Here's my take on it. There might be others that make sense, but this is the only one that fits how I understand what's going on, and I can shoot most J frames well.
First, you have to learn to shoot well with a normal handgun, with a normal weight, decent sights, and grips that fit your hand. Sight alignment, use of the trigger in a way that doesn't screw up your sight alignment when the gun goes off, and no critically undesirable events after the gun goes off, like a bloody hand, more pain than you think is acceptable (for me that = 0), or shifting of the gun in the hand that makes second or third or fourth shots too slow.
I presume that you already have a gun that works, and that you know how to keep your shots in the black (nine ring) on an NRA bullseye target used at the distance for which it is designed. If you don't yet, you need to learn to do so. If you can't shoot a normal gun yet, you should not be surprised that you can not shoot an Airweight J frame yet.
Next, since you are trying to figure out how to shoot a DAO S&W revolver, you need to learn to shoot DA. This is not easy for everyone. There are, I believe, two basic approaches, and probably both are majorly affected by the choice or mischoice of grips. And that's on a normal-weight revolver. So your next step is to learn to shoot DA, and to have some idea of what is required in terms of how the gun needs to fit your hand.
Now, if you can stay in the black with a normal-size-and-weight revolver, you have a pretty good idea where your trigger finger is supposed to go, and how you and the grips interact when you pull on the trigger. You are probably now in a position to judge whether any particular grips are worth anything on a steel J frame, without even firing the pistol. With firing, you can completely evaluate the possibility of making any J frame, even an Airweight, work. Please understand that without proper grips, a 442 can be almost useless, except as a belly gun, as I understand the term. A belly gun is a gun you stick into his belly, and pull the trigger while it's still there. But you seem to be complaining about not getting a bit better accuracy than that.
Frankly, this may be an argument for the Bodyguard (38, 49, 638, 649), a gun that can be used SA when appropriate, and is still a functioning belly gun. The same also applies to the Chief's Special. However, many people DO learn to shoot DA with considerable accuracy, probably just as accurately as SA.
Once you have learned to shoot DA, you will be able to judge for yourself what are proper grips for your hand and your revolver. They may be larger than you might have originally thought, or maybe in rare cases (like mine), smaller. Just be aware that it is on YOU to learn to shoot DA, and YOU will be the judge of what are good grips, not someone else. There is not even a guarantee that any particular gun will have ANYBODY making grips that will work for you, although usually there is.
So my recommendation is:
Learn to stay in the black on the appropriate target.
Learn to stay in the black shooting DA on the appropriate target.
Using what you've learned with normal guns, make sure that your 442 has proper grips.
Practice with your 442 if it doesn't hurt with proper grips (if it does, dump it and buy a steel gun).
Hope this helps.
