Why so much hate towards the magnas???

[Arik]

I agree, I think a lot of people get so used to autos they feel more comfortable holding it the same way, but if you choke up to the top it fits right, maybe not perfect for everyone, but it's the right feel for that type of gun. I always thought the magnas were an essential part of a lot of these guns, Colt included. I've seen 4 inch Diamondbacks that had magna grips and looked awesome. Same with 4 inch 19's 581/681 686/686 models. There's a nickel 581 with magna grips for sale on line I keep looking at, and it looks unbelievable, and I feel a lot in the way of aesthetics is lost when replaced with target grips. That 581 looks like a modern 6 shooter. I was bored the other day and I've been wanting to address this matter for some time now, so I figured why not, especially after seein the Lady Smith with mags and the regular one with rubber grips I figured it was time. I'm just curious to know why people prefer target grips and why they dislike magnas. I think that at least some people out there might like them if they held it like a six shooter instead of an auto, but then again some probably still wouldn't because they are too small. However there have to be some who just don't realize it. That's for the input.

Choking up doesn't change the size it only allows for one or two more shots before readjusting and doesn't add any more grip area, which is a problem for me. I don't have huge hands but not small either and with long fingers I need something bigger. This is also why I despise small semi autos like Shields and G43. I can use the whole gun as a grip.

This is how I feel when holding a small semi auto or a revolver with magnas

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[Etalksalot]

I "liked" your OP just for the writing effort and for the interesting, provocative read. But I don't hate the Magnas or any other S&W factory grip that I can think of. In fact, I am searching as we speak for some nice condition, period-correct, original factory grips to replace the rubber aftermarket ones on the pre-18 that I recently bought.

That makes me very happy to hear!

 

[Etalksalot]

Choking up doesn't change the size it only allows for one or two more shots before readjusting and doesn't add any more grip area, which is a problem for me. I don't have huge hands but not small either and with long fingers I need something bigger. This is also why I despise small semi autos like Shields and G43. I can use the whole gun as a grip.

This is how I feel when holding a small semi auto or a revolver with magnas

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Haha, now that's funny. I understand that a lot of people don't like them, just curious to know why. My whole point with choking up on the grip would allow at least a finger extra to fit. My hands aren't super big, and decided not small, thankfully they fit well on the grips because I could do target grips. I feel those are like holding a brick, but I feel this way for Amy size, J, K, L, or N. I'd love to see a model 29 4 inch with magna grips too. However, even if people want target grips, I'm still surprised to see how many people would still prefer aftermarket target stocks than original ones, I have seen that a lot too.

 

[Etalksalot]

Hate "Magna's"............No..... got a box full of um!

Like Magna's with T-grip even better.......... yes..... got more than a few set up this way!!

Like Spegel Boot Grips and Extended Boot Grips even better ....... YES!.......... on my EDC guns!!!!


I also like shoes/boots that fit my feet..... better than ones that are too small or too large!!!!!!! Oh ya..... and a comfy pair of socks please!

I hear ya, I understand people like what they like, but I was just trying to gain some insight as to why they prefer grips other than magnas, other than the obvious too small option. I'm glad to see so many people on here like them though because it was getting to a point that most of the videos I see or articles I read that many people highly dislike them. So much so that I felt the need to write this. Guess I just wanted to know there are more big fans of them.

I still have no T grips yet incidentally, but I do plan on buying a couple.

 

[Etalksalot]

Here are a couple pictures of mine..... One is a Taurus, the rest are smiths

 

[Etalksalot]

Another picture of them since the page didn't feel like publishing them all.

 

[Arik]

Haha, now that's funny. I understand that a lot of people don't like them, just curious to know why. My whole point with choking up on the grip would allow at least a finger extra to fit. My hands aren't super big, and decided not small, thankfully they fit well on the grips because I could do target grips. I feel those are like holding a brick, but I feel this way for Amy size, J, K, L, or N. I'd love to see a model 29 4 inch with magna grips too. However, even if people want target grips, I'm still surprised to see how many people would still prefer aftermarket target stocks than original ones, I have seen that a lot too.

I think aftermarket offers better options. The stock target grips on my 66 are large in unnecessary places. Surface area wise their ok but they are wide at the bottom and taper at the top. That wide base does nothing for grip and adds too much for concealed carry. Whereas the aftermarket taper off (some). For fun range time I don't mind factory but for practice I use my model 13 with rubber grips.

