Large bore revolvers: Wood or Rubber when shooting?

I hate finger groove grips my big meats do not fit the grooves , so on my super redhawk I swapped out the hogue finger groove for the non finger groove hogue grips and then decided I wanted to try non finger groove wood and I realy like the wood grips. It's all in how ones body can tolerate the recoil , I can easily shoot 100 rounds of my hunting loads ( 240 grain xtp over 21 grains of 2400) with no problems with the wood grips. I am a big guy 6-3 280 and a weight lifter so recoil realy doesn't bother me much.
 
I have Pachmayrs on my S&W M-27 4", Herrett's on my 6" M-28 and 4" M-57. the ones on the M-28 and M-57 have the Jordan style arched backstrap, the S&W style do not fit me at all. My 4' M-27 is nickel, the Pachmayrs provide a nice contrast.
 
I'll just say it......

In reference to the original post, including the all-important pictures: The grip-frame is way too small for a 44 Magnum. It's no wonder that two cylinders full is all you can stand. Heck, I wouldn't even shoot it at all with anything above 44 Special ammo. You are trying to cram too much power into too small of a package. And Buffalo Bore ammo? Forget about it. Use that revolver as a 44 Special. Want a 44 Magnum? Get a real one; full size, full grips, full weight, with a barrel twice as long as what that one wears. It's a stunt just to shoot that thing. If you can't shoot a full box of ammo and be good for another, it's just too much power for the package. Load that thing down, not up. Maybe get a full size Redhawk if you want to go Buffalo Bore. Look at it as an excuse to buy another gun and let that one be for home defense with light loads.
There, I've said it. Now, go do otherwise, but remember, I told you so....;)
 
Overall I hate rubber grips and as such I swapped out the rubber Hogue grips on all my revolvers. That included by 4" S&W 500. The bellow pic doesn't do the wood grips justice as they look awesome. Problem being is that during a range trip I shot some massive 500gr loads out my 500. It hurt so bad I couldn't finish a full cylinder. Last one I let go actually cut the webbing between my thumb and index finger. Yep, don't care how good a gun looks, if it hurts like that I need to find a better rubber grip for it.

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Wood. Rubber does feel better with heavy recoil, but it honestly doesn't feel as good to hold and point as a nice smooth set of wooden grips. Plus wood (done right) is MUCH prettier. Shooting full house .357 with wood grips doesn't bother me too much. 44mag? Yeah I may would have to go with rubber grips with that unless it's a full-size 6" barrel, nearly 4 pound steel frame that soaks up the recoil impulse.
 
Just to put where I'm coming from in perspective: My only revolver is a Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt, the original version that can handle the, "Ruger Only", loads. I mostly shoot 255 grain, home-cast bullets. My standard woods-load runs them to about 1075 fps. I shoot them well to around 1,200 fps. Beyond that, I cans shoot well for a little while, but a flinch will develop if I continue for long. I like wood grips and hard rubber too. Visually, I like the contrast of ivory grips on blued steel or something dark on stainless. My stainless Vaquero is currently wearing black, simulated-hard-rubber grips. But I would really like some Buffalo horn or Ebony grips for it.
 
I prefer rubber just because it's easier for me to hang onto. In our summertime heat, my hands sweat more than a Kardashian in an NBA locker room, so I need the extra texture.
 
I like a wood grip on single action "cowboy" guns where the gun recoils in your hand but for a defensive gun I want a hard grip with texture for faster follow up shots. I have fired 44 magnum and 454 Casull guns with western style grips that were easy to handle because they slide in your hand dampening the felt recoil. They are easily brought back on target as you cock the hammer with your left hand. In a self defense gun I want to hold it on target so I want a hard grip with some texture to it so it doesn't slide in a sweaty hand. The hard rubber grips are OK but a stippled wood or grip with fitted finger grooves is better. A soft rubber grip might be comfortable but if it slides in your hand you better make sure that your first shot goes through the brain.

Just my thoughts - your evaluation might be different.
 
I like wood. I don't like soft rubber or T grips. I do have a set of rubber Pachmayr's on my 1911 that feel good. They were wraparounds with a checkered front strap but I cut the front strap off.
 
On double action I like rubber best even though I love the look and feel of fine wood.

*On a single action.............anyone using rubber on one, needs to meet a man with short rope for a long drop! Single action revolvers and rubber just don't belong together! :rolleyes:
 
-Switching back and forth between rubber and wood works out well. You really need to remove grips on a regular basis for detail cleaning. I have a question about some wood grip manufacturers though.

Why does Hogue, and some others, completely fill the gap behind the trigger guard ? This pushes the shooter's hand even further down from the bore axis. Why give the revolver even more leverage than it already has ?
 
Wood is prettier, but rubber feels better with hot loads!
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Very true unless you get perfectly fitted grips....and the kicker is: I can't tell if the grips are going to fulfill that purpose until I try them...an expensive proposition unless you can borrow a friend's piece and try it out. Rod
 
*On a single action.............anyone using rubber on one, needs to meet a man with short rope for a long drop! Single action revolvers and rubber just don't belong together!
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So, would your rope be used on all the owners of Colt SAA revolvers with factory (hard) rubber grips??? There's quite a few of them, you know...

I'd recommend you keep that rope coiled, pardner! :D

Why does Hogue, and some others, completely fill the gap behind the trigger guard ?
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For me, grips that fill in behind the trigger guard are the solution to getting my middle finger wacked by the triggerguard. I discovered, shooting my 7.5" Blackhawk .45 Colt, that when loads got to about the 1200fps mark, with the factory wood grips, that my middle finger got sore shooting just a cylinderful.

Switching to Pachmayr grips that not only were larger, giving me a better hold, they filled in behind the trigger guard, and eliminated the problem of bashing my middle finger during recoil.

Yes, the gun doesn't roll in the hand AS MUCH as it does with wood grips, but I'm fine with that.
 
Yes, the gun doesn't roll in the hand AS MUCH as it does with wood grips, but I'm fine with that.
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You know, the whole single action roll in the hand thing was designed for one handed shooting so the gun rolled in the hand for the next cocking action. Shooting two handed is going to change the effects of the design somewhat.
 
I have Butler Creek rubber grips on my Redhawk.

Understated and made me go from hating shooting my .44 to loving it, along with some good shooting tips from TFL members.
 

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