I get fashion, fads, preferences, and new trends but a grip company focusing 100% of their marketing to one type and offering only finger groove grips is puzzling. Sure offering two styles of grips and keeping inventory costs money, but lost revenue from a no sale is costly also.

Finger grooves to me are like shoes, not all feet (or hands) are the same and finger grooves especially one that makes my pinkie stick out like I'm drinking tea out of a bone china cup at a tea party are a no buy. :-)

I've even "destroyed" some pretty nice wood grips with the trusty Dremel tool and paid silly dollars for classic / vintage grips.

Not to start a groove vs. no groove debate, but specifically does anyone else prefer a smooth front strap grip and wish more were available?

As anyone who has read my posts knows, I am a big believer in Magna stocks with a grip adapter, of any make. Now, the Tyler T grip does have a projection that positions my middle finger but it is not something I notice.

I have taken a rasp to target and presentation stocks to remove the excess wood so it would fit in my hand. Funny thing, when I am done, they resemble my preferred stock combination.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

It depends on the grip some grips with finger grooves fit me just fine and others do not.

Finger groove stocks are great, but only if they fit the hand. When they don't fit well, finger grooves are horrible.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Large hands, no like finger grooves.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

I have small hands and find finger grooves rarely fit. So I avoid them. For those that like them go for it. I get what they are for but just not for me.

Some feel good and some don't. So I do not buy the ones that don't. I tell folks to buy the gun they like the best, as we can always change the grips if they do not like the feel of them. Beside it gives me something to sell here.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Sometimes they fit, sometimes they don't. I prefer non-finger groove stocks for that reason, though I do have a few with. Stocks can vary, even from the same maker. Here are two Hogue grips, same exact grip except for the checkering, and you can see the difference in the radius of the top groove...

Yeah, grips with finger grooves look cool, but some don’t fit my hand, particularly Badger Grips. Seems they’re made for those with sausage fingers.

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213th FBINA

Smooth Hogues with fingergrooves fit my small hands like a glove and all my revolvers wear them. First thing I do when I get a new Smith is put Hogues on. I've even got 3 or 4 extra sets lying around so I can put them on right away!

I can take'em or leave'em. I'm not wild about the "look" of finger grooves but after using both I can't really say there's much of a difference, results wise.

Only ones that work for me are Spegel's Boot and Extended Boot grips.


I've got some hogue but generally too long for concealed carry... except the Bantam grips

These are the ones that work for me.

1.) S&W Model 30-1 with Hogue Monogrips

2.) S&W K Frame PPC with S&W Combats

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	PPC Revolver-1.jpg (144.0 KB, 61 views)

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

On J frames I really like the Pach (Presentation/Compac?) that has no finger grooves but has a relief for the little finger at the bottom. I've even seen a steel N frame butt contoured that way.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

Generally for me Hogue finger groove grips fit me fine, but I can go with either finger groove or plain. The only grips with finger grooves that did not fit me at all was a pair of Thailand made grips and I had to fix them by sanding them down to fit.

Only one I've found that works for me is, S&W two finger synthetic J frame grips.

I only have one pair of S&W K-Frame finger groove round butt combat grips on my Model 19 with 2 1/2” barrel. All the rest of my guns either have S&W Target style or Magna grips. I had several pair of S&W finger groove combats but sold them all except the pair I mentioned. I have several Tyler T grip adapters but I really don’t care for them.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

Very few finger grooves feel good to me! Do have a just a few that do. 1 such set on my 17-2, made in Germany.
Hogue checkered no finger grooves, and Herrett stocks work well for me. We are all different though. Bob

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Finger grooves are a bit of a conundrum to me. I've heard a lot of expert opinions indicate that finger grooves on popular grips don't fit 80-90 percent of people, but yet they remain the predictable norm on most revolvers. I reckon I could snarkily reply that "I reckon them experts know how a gun fits my hand better than I do" but I'm gunna speculate that there is a legit list of goals to be achieved with a grip that the common man just don't consistently recognize-Bearing to mind that most revolver owners aren't geeking out on this stuff along side us...