I don't know enough about revolver grips to give an example so I'll have to use semi autos as examples. What feels good to me as far as thickness and trigger reach is something like a Beretta 92, Glock 20/21, Sig 226 with wider grips, SW 59XX with rubber palm swell grips....etc. all those fill my hand and provide a solid grip

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[Engine49guy]

S&W stocks evolved from the pre WWII "Service" style, for those with larger hands a metal grip adapter was an option for use with the service stocks , the new taller "Magna" stocks appear as an option for N frame and later for K frame revolvers after the introduction of the .357 Magnum.

The larger factory wood target stocks first appear in the 1950 AMC for people with larger hands or long fingers (like me) and those not content with grip adapters (which by that time also fit the Magna stocks).
Target stocks were standard on some models like the 4" and longer KT357 Combat Magnum or 44 Magnums where Magnas were standard on snub Magnums and smaller calibers.

Years later finger groove "Combat" stocks appear which are a slight improvement but fit can be a problem .

When I purchased my first Model 66-2 for the Police academy in the mid 1980's it was common practice to remove the wood stocks, place them carefully in the factory box then toss them directly into the trash replacing them with rubber Pachmayers,
Being out of fashion it was not uncommon to see a box full of factory take offs for sale on the gun store counter for $5 a set.

While I prefer to have original stocks on my collector guns the ones that go to the range usually are wearing rubber finger grooves,
My magnum shooters get rubber stocks that cover the backstrap whenever possible especially in a 4" 44 Magnum mountain gun if I plan on shooting more than 6 rounds without a red palm.

Interestingly wood stocks are back in fashion although S&W has been farming out production to 3rd parties for years.

 

[BAM-BAM]

I hear ya, I understand people like what they like, but I was just trying to gain some insight as to why they prefer grips other than magnas, other than the obvious too small option. I'm glad to see so many people on here like them though because it was getting to a point that most of the videos I see or articles I read that many people highly dislike them. So much so that I felt the need to write this. Guess I just wanted to know there are more big fans of them.

I still have no T grips yet incidentally, but I do plan on buying a couple.

Magna's were just the "standard" for a long time... folks have been personalizing their 'weapons" since ........ well just about forever.

The only 'factory" Smith Grips I ever really liked/like are the round butt targets/Banana's.

S&W gave us the grip adaptor prior to WWII as a option on the RM..... Fuzzy Furrent, Hogue and others had a cottage industry in the 50s and 60s........... by the late 70s early 80s Pachmayer and Hogue produced rubber grips that felt good, gave a better grip ; looked on the new stainless guns and were affordable to "everyman"......... by the end of the 80s makers like Hogue, Spegel and Ahern..... were giving us affordable wood grips.. ......... why just settle for the 'stock" grips be they Magna's or oversized Targets??????

 

[326MOD10]

Love the classic old school look with a Tyler T-Grip!

Just don't carry or shoot them that way often.

My K-Frames tend to like the Ahrends Grips and J frames are partial to Spegals.

 

[arjay]

Like the look of diamond magnas with or without a t grip on a k frame,but anything more than a 22 or a 38 wadcutter is no fun!
Targets are for shooting,magnas are for looking

 

[Etalksalot]

.

Hard to say "a gun was meant to have magnas" or any such thing, like theres something bad or wrong with not having what older style grips were available. It has nothing to do with auto loaders, more to do with shooting better. The Tyler T grip adapters and similar were an earlier method of dealing with the trigger guard banging into the knuckles and making small grips easier to hold and shoot well, but the targets are so much nicer to me that I just use them and love them for the most part. They often get worked down to better feeling size and shapes then they came out the door of the factory, but the size is certainly better for my use. If one likes smaller grips, great. Theres a lot of correct answers to the grip question though.

I guess what I meant about the autos was that they don't have a gap behind the trigger guard and it seems like people prefer it that way. I know targets have been on models for a long time, but magnas were also on 4 inch guns as well and shorter barrels. When I say they were "meant to be on it" that's not a knock on targets, it's just that that's what was put on many guns, and even the ones that don't have them, still have a frame that can fit them. Even to this day all Smith revolvers and many others (I don't dare say most as I don't know much about newer revolvers) haven't changed the shape of the frame, they still look the same, but the demand for magnas is nil, while demand for oversized is much higher, yet I haven't seen at least revolvers changing the frame shape to make it bigger. The early early magnas, the ones that don't cover the entire grip, and stop where the medallion is, looks like they're rough. Target grips seem so much harder to conceal too. Magnas make it much easier to hide. I know the 27's and 28's, in the shortest barrel configuration, have targets a lot, but man they look great with magnas. I've seen a lot of pictures of it and it looks amazing. I just wanted to get people's thoughts on the subject, figured it would make good reading material, may even sway me to the other side in some cases. Thank you for your input.

