Type of grips affect on accuracy?

B

Blue Duck357

New member
Wood, soft synthetic, hard synthetic. Smooth profile or finger groove. I've heard people switching between all types and combinations of the above searching for better results, but the folks I know have never reached a consensus.

Disregarding large magnums which may need a big soft grip for recoil reasons and ignoring looks. Which type of grip (if any) have you found you shoot the best groups with? and any caused a handgun you normally do great with to shoot poorly?

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated,
 
Blue Duck 357: There are many kinds of grips, many kinds of hands and many different ways to grip the grips. You'll never get consensus! On Ruger SAs I love Ajax Ivory Polymer grips and/or polymer Lett Grips on everything from .22 LR through .44 Magnum. You have to try different kinds to see what works for you. Having grips that fit your hand and your style of shooting makes a big difference in the effective accuracy of a handgun, or at least it does for me. Dennis :)
 
Usually, what you want is a grip that puts the hand in the same place for every shot, for accuracy.

I have a personal theory that grip thickness affects how well your strong-arm forearm lines up with the barrel of the gun. At least in the Weaver stance, that alignment helps recoil.

Finally, too many factory revolver grips are leftovers from the days before Jeff Cooper legitimized sighted fire. So there's a big 'ol gap behind the trigger guard. Feels great when the gun is down at bellybutton height but at eye level, you have nothing to place the upper edge of the index finger against.

That's why there's so many aftermarket rubber grips that fill in that area on K/J-Frame S&Ws, Pythons and other "classic frame types". There's also the Tyler T-Grip adapter to solve the same problem.
 
I suggest you have a look at Davis BD-L grips.They are firm and not squishy,like some.Also they have only one finger groove and plenty of grip space so you can anchor your grip but don't have to fit all the other fingers into other,maybe unsuitable, spaces.They will probably cost about $US 15.
 
Whatever grip fits your personal hand and lets the gun naturally point at the spot you want to hit is the proper grip for you. The closer it points to the target spot, the faster you can fine tune with proper sight alignment. The grip that works for you may fit no other human.

I think McGivern predated Col. Cooper re using the sights, and Himmelwright before him. Ed McGivern was adamant about using the sights at all ranges, target or defensive, stationary or aerial targets. He was a very good point shooter but taught sighted shooting because he felt that was a better way.

Sam
 
MY HAND vs YOUR HAND

ALL my wheels wear Pachmayr Decelerators except the S&W M38; it has Compacts.

That's me; they work for me.

IPSC/USPSA, accuracy and "heavies" testing, plinking, carry.....
 
DITTO, JimMarch. I got tired of my 44 mag trigger gaurd cracking the ol birdie finger knuckle. Put on Houge wood grips w/finger grooves. Perfect fit!!!(for me anyway)
 
My personal opinion--there's a difference between "mechanical accuracy" (what the gun is capable of) vs. "practical accuracy" (what YOU can do with the gun).

If you're at a bench rest, can take your time, and all is well, I don't think grips will affect accuracy. They still affect comfort.

In the field though, or rapid fire, or offhand, or in a SHTF situation, practical accuracy is all that matters. How well can YOU shoot that gun. Grips could make a big difference there. Its all about how naturally the gun points for you, how quickly you can get the sights on the target, how steadily you can hold, and how quickly you can re-acquire after recoil.
 
If, I understand your question correctly, does the grip material affect accuracy? In my opinion, YES! A change in grip pressures will mean a difference in recoil thus a difference in point of impact. I feel a firm substance, such as wood, will give more consistent accuracy than rubber. Everyone changes their grip pressures during the firing process. This can account for a lot of the waving around the target. With wood, it affects the recoil less than with rubber grips. My theory, for what it's worth. ("NOT MUCH"......who said that???)
 
Oh. I prefer wood. Either Hogue's fancy hardwoods or Eagle Grips "Classic" (Skeeter Skelton style). I really do better by sticking with the SAME grip! One gun, one grip! Takes a lot of self-control, though.
 
At the LFI-I class I attended about 7 other revolver equipped students, all three instructors, and myself all agreed we shot better scores with Houge Monogrips (of any material) on the gun.

Personally I prefer the smooth Houge wood grips with the standard finger grooves.

Although I've recently found the often overlooked Farrar grips to be the best of the breed for the Smith & Wesson J-frame. As they are available for other Smith & Wesson revolver sizes and are only available in a very hard rubber I have been tempted to order more to try on other frame sizes. In all fairness, the Farrar revolver grips are "Houge-like" save their deeper finger grooves.

Hope this helps.

- Anthony
 
My personal preference is for the stock Smith target grips found on the older square frame K's and N's. YMMV really applies though since I've only run aross a couple of other people that feel the same way. Most people prefer the rubber grips. I find them to be uncomfortable and distracting.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I'd always wondered whether finger grooves helped in that they might force a more consistent grip and whether a soft rubber grip would help or hurt. It appears fit seems more important than all the above though.

RAE, I also like the old factory target grips especially for double action shooting. However when I transition to carefull single action shooting my point of impact always seems to change a bit with them. Suppose my grip is changing a tad. I suppose it kind of confirms the fit being the most important factor.

Thanks, Blueduck
 
Blue duck357, If your impact is changing for single action,try cocking the hammer with your support hand and that will allow you to keep the same grip on your gun.
 
Blue Duck,
That's the main reason I haven't shot any of my Smiths single action for years. My guess here is you choke up on the target grips to the point where the hammer actually compresses the web of your strong hand when shooting D/A, and you drop down on the grips going S/A, to where the hammer doesn't even touch the web of your hand. When I put a set of Hogues on my Model 19 and Model 29, my D/A shooting went out the window. Switching back to the stock grips brought it (D/A) back, so I just stuck with 100% D/A shooting.

Round butt frames, as opposed to the older square butt frame, and j-frames (Model 60) tend to do the same thing ie: putting my grip too far down for me to shoot them well. It's also one of the factors that made the transition to a semi auto so difficult for me. I've managed to force myself to adjust to a semi auto, but the cost in ammo has been enormous, and has affected my D/A revolver shooting to the point that I'm strongly considering putting the semi auto's in permanant storage or selling them off and going back to shooting nothing but D/A revolvers.

Best of luck in your search. Just remember, shoot for yourself, not for someone else.
 
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