By Dave Workman | Editor-in-Chief
Perhaps it’s because I belong to too many online groups, such as Friends Who Like Elmer Keith and smith-wessonforum.com.
No, that’s not it. Maybe I’m just never satisfied, even with something as close to perfection as it gets.
We’re talking handguns, and specifically the grips. Even more specific, my N-frame Smith & Wesson Model 57 revolvers in .41 Magnum.
It’s a great cartridge, for which I handload ammunition (more about that in a moment), and the sixguns I own are dead-bang accurate.
Grips are like holsters. I’ve got several for each handgun I own. For my 6-inch circa-1980 S&W M57, nothing has compared to the Eagle Heritage checkered wood grips that fit my hand like a glove. So much so, in fact, that I cajoled Eagle owner Raj Singh to produce a set of Kirinite grips (Ivory imitation pattern) cut to the Heritage dimensions for my 4-inch S&W.
Raj also made a set of elk antler grips for that revolver and they’re my “barbecue” grips meant for showing off at Sunday afternoon barbecue gatherings.
For that revolver, I also have a superb set of American holly grips from my pal Rod Herrett, and the neat thing about holly is that the stuff actually ages kind of like ivory. And I also have a set of imitation ivory grips from Altamont that were on this particular revolver about two years ago when I used that gun for a purpose I never expected; putting down a mule deer buck with a moving head shot. They fit my hand pretty good, too, though I’d kind of like to one day add a bit of substance to the right grip panel to fill the palm of my gun hand.
Speaking of ivory, some years ago I bought a set of off-brand “bonded ivory” grips that have a palm swell right where it belongs, and about five years ago, I found a similar set—probably made by the same guy—at a gun show. I knew what they were at a glance, and despite the fact that the left panel had been cracked and obviously Super Glued back together, they’re mine now.
“Bonded ivory” was, according to the guy from whom I bought the first set, a mix of some kind of polymer with actual ivory dust. Whether that’s true or just some sales pitch, I have no clue.
The late Elmer Keith—the father of long-range handgunning—carried an N-frame S&W in .44 Special or .44 Magnum and those sixguns wore genuine ivory grips with a steer’s head carved into the right panel. That was not by accident. The carving served as a palm swell, which is a good thing because any handgun in a caliber that starts with a “4” is going to buck.
Today ivory grips are out of the question because too many boneheads were convinced that outlawing ivory in this country would stop ivory poaching. Makes as much sense as prohibition in the last century. It didn’t stop people from drinking, same as gun control laws don’t prevent bad guys from getting their hands on firearms.
An old and dear friend once advised me, many years ago, “If you want to assure conservation and expansion of a species, put a season on it. Hunters, and anglers, will make sure there are huntable or catchable populations.”
Proper fit
But I digress. The handgun grip must fit the hand as well as the sidearm. If it’s too thick, it will mess up one’s ability to hold the handgun straight and get a good index finger purchase of the trigger. If the grip is too thin, especially on a large caliber pistol or revolver, it will channel the recoil into a narrow part of the hand and that can hurt like hell.
While I don’t use a maximum load in my .41 Magnums or Ruger sixguns in .45 Colt, they’re still pretty stout. I carry a handgun in bear country to stop something in its tracks if it becomes necessary, and nothing does that better than a big piece of lead with a large frontal mass.
If a grip is a bit wider or has a palm swell, it will distribute recoil over a wider area of the hand.
Pachmayr makes neoprene grips and I’ve used them on big bore handguns. They are terrific, especially in the winter when a good set of wood grips might be damaged. Pachmayrs are impervious to weather changes and they suck up a lot of felt recoil.
Handwork
I am guilty of using a bit of fine sandpaper on some of my grips. It has improved my hold and that contributes to accuracy downrange. It also makes shooting the big bores more comfortable, and my hand can sort of marry itself to the grip time after time.
Give this some serious thought if you’re getting into shooting handguns, for hunting, competition or even for defensive carry.
And then get into handloading. I prefer 210-grain JHPs for my .41 Magnum loads, using Hodgdon’s H110 or Alliant 2400 powders. Get loading manuals and start with the load listed as the “most accurate,” which probably won’t be the maximum charge.
But it will get the job done…comfortably!
