I am looking at grips/stocks for an airweight for a recoil sensitive young lady with little hands. The gun currently has some desantis clip grips on it. I was thinking that some form of rubber grip that covered the grip frame would be good for her. What would you recommend?

I have found these to work well for recoil - they are the "standard" rubber grips for the larger .357 J frames:

Product: J Synthetic Full Size Grip with S&W Logo

I have also found Pachmayr j-frame grips to be very comfortable, but they are quite ugly.

Definitely want a grip that covers the back strap and provide pinky grip. THe draw back is that if she is going to carry this gun, the larger grips are less concealable.

If a person has small hands and is troubled by recoil, the Pachmayr Pro Compac would be my suggestion:

Pachmayr&reg Pachmayr your primary source for quality handgun grips and recoil pads

You can buy them cheaper, elsewhere but this has the full discription.

I have a pair of the larger Custom Compac with covered back strap but those would probably be too large for small hands (use them on my original SS Bodyguard).

Dale53

Try the Pachmayr Compac (small) and Decelerator (large) grip models. I use the Compac with a 642-1 for pocket carry and the Decelerator with a 60-10 to ease the pain of 25 qualifying rounds of .357 Mag.

Pachmayr&reg Pachmayr your primary source for quality handgun grips and recoil pads

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60-10,640-1,G30,G41MOS,1911

These will be great I've shot full house 357s out of a j frame and they soak up recoil. Same type of grip they use on the ruger lcr. It has a small blue gel pad inside the grip by the back strap.

Hogue Tamer Grip S&W Centennial Bodyguard Rubber

Since you said, "recoil sensitive" The #1 suggestion that I have is the Pachmayr Compac grips. They are a little longer than a "boot grip" but, they still are concealable.
Pachmayr #: 03252

They also have a "Professional" version. They are smaller but, they do not cover the backstrap.
Pachmayr #: 03254

ETA: I see Dale53 beat me to it.

mm- I have a J frame rubber pachmayer grip that will work for rd or sq butt. They are not pretty but still more than usuable and free to you if youd like to try them for your young lady.
Send me a PM with your address, and I'll put them in them in the mail tomorrow.
If they don't work for her, feel free to give them to someone else.
Mike

Wow, thanks a lot. I am sending you a pm right now.

Hilarious! Less than 90 minutes ago! I was just fixing to type the same message as I scrolled down and WHAM - you beat me to it! What a great place! this Forum is.

Okay, I have at least 4 sets of grips for a J-frame. One is a hard polymer, grey in color, no clue where I got it, another is an Uncle Mikes banana shaped grip, rubber with finger grooves, similar to what Pef posted in post number 2 above. I am pretty sure i have another one just like it but it might be from a different company. The 4th set is a typical boot grip in the synthetic or rubber, whatever that stuff is. You're welcome to try all of them and keep the one9s) she likes and return the others to me at your convenience. Just let me know.

I replaced the rubber grips on my 642 and 638 with wood so I'm happy to share. These guns do have recoil that could be bothersome to someone who is sensitive to that.

PM me anytime.

***GRJ***

Another option is the Crimson Trace LG-305. They give you a full grip, a rubber covered backstrap, and the added bonus of a laser.

They are obviously more costly than non laser grips, but if you were looking for laser + recoil absorption I recommend these.

Below, the top 642 has the LG-305 grips as installed at the mothership while the other 642 has the standard basic grips. The only difference with the S&W LG-305 is a S&W logo instead of the Crimson Trace logo.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

I EDC a 642 Airweight myself. I added the Hogue Mono grips very shortly after purchasing the weapon. Two things I really like about the grips is that although I do not have large hands the original grip was too short and did not provide me a firm grip on the weapon. Also taking the weapon to the range regularly is a must so to make that easier this grip also gave me much more relieve on the recoil than the original boot grip.

Hope that helps.

