Help me make my K-frame stop hurting me

[Crow Hunter]

(Before I get rid of it.)

I really like the trigger on this gun. I like to dry fire and hold it in my hand. It is extremely useful in ball and dummy drills.

I do not, however, like the fact that it hurts me when I shoot it. (Which began inducing a flinch) I don't know if it is a problem with my grip, my hand, or the gun itself or just part of shooting a revolver.

Every time I fire the gun. It hurts the base of my thumb. It appears that the gun "torques" and rolls in my hand and smacks the base of my thumb. If I move my hand lower on the grip, it hurts worse. (additional torque I assume) If I move my hand higher on the grip, where the recoil is closer to straight back, there is less pain but then the cylinder release "bites" me.

This was shooting 130gr UMC FMJ 38 spec.

For reference, I can shoot my G19 with no pain whatsoever, even with plus P.

I was shooting yesterday and my hand is still a little sore.

This is my "standard" grip that causes me pain. These are the factory stocks.






Any advice from the revolver gurus?

I have shot revolvers for close to 20 years but in the last 4-5 years I have gone from 200 lbs (fat) to 145 lbs (lean) and my hands are noticeably thinner. I do grip exercises every day (with a grip exerciser) at work and at home when I am thinking and I do lift weights (dumb bells). There is the possibility that I am developing arthritis (age 47) from computer work and playing video games but other than when my vitamin D gets really low, my joints don't normally hurt.

Is it something I can "fix" or should I sell out?

[OlongJohnson]

ETA: TLDR; what JAD says.

Gun is too big, try making the grip smaller.

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I'm not an SME, but compared to my grip, you're kind of rotated around to the right, so the recoil goes into the base of your thumb and the first knuckle rather than the web. At the same time, you have a slightly reaching contact on the trigger. It looks like you'd really have to stretch to get the "power crease" of the distal joint up on the trigger. Put together, I think you'd be better off trying some non-wraparound grips to get a shorter "length of pull." That would allow you to keep enough finger on the trigger while rotating your grip around to the left.

Posted these pics years ago of my grip on my GP100. For context, I'm 6'4" with long fingers. I was pushing 245 lb when these pics were taken, but didn't really look "fat." Skinny me is still >200 lb. I think there's significant optical distortion (fisheye - stuff in the middle of the frame looks larger) making my hand look bigger relative to the gun than it actually is, but the geometric relationships are what they are. Notice how the tip of my trigger finger peeks out ahead of the trigger guard in index, while the base knuckle of my thumb is fully outboard of the left side of the frame and grip. I had the same issue you do with the stock wood grip, where the left side of the wraparound hammered that knuckle because of its width. I even shaved both sides of the rubber grip to narrow it and get that knuckle out of the line of fire.

On the other hand, since these photos, I have partially filled in the dip/recurve at the top of the Hogue's backstrap with layers of gaffer tape, and like that even better. Bill Jordan had some comments in his book about that characteristic of revolver grips that make sense to me.

[JAD]

Gun is too big, try making the grip smaller.

[revchuck38]

Gun is too big, try making the grip smaller.

+1. I use a large grip insert with my PX4s and a medium with my M&Ps, but use Spegel boot grips on my K frames (relatively small) and have no problem with 100+ round sessions with .357s.

[BN]

Hogue rubber grips for me. Anything else raps the base of my thumb. The Hogue wooden grips in my avatar are only for pictures. They hurt me.

[Duelist]

Wood, rubber, G10, or nylon, you will want a grip that allows you to hold the gun properly: start with open backstrap grips and go from there. @RexG has stories about NFrame Magnums causing long-term damage his right thumb joint.

[Stephanie B]

Gun is too big, try making the grip smaller.

Concur.

[Crow Hunter]

I do have to stretch a bit to get to the "power crease".

So just some Hogue grips like Smith and Wesson used to ship with their guns? Or is there a better option?

[HCM]

I do have to stretch a bit to get to the "power crease".

So just some Hogue grips like Smith and Wesson used to ship with their guns? Or is there a better option?

You need grips that don't cover the Backstrap. Hogue would be the best start point but there are other options,

Pachmayr offers a couple open Backstrap options. VZ for G10, and multiple wood options from various makers.

[Stephanie B]

I do have to stretch a bit to get to the "power crease".

So just some Hogue grips like Smith and Wesson used to ship with their guns? Or is there a better option?

PC Magnas with a BK grip adapter?