Anybody Else Use Bianchi Lightning Grip

kci-mia

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2009
Messages
128
Reaction score
158
Anybody else here use Bianchi Lightning Grip on their revolver?
I have couple of these grips for K and J frame and use them on some of my revolvers. They feel good in my hand and really makes the revolver snag-proof. I don't think they make them anymore but I still see them on e-bay occasionally.

Picture003.jpg


Picture001.jpg
 
Register to hide this ad
Ya! Very much! Got a pair on my M-37 pajama pants gun (doesn't drag 'em down and dehorns it for my love handles) and when I want a supersize six shot .357 Centennial I put a pair on a 2 1/2" 66 or 19 and carry IWB. Dehorns it nicely too.

Looks good on yer 36, by the way!
 
Last edited:
There is a companion thread in the 1961-1980 section under "Lightning Grips" that would show you some other users.

Here is a set of J Frame ones on a 360J that has been customized by TK Customs for 9mm usage.

Also have a K Frame set but don't have them on anything at present.
 

Attachments

  • 360J.jpg
    360J.jpg
    93.3 KB · Views: 68
I have one I bought, perhaps in the early 80s? It was handy when my only J-frames were Model 60s. Now, like most Pach grips (it was produced by Pach), it has hardened to the point of being unusable.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
I have tried them but finger grooves don't work for me. If they didn't have finger grooves I'd love them for the hammer shroud.
 
ZOMBIE Thread Alert...
Bianchi Lightning Bodyguard style grips have had a place on a couple of my revolvers for four and a half decades!. First set was on a 1979 S&W 2" Model 64-2 snubby, bought off a U.S. Deputy Marshal in 1981 (bottom in 1st pic). Second set were put on a 1987 S&W 3" Model 65-3 found online several years ago (top revolver in 1st pic). Third pair will be going on a 1977 S&W Model 60 that is currently inbound from Michigan (not yet shown).1756228989681.webp

1756229049047.webp

1756229115955.webp
 
Yup, have both K and J frame sizes. The J frame fits my hand really well. I remember seeing photos of wooden shroud grips that were very similar but made by Mustang IIRC.
 
I recently picked up a few pair as part of an online auction. I gave one set (brown k-frame) to a forum member as a gift. I still haven't decided what guns will get the others (brown j-frame and NIB black k-frame).

Lightning grips.webp
 
So far, two Bianchi 'Lightning' K frame and one J frame grips; all three brown. The J frame pair will be going on a 1977-78 S&W Model 60 due in on Friday. 1756272647682.webp

1756272912999.webp
 
Last edited:
I tried it on a J Frame once but quickly found out that the bulk, size and clunkiness outweighed the benefits - at least for me. They were the quickest grip change I ever had - took less than one hour to rip -em off. It's one thing to try and improve a small guns handling characteristics (which it can) but it destroyed the very concept of packing a very small and concealable framed revolver.
 
With my meat hooks, fastest grip change I ever had was an old pair of S&W Targets given to me by a FTO. With those targets on that Model 67, and .38 Special +P, 158 grain LSWC-HP carry ammo, the second knuckle on my middle finger took a beating. After trying Pachmayr's, eventually, settled on Hogue MonoGrip. But, a year later was introduced to Bianchi's 'Lightning' grips on a Model 64 acquired from a Deputy U.S. Marshal.1756282123264.webp
 
Two suggestions I can offer to give you more a hand-filling grip on a small compact revolver. The first is a well known item - the Tyler T Grip. It makes the small and thin factory grips that came on a J Frame years ago feel like a bigger grip and gives you more control under recoil. They happen to work for many who EDC a 2" Chief's Special. The second is to have a custom made set pf grips.

Many years ago (when it was actually legal) I had one of the premier Ivory grip makers in the Country produce a custom set of Ivory Grips to fit flush with the metal frame of my M60-7 but in a wider, thicker configuration. I used a caliper and gave him the exact spec's I wanted. He followed them to a T! He also called me when he received my check and instructions that in all his 40+ years of making grips no one had even given him measurements in thousandths of an inch. I said to him...... you have never met me - lol! He did a spectacular job and made the grips to exactly what I had asked for.

It's very difficult to actually see form the picture, but this gun's grips are wide enough that I no longer needed a Tyler T. If I did, I could still use one since the grips fit flush with the edges of the metal. The other reason I like Ivory is because it tends to get slightly stickier (not slippery) when perspiration from your hand gets on it. I discovered that when I bought my first Colt SAA with factory Ivory grips back in the day. In other words, it gives you a better grip when sweating. BTW, they look like they belong on the revolver - not a weird proportion I mean.

Ivory is now illegal in the USA however there are many other materials that can be used in its place. So my point here is that there are ways to get a much better grip on a small frame gun without exceeding the outer edges of the grip frame. It gave me my cake and I get to eat it too! It does not impede the concealability of the revolver and yet it shoots like a K frame (to me). AND..... BTW, I used Buffalo Bore HEAVY +P 158 grain SWCHP-GC bullets which actually do 1,025 fps out of my Chief's Special 2" M60-7. Personally chronographed many times BTW. That is one HOT load!

The ONLY downsides to these grips are that they preclude the use of most speed loaders as they to stick out a little more and make using a speed loader more difficult. That matters not to me as I never carried them anyway. I trained myself to reload from a 2+2+2 ammo pouch custom made for me by Kramer. I got really fast with it. The other downside was the price of the grips of course. I paid more than I paid for the gun itself. That said, it was a GREAT package and I never regretted spending the money! Still have it.

The targets below were shot a few weeks ago. Correction: I wrote S/A on the targets but they were shot rapid fire, D/A - no cocking of the hammer. Ooops - my bad!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0021.webp
    IMG_0021.webp
    700.3 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0023.webp
    IMG_0023.webp
    800.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_7595.webp
    IMG_7595.webp
    448 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
I wonder if it is time for the Lightning grip again? They are kinda homely, but very useful. Like when S&W dropped the old Centennial. Now it is back and one of their top sellers. The Lightning Grip was ahead of its time. Give it another chance!
 
Two suggestions I can offer to give you more a hand-filling grip on a small compact revolver. The first is a well known item - the Tyler T Grip. It makes the small and thin factory grips that came on a J Frame years ago feel like a bigger grip and gives you more control under recoil. They happen to work for many who EDC a 2" Chief's Special. The second is to have a custom made set of grips.
Thanks Chief 38.
The Tyler-T was one option tried back in the day. It just didn't feel right to me. Shortly after the T-grip adapter was a Hogue MonoGrip which did fill my hand. Correct, concealability was compromised with both Hogue and Bianchi grips. However, along with a large body frame, I learned to wear effective cover garments. Plus, back then ankle holsters worked for me; but, not today.
 
Last edited:
Each person has what works best for them. For me it was a custom grip, others, don't mind dressing with certain cover garments. No right or wrong. I gave up on rubber grips decades ago as they are too bulky, grabby and tend to induce rusting. Whatever works!
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top