Long story short, I injured my wrist and thumb last year which required outpatient surgery. My hand has never been the same. I had these beautiful walnut colored Altamont grips on my 686 but after the injury the recoil was too much with wood grips even with .38's....forget about .357. I just got these Hogue Tamers today. Went on easy and fit well. Not the prettiest things in the the world, but they feel good. Still need to take it to the range. As I get older I seem to prefer comfort over style.

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A lot of people are using that grip. It does cushion the recoil nicely.

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protocalldesign.com

Great grips, some have re-shaped them gently as well.

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- Post No Bills -

I may have some fancy pants grips, but for shooting and back country walks. I go with the rubber grips. No need to muck-up a $100 grip.

The finger bumps on the Hogues don't fit my hand, I have Pachmayr Compacs on my 3", the covered backstrap really helps soften the recoil and I can get a high hold. I CC it from time to time.

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SWCA #2817

I now have those same grips on all of my magnum revolvers... never mind looks, I want to be able to shoot as long as my arthritic hand will allow me to continue shooting, and those grips will extend my shooting life.

The woods goes back on just for the glamour shot pictures.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

I have Hogue grips on all of my revolvers (S&W, Ruger & Dan Wesson. 357 mag & .44 mag) as they help tremendously with recoil and grip.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Just a thought. Have you ever tried shooting with your hand? Bob

I feel your pain, only it's the trigger guard cracking my middle finger. The 629-6 came with rubbers, but I bought some Hogues like yours that give more room for my finger to be back further. No more broken finger possibility. Easy on the palm, too.

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Waiting For The Sun.

I have both Pachmeyer Diamond Pro grips and Hogue tamer grips on my 686's .The Pachmeyer Diamond Pro grips are a little fatter and have thicker rubber on the backstrap ,it shoots softer ,But i have small fingers ,so the tamers fit me better ,they soak up just a little less recoil because they are thinner on the sides ,not speading out the recoil as much as the D. Pros ,but the tamers are still comforable ,i had carpal tunnel surgery ,so i have to have a soft grip covering the back strap ,both work good for that

Decades ago I tamed a 2 1/2" Model 19 by replacing the stock magna grips with a set of Pachmayr Compacs (they were very "in" at the time!). Lately, I've handled some 686+ revolvers (but not shot them), and the factory rubber grips seem very comfortable and secure, and the finger-grooves better placed for my hands than Hogues.

I'm all for comfort over prettiness!

I was thinking (scary), did you do physical therapy after your surgery? Usually that helps in order to get full use of whatever body part you had operated on.

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Waiting For The Sun.

I heard good things about the Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips for the 686 and was considering them, but I have had good experience with Hogue grips on other firearms I own. I guess I'm a Hogue guy. I would like to hear more from anyone that has experienced both the Hogue Tamer and the Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips. How do they compare?

My 686 came with the factory rubber grips that cover the backstrap. Those grips are not uncomfortable, but as far absorbing recoil they do not compare to the Hogue Tamers which are thicker and softer. The Hogue Tamers provide more cushion on the backstrap where the webbing of your hand gets hammered when you fire .357.

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I was late to the revolver side being a 1911 fan but I am certain that I shoot rubber gripped revolvers better than wood. To my eye nothing looks as classic as a pair of striped or dark OEM target grips.

I picked up an N frame model 28 with magnas and wasn’t pleased using the grips. A set of old Pachmyers from a gun store bin made the gun a better hold. Open back strap due to short fingers, I can’t afford the padded back strap luxury.

My 586 came with pachmyers for under $300 so no complaining.

+1 for the Pachmayer Diamonds. I have them on my 629-6. Enjoyable to shoot now.

I'm trying Hogue fingers on my M27, just for fun...they fit well so we'll see. they are reasonably priced

I've never found factory targets unsatisfactory. It seems to me the wide cross section divides up the load quite well. Rubber grips I've tried in the past were less pleasant to shoot. Easy to grip maybe, but narrower so more focused- and sharper recoil.

The more the ideas, the better? I believe I would try having my wife tape my wrist with hockey tape or first aid tape to see if it helps. OR, sell the 686 and purchase a nice .22lr revolver or semi auto (Buck Mark), better idea, keep the 686 & purchase a nice .22, yea, that’s it. It’s hard to beat the value in a Buck Mark, or the fun. Best of luck.