Attached Images

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Here is an option that nobody has mentioned yet -> get the lady a gun that recoils less. The stocks may help her some, but why continue with a caliber/gun that she is afraid of or doesn't shoot well. There are a lot of options to help her get along without the sensations of big/hard recoil. My idea - go to a 38 special wadcutter round until she either gets used to the recoil of the magnum rounds.....or, let her try out one of the 32 mag revolvers. they are much more 'friendly' to folks that are recoil sensitive (and they do a dandy job in self defense modes).

Good luck.

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On the Oak Savannah

^^^^^ what SAFireman said, try different ammo in combination with rubber stocks.

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

BRILLIANT!!!

This is exactly what I did. Years ago the wife's first gun was a model 60 snubbie in 38 Special. For her it was hard to shoot accurately and a little snappy. It wasn't "fun" so she never wanted to shoot it.

Enter the GLOCK 19 & 26 (compact 19 for the house and sub-compact 26 for carry - both 9mm). She loves to shoot these guns and is accurate with them. They have mild recoil, easy to grasp slides, and light recoil springs so she can easily work the slides. As a bonus, they don't have a lot of "buttons"... mag release, slide release, and trigger.

All of the main manufacturers have similar sized models, I just like Austrian polymer. Remember, the bigger auto guns will have lighter recoil and easier to run slide springs. Cute little micro autos will tend to be snappy and will have really stout springs and hard to grasp mini slides. If hand strength and recoil sensitivity are issues, go with a bigger gun.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

Edmo,

Thanks for the compliment.....I too have an Airlite 357 magnum.....my wife tried shooting it a few times and did not really like it one bit. I got her a 342ti and she likes it much better. A short while later she discovered my bobbed tail enhanced Colt Commander, and now she is on to the pony guns with a lightweight CCO

Find what SHE likes to shoot, and something that she can shoot well and you will have a winning combination.

good luck gentlemen

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On the Oak Savannah

I told her about wadcutter ammo (the gun in question is a 638, so no magnum rounds) but she has not seen any locally, and I have not either. I am going to a gun show coming up soon and hopefully I can find some for her there. I have been looking locally for a j frame in 32 locally for my own tiny collection for a while and have not found anything, so I don't know where to look for one for her.

For what it is worth, she has shot a model 10 and enjoys it a lot and likes revolvers for their simplicity. She actually picked out the air weight in question.

EDIT: I talked with the young lady a little and she may in fact be able to swing the purchase of a 32 caliber j frame if I can find one for her.

Ergo Delta Grip.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I have a 442 and use Hogue Grips. They are more comfortable for recoil and give extra grip length for the pinky. If you have a Centennial model, you can use the Hogue Tamer grip which has a built in soft spot to absorb more recoil.

I talked to her a little about the idea of purchasing a 32 caliber j frame. I was wrong earlier and she may be able to swing the cost of one depending on the price for them. How much do they cost and where are the best places to look?

Any local gun shop with a decent selection might have one. I may hear some grief about it, but S&W also makes some really nice 22 magnum snubs.

If you have a range nearby that rents guns, you might let her check out a few different makes/models. Usually the cost is a box of ammo and a small rental fee (it would be less than buying several guns that are not right for her).

If she has fired (and liked) the Model 10. You may be able to find a 2.0" barrel model 10 for her to carry. Also, there is a large variety of steel framed J frame guns to choose from (the weight helps soak up the recoil).

If you were close to me, I would offer to let her try a few different models

The 638 is a fine carry gun. I have several of its predecessors (pre-38, and 38 no dash). They are fine to shoot with wadcutters (for myself and the wife).

Good luck in your search.

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On the Oak Savannah

I really like the new Pachmayr Diamond Pro J frame grips. They are a little smaller than the Compacs with a little palm swell.

Do not buy a gun unless you try one first. go to a range/gun shop put some in your hand, pull the triggers, pull the slides etc. Then if you think you are interested in one , see if they have a rental, and shoot at least 1 box of ammo.
Just my opinion.

That goes without saying. I am trying to be neighborly and do some of the legwork for her in my spare time since she is busy with her work at this time.

Neighborly is good. Also good to bring someone along with help in SD. Very nice of you.