 

[Etalksalot]

Like the look of diamond magnas with or without a t grip on a k frame,but anything more than a 22 or a 38 wadcutter is no fun!
Targets are for shooting,magnas are for looking

I think a lot of people feel that way. I'm the odd man out, I love shooting any caliber with magnas. I don't have football player sized hands, but they aren't small, I'm 6'1", 180 lbs so my hands are a decent size, but I get such a better grip with magnas. Targets are too big for me. My Taurus .357 is a blast (pun intended) to shoot with the magnas. I had the Pachmayr grips originally, but as soon as my magnas came in that was it. I gave the Pachmayrs away. Actually never even shot the gun with them on it. I wrote this article because I feel like the odd ball for loving the magnas so much, I just had to hear input from others. It's been interesting, as I figured it would be.

 

[Etalksalot]

In the interest of peace, anyone who hates thier Magnas is invited to PM me and I send you an address to ship them to so that I may dispose of them in an ecologically responsible manner free of charge (you pay shipping). No need to thank me, just doing my part.

If anyone ships you a nice mint looking set of square butt j frame grips, let me know, I'll get rid of those for you!

 

[Etalksalot]

Well, I pretty much agree with you... I like magnas, and the PC variation of the magnas...

Here's an "N" Frame with PC Magnas and a Tyler T Grip...perfect fit for my hand:

Best Regards, Les

That's what I love to see, N frame magnas! Beautiful!

 

[Etalksalot]

I'm not sure why you're troubled. People like or dislike different grips. I don't like skinny flat wood grips. They're kinda square and kinda small and don't fit into my hand at all. Like trying to shoot a gun while holding onto a pencil. Give me a good thick rubber grip that fills my hands and the guns moves around less


This I don't particularly care for. Shoot, readjust shoot readjust....etc

This on the other hand I can shoot 357 all day without so much as moving a finger. Only problem is it's only 6 before reloads

I suppose my issue with rubber grips is that it takes away from the classic look drastically. I saw a model 13 with the same rubber grips, but I just wouldn't buy it without the original magna grips. I'm just looking for everyone's input on both sides. I guess I just love the classic look far more than I would want rubber grips. I buy older guns because I want something that looks old school, if I wanted something with rubber grips, I'd just buy a newer gun. I get your point though, to each their own, but that Model 15 looks awesome. I'm a very classic person though. I love TV and movies, music, cars and guns from the 40's to the 70's. I was born in the wrong decade. Still working on my time machine. I actually saw a 6 inch model 19 and 29 with magna grips and it actually looked cooler than I thought. If I got a gun over 4 inches I'd use targets though, just looks disproportionate.

 

[WCCPHD]

Personally, I prefer magna grips. I have small hands and short fingers and they fit my hands better.

I like them on J, K, L and N frame guns

 

[Etalksalot]

I'm not familiar with the particular vernacular; "hating on".
Is it just part of a sentence that is normally written as: "why you be hating on" ?

Haha, I have never heard anyone use the word vernacular before but I've always wanted to, thank you! Essentially means why do people hate them. Made my day though, thanks!

 

[Etalksalot]

If you like small grips, I'm happy for you. I have a large palm and long fingers, I do not care to hold the neck of a beer bottle and tell me that is a proper grip on my hand gun.

I have a storage tub full of identified small wood grips that were replaced with larger, finger groove Hogue rubber grips. I can control the revolver and the recoil is not as uncomfortable.

I hear ya, that's why I asked I like to hear other's opinions on it. I have larger hands too, but large grips feel out of place for me. I guess I just like the beer bottle grab because I can wrap my hand all the way around it which helps me control it better and my thumb rests right on top of the rounded part of the magna. With target grips I can't wrap my fingers all the way around which give me less control as weird as that sounds. However, magnas on a round butt J frames are too small for me (except with my Taurus for some reason) so all my J frames will be square butt, that seems to make a huge difference to me. The only J frame that I'll get with a round butt is a Model 38/49 as they don't make square butts. K frame magnas however feel great to me, even square butt. I didn't think I'd like K frame square butts, but my Model 15 snub is fantastic. It's made me look at SB Model 10 snubs as well.

 

[Muley Gil]

"The early early magnas, the ones that don't cover the entire grip, and stop where the medallion is, looks like they're rough."

Those aren't Magna grips, those are service grips.