Some Buckmarks are real persnickety on how they are cleaned and lubed. I've found that it's important to keep both top screws tight. A TINY dab of blue LokTite helps in that regard. I clean the chamber/lead only, not the barrel, with a Q-tip and gun solvent. The light oil lube for the slide needs to include the TOP rails, along with a dab on the side and the guide rod. The TandemCross trigger I installeed in my BM was a big improvement. The TC extractor helped some. The TC comp (one has threaded barrel) works rather well.

The particular "rubber" grip you are considering will do wonders for softening up the recoil on your 686. Eventually it will age-harden and need replacement; that's several years down the road.

I only see a Diamond Pro and Tamer grip for the K/L round butt, not for the square butt models. Am I missing something? Thanks

As far as I can tell those two particular grips are only made for round butt models. Hogue and Pachmayr produce different rubber grips for square butts, like the Hogue Monogrip.

FWIW, I have a 4” M66-1 that I put a set of Pachmayer Grippers on. I was looking for grips that weren’t quite as round or big as the Hogues. I think they’re the smaller version of the Grippers. I was surprised at how good they feel in the hand and how comfortable they are to shoot.

Unfortunately, I haven’t shot a K frame with the Hogues for a direct comparison. I have shot a 638 with the RB J frame Hogues and they do a magnificent job of taming the recoil of that Airweight.

Photo of the 66 below, for someone to ID which Gripper version.

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I am so sorry to hear that!

If recoil is the issue, even with 38 Special loads, I would suggest try one of Ruger Bisley revolvers in 357 Magnum, large frame, or bit smaller Flattop. IMO, for the same weight and round, perceived recoil is about 1/3 less in revolver with Bisley grip.

I too have come to enjoy hard recoiling revolvers less as the arthritis in my hand has progressed. On the times I plan to shoot magnums in my 686 I use the Hogue rubber grip. If I’m shooting .38spl I stick with the wood target grips and do fine.

Hope you find something that works for you.

I have shot both and prefer the Hogues. The Diamon Pro is narrower at the top of the grip and drives the backstrap into the web of the hand. There is less material behind the trigger guard which allowed what is exposed to hammer my middle finger. All of this with the M69 .44 mag. The Diamond Pros were ok for me on a 66-8.

As an aside, I think the Diamond Pros have been discontinued for S&Ws.

Here's a picture of some Hogues I modified with a knife sharpener belt sander and a Dremel sanding drum. If you take your time, a much "cleaner" outcome can be had. These are shown on a 2.75" M69 (L Frame .44 Mag)



If you shoot a lot, you may get some wear -- worn out protecting the bone at the base of my thumb on 2.75" M69 .44 mag.



I learned early on (with the M329) to have some spares on hand.

FWIW,

Paul

"If you shoot a lot, you may get some wear -- worn out protecting the bone at the base of my thumb on 2.75" M69 .44 mag."

@Paul105, How long did it take for you to wear a hole into the grip like that?

I have Hogue grips on all my N-frame revolvers, but they are not the tamer grips. My N-frames are all square butt, and they don't make tamers for them. Even though the Hogue grips I have don't cover the back strap, I've still enjoyed significantly reduced felt recoil compared to the factory wood grips.

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What could possibly go wrong?

The gun pictured has close to 3,000 factory equivalent 240/265gr .44 magnums thru it. I can't remember if the grip was new when I got the gun or if it was swapped from another.

Wear will depend on the specific gun, load and the way you grip the gun. I doubt you will have any problem with the full lug 686 and 38 specials.

I look at the grips kind of like tires -- heavy use requires more frequent replacement.

Paul

I tried the Diamond grips on a M36. Very comfortable to shoot. Really impressed me.

A lot of my S&W's have Hogue rubber grips on them. Not only are they good for recoil , but I really like that in the summer when my hands are sweaty they still offer good grip and control while shooting.

For anyone interested...the Hogue Tamer grips work with HKS Speedloader 586-A for .38 Spcl and .357 when used with a S&W 686 six-shooter. The grips provide enough clearance.

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Tried both on a SP101 3" .357. Preferred the Diamond Pro as the bottom of the grip has a bit more real estate for the pinky finger to grasp with.