The one name that comes easily to mind in all this is Grant Cunningham. He has elucidated that finger grooves tend to "lock in" a grip, thereby making it harder to make "micro adjustments" to rapidly acquire a sight picture and fire an accurate shot.

the flip side is that in training with non-functioning guns I've found that in weapons retention and disarms, a Hogue rubberized, finger groove grip offers far improved grip retention over the traditional Target or Magna style grips.

Me personally...I usually tend to still avoid finger grooves. On most of my modern guns I tend to run VZ Operator II grips that don't have grooves, but do have very aggressive checkering. My woods gun has a Pachmayr Presentation grip which is rubber, but lacks finger grooves. I do have a couple revolvers with grooves that I like real well. If they've slowed me down or caused me any difficulty at all, I ain't noticed yet. Maybe it's just cuz I don't know any better myself?

I don't think about it to much to tell the truth. I tend to just use whatever came on the gun. Maybe that's why I don't shoot any better than I do.

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John 3:16 .

I’ve got both S&W Factory Combats and Pachmayr finger groove rubbers. The Pachmayr’s are an OK fit for me but the S&W’s are not. They sure look nice but that’s all.

Although technically not finger groove combat style, I really like the Ahrends on my 19-3.

Jim

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I prefer finger groove grips, but on my S&Ws I only want S&W grips and I'm not a fan of rubber grips so I tend to spend a little extra for original grips. Though I've yet to change the grips on all the revolvers I have. In the pic below I really like the target grips on the M15, but I am hesitant to change the M19 or M66 grips yet. Might search for the steel insert finger grips

I've got large hands and fingers like Italian sausages. I have yet to ever try a set of finger groove stocks that felt comfortable.

I'll stick with traditional designs or Magnas and a Tyler T-Grip thank you.

I'm on board with you. I have small/medium hands and to me Target grips are like gripping the wrong end of a baseball bat. I'm totally on board with magnas and a grip adaptors.

Rubber Hogue's with finger grooves were about perfect for me for many years and are hard to beat for shooting. I have large hands but like a smaller grip. I'd like to have two-piece Guy Hogue stocks for all my revolvers. Still working on that.

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Do your grips cover the backstrap? or open backstrap.
I ask because i have smaller hands also.

I get along fine with most fingergroove stocks, especially those for SB frames. However, I just obtained a set of beautiful aftermarket K frame RB Combat stocks made by a prominent current shop that just don't fit me. I don't know if it's their width or overall proportions. Odd.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I think these are two slightly different styles (or eras) of the Hogue stocks. Is the set on the right for a RB K frame?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

See the above (quoted) post and photos. Usually the Hogues are open backstrap and fit smaller hands well.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Don't forget that any grip can be modified to fit better, at least made thinner. Hopefully they are smooth to begin with. If you take a set of Hogue smooth wood grips, you can reduce and shape as needed and unless you do something radical thy will look like they came that way. I believe Hogue still doesn't use any finish, they just burnish them. They will also make custom grips for you for a very reasonable price.

Nope. They are both SQ conversion for RB K, single finger groove, both in Cocobolo. They were ordered direct from Hogue about a month apart earlier this year. The only difference is one was ordered checkered and the other smooth.

Hogue may be using a different CNC program for checkered vs. smooth, but even if that's the explanation, there's a big difference in the profile of the grip behind the trigger guard and the finger groove.

I posted these as an example of the variations in grip profiles, even from the same manufacturer on grips that 'should' be the same.

My most-carried and -shot revolvers are K frame square butt. They all have Spegel Boot Plus grips with no finger grooves except for one, which has the finger bump and is checkered and lives on my M67-1...and my 3" M10-7, which has the rubber Uncle Mike's grip he designed. The smooth front strap lets me cram my fingers all the way up on the grip when drawing. My 4" M19-3 has Hogue wood grips with no finger groove for the same reason. I have some other Hogue grips with finger grooves and they place my hand lower on the grips, which gives the gun more leverage for muzzle rise when shooting.

OTOH, the finger grooves on the Hogue Monogrips on my J frames are just right for me.

