe they would work with the adapter to give my hand more to hold, but I put them in the box after one day of shooting and went back to the normal wood LadySmith grips.

They work great for me; very concealable
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Wow that looks great! I hope mine loks that good! Mine will be a little different because they are going to have that diamond in the middle. What I did was order the grips off of a model 36. What is the difference between your grips and the ones I ordered? Just the diamond? Whats the history between the two?

Not only "yeah," but "HECK YEAH!!!"

For ME, I've found there's nothing better . . . even better than "rubbers" like Hogues and Uncle Mike's. Those now rest in my junk drawer and all our J frames (the wife included) use their stock magnas (or Executioner stags) in conjunction with Tyler T-grips.

Ummm . . . my wife likes this set up better too on her "hard kicking" Model 37 Airweight . . . saying that even the 158gr. LSWC-HP +P loads are pleasant to shoot, so that's saying a lot, IMHO.

And since all threads need photos . . . here are my two:

Those look great too! How do they feel to you without the T grip? Is the T grip essential to you?

The diamond stocks are the new ones that S&W sell in their online store. They look nice, but did not fit as well as the originals which I lost over the years. Wood was "proud" all around. Took a fair amount of filing/sanding/refinishing to get them to fit properly. You will probably be better off with the Model 36 stocks.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I, too, have probably spent more over the years on grips than on guns. (Okay, maybe not more, but close to it!) And, in the end I always seem to come back to the magnas. Not just on my j-frames, but on my M66 2.5" as well. To me, they are very comfortable. And, I have to confess... they just look COOL!

"Are the old magna grips comfortable on j frames?"

No, but with a t-grip adapter they're ok. The trick for me is the balance between comfort and concealment. For that the stock stocks (sorry couldn't resist) and a Tyler T-Grip adapter offer the best compromise.

/c

For me, a Tyler-T is a must. Otherwise I end up with a busted nuckle on my middle finger from the triger guard.

If one orders the Dymondwood Service Grips from Smith & Wesson, the fit on your revolver might be similar to that shown in the following photographs.

S&W Model 637


S&W 686-6 Plus

I have no discomfort using standard .38 Special loads in either gun, but +P or full power .357 loads (only for the 686) will draw blood. The S&W revolvers I bought in the 1970s mostly had the Magna stocks, so I became fond of the look of those types of stocks.

As others have said, if you want to shoot it, the Tyler T-Grip is not a bad idea.

For concealed carry, my 637 wears the Magnas, but I have Eagle Grips Secret Service stocks on the 686.

Sir, FWIW, I like them on my Model 49, but that's an all-steel gun. Not sure I'd like them on a lightweight like a 642.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

I think the magnas are the best looking original grips smith made. they look good on any frame size. but......and I do mean but... they feel like **** for shooting no matter what gun size they are on. they force your hands too high and give a cramped feeling. and I have not met any women who like them either. if you can find a tyler they are a must for shooting. if you just want to put your magnas on a gun to look at and keep in a safe don't waste your time with the tylers, not worth the headaches to obtain.

Why are they hard to obtain? I think they have a website. Either way I'm excited for my grips to get here and I hope that they are comfortable for me because I love that classic S&W look. I remember holding one in a gun shop a couple years ago but I dont remember if I loved the way it felt in my hand or hated it. I do remember having a strong opinion though! Not that that really helps me.

Exectly what I was thinking!

You can dig around GB or FleaBay and probably find a Tyler, if you order direct they take 3+ months according to those who have orders in on them.

I got my T-Grip for my Model 60 on GB, the J-frame Tylers seem to be common.

I do not find the wood J-frame round Magnas "comfortable" for shooting, but J-frames weren't designed to be range guns. I have no use for rubber grips on a CC gun, and if you have to use your CC gun comfort isn't an issue. If you can put 20-30 rounds center mass on a silhouette at 7-15 yards in DA with the magnas, they do their job. The grip frame was designed for easy carry and concealment, the square butt J-frame may be better but I don't have one.

The wood grips look great on the J-frames, but when I am going to the range to shoot 3-400 rounds it's not a gun I choose.

I like them but I shoot better with a three finger Uncle Mike's rubber grip.

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Centennial Every Day

As has been already expressed here, magnas look good, conceal great, handle poorly. But, if you carry a lot and only shoot a little, they are a great choice.

Not all rubber stocks drag on clothing. Some years ago I handled a Colt DSII that wore the Pachmayr Compacs, and loved them--they give me purchase for my little finger, afford a higher grip, and fill the space occupied by the Tyler on my 10-5. When I bought my 640 I put a set on it. That was over ten years ago, and I've carried the gun daily ever since. They are admittedly larger than the little boot grips, but I need that for arthritic hands that are well past 70 years old. They aren't hard to conceal in a pocket, don't grab the fabric on the draw, and make shooting the piece much more comfortable.

