Hello,

This is my first post on the S&W Forum.

I recently bought a Model 29-10, which is the new "classics" line, with the 6.5 inch barrel, blue finish, wood grips.

I just put my second box of standard full power loads through it, Federal 240 gr. It was great fun, but significantly more recoil than my Model 586, and after 50 rounds became a little fatiguing on the hand. I expect to shoot standard 240 gr loads, and like to shoot double and single action.

I am looking for some different grips to reduce the felt recoil, make it more comfortable to shoot.

After doing a little reading, I am looking primarily at these two:

1. Herrett's Jordon Trooper. From what I have read, it is a large grip which disapates the recoil well, but may be too large for average size hands (which I have).

2. Nill Grips, the wood replacement grip with the closed back that covers the backstrap, finger groves, smooth finish.

If anybody has had any experience with either or both of these, I would love to hear about your opinions and comparisons.

Also - how would these compare to the Pachmayr Decellerator for comfort? I would like to get wood grips if they are close, but if the Pachmayr is far and away better, I might be swayed to go that direction.

Thank you for your input and help on this.

-Best Regards

Id hafta say that the Pachymeyer grips are far and away more comfortable and would give you a little less fatigue. They are nothing to look at though, ugly rubber. I usually shoot Ahrends grips on my 44's. They feel a lot better and they arent checkered to irritate my hand.

Also, the 44 has a descent amount of recoil and you may just need some more shooting to condition your hand to the extra recoil.

Good luck and have fun.

Welcome to the forum!

I'll agree with mossyoakpenn that rubber is probably going to be the way to go for pure recoil management and comfort. Rubber is typically pretty cheap which means you can try them out with minimal investment. If wood is a must then I would I would go to S&W Combats...which are more comfortable to me than the targets but still not as comfortable as rubber. The combats are rather expensive though. But man do they look good!

I agree with everyone about the rubber being the most practible and the homliest. The Jordan grips look great but unless you have a huge hand you won't like them.

I have average size hands and I use nill grips on my n frames. I have tried just about every brand out there and nill works best for me in a wood grip. Its hard to beat rubber for pure comfort if that is your main desire , in rubber I like houges. Hope you find whats best for you.

Herrett's will make their grips to fit a tracing of your hand, and they handle recoil very well. I've never tried Nill grips, but I would think that the all-important individual hand differences would be a determining factor as to which is best. I have read many happy reports of Nill quality and feel.

I find Herrett's much better than Ahrends, for me. Also, the older I get, the lower velocity loads I shoot

It's rare for me to shoot a .44 at much over 1100 fps anymore, and most are below 1000.

Thank you everyone for all your input.

Mossyoak - I think you are on to something regarding conditioning your hand to take the recoil. I used to find shooting my 357 with checkered grips a bit much with full loads, but now it doesn't bother me. I will ease into shooting the 44 with full power loads, and shoot moderate volumes on a regular basis to condition the hand.

Sound like the rubber grips are pretty much the best bet for making shooting more comfortable.

That being said, I love the look of wood with the blued finish.

I have heard good things about both the Jordon Trooper and the Nill replacement grip. Both of these grips cover the backstrap, which seems to be important in making it more comfortable, and can be had in a smooth finish which is less abrasive to the hand.

The Herret grips sound great, assuming they are sized right. The Nills also have a good reputation for quality and I think look great in the rosewood.

I may end up getting both a pair of rubber grips and a pair of wood ones...

Thank you everyone. Also, please keep the comments coming, expecially if anyone has had experience with both the Herrett's and the Nills.

Best Regards,

Front Sight 357

I have both and like both. I do like the Nill more though. i have large hands and I find the Bill Jordan grips fit well though they are a little narrow for my taste. They are shown on a 624 and 25-5. The Nills are slightly wider though the distance from the back strap to the trigger is less. They are shown on a 625

Just like Bullet Bob, it has been quite a long time since I have shot full power loads. I prefer to keep them under 1000 fps. My son likes the Ahrend's he has on his model 57, but I prefer the Nill grips on my round butt 629. My favorites are the Herrett Shooting Star grips (square butt) shown on a model 29-2. Wish I could find a set for the 629.

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I have the Nill closed-back finger groove grips on my Mountain gun, and felt recoil is a lot less that it was with the factory rubber Hogues which were way to narrow for me. My hands are of average size and I find the Nills absolutely perfect for single-action shooting which comprises 99.999 percent of my shooting with that revolver. The ARE a little large for double-action shooting, but it is certainly doable.

