625 .45 Colt wood stocks - checkered or not?

[That Guy]

I have finally gotten around to kicking my Mountain Gun project forward. There's a (hopefully) nice leather holster arriving in the future, and of course the gun needs a nicer set of wood stocks to match it. A lot of revolver grip places either don't make the kinds of stocks I want (no finger grooves for me, please - they never fit my hands), or don't ship them internationally, or the purchase process is otherwise... awkward. But one place I can get stocks from is Hogue. There is just one final question remaining;

Should the stocks be checkered, or not?

- The non-checkered stocks are cheaper. This is a factor.
- The non-checkered stocks are available to ship immediately. This is veeerrry tempting...!
- On the other hand, we're talking about a lightish weight N-frame chambered in.45 Colt. While I don't have aspirations to launch any insane Ruger only loads through this particular firearm, even plain standard pressure ammunition does create a slight amount of recoil. And Jerry Miculek I ain't. Would slick stocks be too slippery?
- But then again, the slick ones would ship right away and not after a month long wait...

[Wayne Dobbs]

I have several sets of the checkered wood Hogue monogrips (pau ferro in my case) and I'd wait for them.

[Duelist]

Depends on what level ammo you will shoot and how the recoil is better tolerable for you: some slipping of the gun, or checkering biting into your grip.

[onehalfmvsquared]

If the checkering is too sharp, you can always smooth it out, but cannot do the reverse.

Wait for what you really want. If you settle for less you will be disappointed.

[jtcarm]

I like the JM grips, which seems odd, since Miculek has big hands, whereas my fingers are disproportionately short.

Since I need all the help I can get controlling an N-frame, I run checkered JMs on my 625.

[03RN]

I really like my smooth JM grips. Now that Ahrends are gone they're my new go too grip.

The JM ones, not the palm swell ones

[Zeke38]

As others have noted "Wait for the checkered" Hands that are wet or bloody or both will never get a good grip on a smooth stock. Mountain Gun speaks of woods carry. I want a sure grip if facing something that has intent to do me harm or is doing me harm. You'll wait for the right leather, wait for the right wood. Check out KSD grips a Turkish company.

[03RN]

As others have noted "Wait for the checkered" Hands that are wet or bloody or both will never get a good grip on a smooth stock. Mountain Gun speaks of woods carry. I want a sure grip if facing something that has intent to do me harm or is doing me harm. You'll wait for the right leather, wait for the right wood. Check out KSD grips a Turkish company.

I've spent all day sweating on smooth wood grips without any desire or need for checkering. Either running drills in the woods after hiking into my shooting spot with my gun aiwb or at competitions dripping on the grips.

Auto grips I like aggressive checkering because of the parallel sides of the grips. Revolvers have and angle to them that wedges to hand up.

[Crazy Dane]

Check out Altamonts Spanish Daimond pattern here SNR-BC05-SPD-M03.jpg (800×600) (altamontco.com) It's not as sharp as true checkering but still gives good purchase, I have a set for my Pythons. I have their dragon scale on my M69and I don't find it offensive at all. I do have a set of smooth G10s that stick very well sweat and all, all most too well at times. Be forewarned, sharp corners alert, Altamonts will require sanding to your liking out of the box.



ETA: Altamonts store on gun broker, shop here first For Sale – Buy at GunBroker.com

[FrankB]

James Yeager (I know…) on slippery hands and stippling.