As I have stated before, I have Tyler T-grips on most of my revolvers but on my 642 I took off the factory rubber boot grips and put Eagle brand wooden boot grips on there. Not for conceability but because I liked the way they looked. Next time I shoot that Airweight 642 I bet I'll be sorry I did that.....

***GRJ***

Col. Rex Applegate, the former Army officer and OSS instructor addressed this issue in his book, "Kill or Get Killed." A scary title, I know, but it was written as a practical how-to for people who had to do scary work. Anyway, he spends several pages discussing the 5-shot J-frames. The solution to the magna grip problem is to fold the pinky finger under the gun butt. This prevents the gun from diving into the hand upon recoil. Illustrations of this are on pp. 129 and 151 in his book. This works even better with the T-grip option or the later Boot grips. Hope this helps.

In my experience, the T-Grip fills in the "open" space under the front of the grip frame. This enables the shooter to better stabilize their grip during the trigger pull. If you intend to carry your J-Frame in an ankle or pocket holster, factory "magna" + T-Grip = greatness. You will need to put in some extra practice (particularly with 158gr +P LSWCHP's), but you will have a superior concealed weapon system to show for your efforts. I frequently carry a square-butt M36 with magnas and a T-Grip, and put about 500 rounds downrange a year through the gun (half +P LSWCHP, half LSWC).

Rubber grips have their virtues, and J-Frames are downright FUN to shoot when they don't hurt. With that said, though, practice with the weapon set-up and loaded as you will carry it. You put yourself at a training disadvantage if you carry with wood grips, but practice with a Pachmayr installed. Just my experience/opinion.

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10,13,15,64,66,351,640,681

I've often wondered about magna's on Airweights,
but not enough to try it.
Instead of Tyler T-grips, try BKGRIPS. Readily available
and they do their job.
Magnas on steel frame guns work fine, w/o a recoil problem.
The grip adaptors just make them better.
JMHO, TACC1.

I have five J frames and two are Airweights, md 37s. All five wear
standard factory magnas. The magnas are not hard to find, they are
often posted for sale on here. I find them comfortable without any
adapter and they don't drag on clothing. I don't shoot large numbers
of rounds through my Airweight 38s, I believe in the carry a lot shoot
little idea. The magnas alone allow a high grip on the gun which reduces felt recoil in my opinion and aids controlability. Here is my
most often carried Airweight.

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The question of whether or not Magna stocks will be comfortable on a J frame S&W is a lot like asking if a size 11 pair of Danner Arcadia boots will be comfortable on your feet. Or a 34 inch waist size of Levi 501's will be comfortable on you.

Mebbe, mebbe not. It depends on a number of factors, some you have little control over, like how are your hands and fingers sized? Some you do have control over, like, are you going to shoot them on a steel or aluminum frame gun? Are you going to shoot light or heavy ammo? Are you shooting a 22, a .38 or a .357 Magnum cartridges? Generally, what is your tolerance to recoil? How your hand fits a particular set of grips or stocks, and where in the muscles and joints of your hands the impact from recoil hits, varies tremendously.

The only way to know how comfortable they may be FOR YOU is to buy or borrow a set and shoot them in the gun you are thinking about with the ammo you plan on shooting in it.

I have an average size hand, and like many, found that a grip adapter like a Tyler made the gun much more shootable for me. I then graduated to synthetic grips but sometimes find an occasional small wood grip to fit and feel good. You just gotta go try.

On Airweight J-Frames (M37 in my recent experience), I found the magna/T-grip combo especially workable on a square-butt configuration gun. Recoil wasn't a factor because I routinely stick with 125gr Federal NYCLAD (bought 6 boxes a few years back) and 130gr ball for Airweights. Steel vs. Alloy is a significant consideration (for me) when it comes to recoil, and I'd be disinclined (given a choice) to go +P in an alloy J-Frame. I do the same thing with my Colt Agent, which also wears it's factory frame-dimension stocks and a T-grip.

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10,13,15,64,66,351,640,681

I tried magnas plus a grip adapter on my RB j-frames-- looked very old-school cool but wasn't that comfortable. Magnas by themselves don't fill my hand enough. Tried a too-thin set of Ahrend boots, Badger boots, some other no-name boots (S&W?Altamont?) -- nope. What works best for me is the good old Uncle Mike boots. Best feel and they don't seem to drag on my clothes. Luckily I even like the way they look-- very businesslike. They're out of production but fortunately are still not too hard to find. Usually some on ebay, and last time I checked S&W still has a bunch in stock-- clearance priced at about $22 delivered.

I have the same set up for my model 60 too. And I agree with TAROMAN.