I don't like the feel of any rubber grip I have tried at all, either the Pachmayr or Hogue.

I have large hands and have both a pair of Troopers and a set of Nills.

The Troopers should not be too large since they are made based on a tracing of your hand but the shape may not to everyone's liking.

They both fit my hands very well but of the two, I like the Nills a little bit more. The Troopers will take about 16 weeks to get and cost a little less than the Nills depending on the options. The Nills are narrower at the bottom and have a slight "palm swell" that the Troopers do not have. Both cover the backstrap which I like.

The next set I buy will probably be Nills but I'll have to order direct from Nill to get the non-finger groove version I prefer.

Thank you everyone for your input. Especially thank you to the kind folks who attached photos of their guns.

I think I will have to give the Nills a try, and maybe a set of pachmayr's as backup.

From a looks viewpoint, I really like the Nills in Rosewood for the blued model 29.

I also appreciate Herrett's being a small family owned business, and may give their grips a try on one of my 357 revolvers.

Thank you and God Bless.

Nill rosewood are beautiful and fit my hands better than all the rest. I don't have Jordan troopers but have tried them and I prefer the Nill replacement closed back grip. Just as an obervation (with no basis in fact), it seems like the Nills are CNC built as they feel identical from grip to grip, whereas it seems the Herretts have a more handmade "one at a time" crude look to them. Herretts seems more like old world craftsmanship and Nill feel more like high tech/new world manufacturing. Maybe it's just that the Jordan style is very plain to me and that is why they do not appeal aestetically. I do not have any experience with the fit of Herretts, but I can say that the Nills fit so tight, you almost have to squeeze them on and the seam is barely visible. They are extremely well made.

Only drawback is they come from Germany, so expect to wait a month to get them!!!



IC

I like the Jordans myself however Nill's are great too. If you are able to try them beforehand get the ones that feel and point best for you and that you like best.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Like so many things, this is an individual question. I had a very nice set of Jordan Troopers made for one of my .500 Mags.

I couldn't deal with it, it sent the recoil straight back into the wrist, unpleasantly so. I find the factory grips just fine, no discomfort.

I sold the grips to one of our forum members, Ohio Coconut. He says that they work very well for him. Don

I have two pair of Troopers and love them.They make them for your hand size so they cannot be to large unless you buy used ones made for someone else.Good for recoil and great trigger finger placement.

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T. Johnson

In refrence to “conditioning” your hand. There are some long time shooters of heavy caliber handguns who feel that they have suffered lasting injury to their hands from these guns firing many hot loads.

Regarding recoil I will put this out there., if a shooter is trying to hold the muzzle down & keep the gun leveled you are going to feel a fair amt. of recoil VS letting it roll & the muzzle rise between shots...just in case that's a factor for the OP.

I know this might be apples and oranges, but I have a friend that was into large bore handguns for quite a few years, especially into Metallic Silhouette. The pounding recoil is cumulative, and the small bones in his wrists are now so damaged he no longer shoots any handguns at all. His shoting is confined to skeet guns in sub gauges.

Now, he had fired many thousands of hot large bore rounds to cause that problem, the average person who fires a box or maybe two a month probably won't be damaged, BUT, pay attention to the warning signs as you have so far experienced. Damage is cumulative.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I had Jordan Trooper stocks on my 4" model 29. They were made to fit my hand . Great stocks for absorbing recoil. No experience with Nill's', but I highly recommend the Herrett's. I sold the Model 29, kept the JT'S and put them on the my 1954 Highway Patrolman. Even better on it. 38's have very low felt recoil and 357's are even more manageable.

A grip that covers the back strap lengthens the distance to the trigger. A wider grip spreads the recoil over a larger area of the hand. I prefer the wider stocks.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Bill Jordan could not only palm a basketball, but almost hide one in his hand. That's an exaggeration, of course, but you get the point -- he had HUGE hands. I've always liked the look of NIll grips, but to be honest I have no real experience with them.

I found years ago that the best N-frame grip set-up for my average-sized hands is standard S&W service Magnas with a Tyler T-Grip. They allow me to have a full, firm grip, and that factor is most important to me when trying to tame the hard-kickers.

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Pisgah