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Regards,

Chuck

Agree. Feel absolutely locked-in with this combination.

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I hate to admit it but the grips that feel best in my hand are the same ones that do well mitigating the recoil impulse....Pachmayr Grippers. They have shallow grooves but their width and thickness are perfect for my hand. I even like the flair of the butt.

Another unpleasantness of rubber grips is the tendency for moisture to accumulate under them. It's hot here and I'm in and out of the A/C many times a day. All that sets up perfect conditions for condensation under the rubber, even on stainless revolvers.

I guess I'll just continue to put my Grippers on when I'm going to the range and then put on a really SMALL set of Magnas for carry.

Tyler T adapters push the middle knuckle of my middle finger against the back of the trigger guard, so I don't much like them for shooting.

It's taken me a lifetime and a drawer full of grips to finally embrace "carried often, seldom shot". My carry grips are small, as small and as thin as I can make them. My goal is to make the butt of the revolver hug my flank. I'm less likely to bang them on something as I'm getting around too.

Best way for those shooters who hate finger grooves
is to start praising the gun makers and stock makers
about how great the design is.

Once the gun makers and stock makers think that the
majority of shooters WANT grooves, they'll get rid of them.

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Ubi Est Mea

S&W N frame RB combats do not fit my hand. Years ago Kim (Kim Ahrends) made a few finger groove grips for me from an outline of my hand. Perfect fit. Unfortunately Kim no longer makes grips.

Here are a couple he made.

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I have a set of factory finger groove combat stocks on a J frame that fit me perfectly. I’ve carried them for almost forty years. I own a few sets of factory combat stocks for K frames that just don’t fit my hand well.
I do have a some Goodyears with finger grooves that are very comfortable. Probably the flexible material.

I love S&W square butt combats! And equally love round butt combats. S&W must have been using my hand to creat the pattern since they fit so well!

I like magmas too, especially with Tyler T grips.

I have always found the Hogue finger-groove grips to fit me well and have many sets of them. The one exception is their checkered single-finger-groove grip that I put on a Ruger Redhawk. It's simply too large and it makes me stretch for the trigger. One of these days I will swap it out with something else when I find the right one.

I wear XLG gloves & for whatever reason finger grove grips work for me. My 340PD has Herritts covering the backstrap w/a TGrip. I sanded them down a bit to reduce the length & for speedloaders to clear the frame.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I like smooth grips. It took me a long time to find something that fits my hands for double action shooting. These Miculek grips from Hogue do the trick.

Finger groove stocks LOOK like they’re wonderful fits, but they rarely are.

I’ve stopped buying them because all I’m doing is throwing money away.

Magnas and Tyler Ts solve my problems, they just don’t LOOK like much.

The few grips I have with finger dents seem to fit just fine.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Revolver grips are a great subject. For the last 50 years the question most people ask when you mention you have a new revolver is, “what grips are you getting?” S&W even had their grips available.

Now as collectors we want the original grips on our Safe Queens.

That last line is profound!

I love the grooves in my HKs. They make the pistol feel like an extension of my arm - particularly the full-sized pistols with a low profile magwell.

I also put Hogue Handall grooved grips on both my Kel Tec P17s. It's the perfect fit for the pistol and my hand.

**********

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

I don't mind them on a J frame if it's a 2 finger boot style grip. Not a fan of them at all on autos as they don't quite fit me on a full grip.

The only reason I have any finger grooves at all is that they can be found in nice squishy rubber.
Any gun that hits the base of my thumb hard, I can't really shoot.
Bought a m29 with nicer walnut but those hit the base of my thumb, so it now wears terrible ugly houges.

I have two of those neat ww1 s&w 45acp revolvers.
The square edge of the frame above the grips hit me right where I can't take it. There is no way I can make myself put rubber on either of those.

Maybe the answer is to belt sander off the grooves.

I don't like finger grooves on revolvers much, and I really hate the looks and feel of Magnas and sharp checkering on any grip, but for some reason, I like finger grooves on most of my semiautos with them. Most of my revolvers end up with smooth or lightly grooved target type grips.