Blackhawk Grips

[kmittleman]

Hey Folks,


I've been contemplating whether or not to buy a Ruger Blackhawk but am unsure if I like the grips. I love the design but some of the models' grips seem a bit small for my large hands. Does anyone have experience with any aftermarket Blackhawk grips?

-Kevin

[J Miller]

Hey Folks,


I've been contemplating whether or not to buy a Ruger Blackhawk but am unsure if I like the grips. I love the design but some of the models' grips seem a bit small for my large hands. Does anyone have experience with any aftermarket Blackhawk grips?

-Kevin

Kevin,

There is two basic grip frames used on the current Blackhawks.
The regular New Model Blackhawks, Super Single-Six, and short barreled Super BHs use the XR3-RED design.
The New Model Flattops and the New Vaqueros use the new version of the XR3 grip frame.

The XR3 is basically the same as the old Colt SAA, and is my preference.
The XR3-RED is redesigned to give the hand more room between the back of the trigger guard and the grip. It's a bit larger also.

There are many custom grip makers that produce grips somewhat larger than the factory ones. Most of them are members over at The Ruger Forum.
Here's just a couple:
http://www.clccustomgrips.com/
http://www.sackpeterson.com/
http://www.privatescustomgrips.com/index.html

For the most part I don't believe larger grips are then answer. I believe a person needs to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the factory design. But that's just me.
All of my single actions have the Colt SAA style on them.

Joe

[geobru]

Kevin,
I just put a set of Hogue grips on my New Model Blackhawk. It is a lot bigger than the factory grips and fillls my hand. I am reserving judgment until I have a chance to shoot it, but so far so good.

[J Miller]

Kevin,
I just put a set of Hogue grips on my New Model Blackhawk. It is a lot bigger than the factory grips and fillls my hand. I am reserving judgment until I have a chance to shoot it, but so far so good.

Ugh ..... ugly rubber baby buggy bumpers ..... yucka pooooey!

I had a chance to shoot a Ruger Vaquero .44 Mag once with those rubber abominations on it. After 6 rounds they had abraded my hands so bad they looked like they had pavement burns. There are much better ways to put larger grips on a single action than those rubber things.

Just my experience ......

Joe

[Pete44ru]

The Blackhawks will accept GRIPFRAMES, like the longer/straighter Bisley's, or the bigger/longer Super Blackhawk's (and their respective grip panels, issue or aftermarket).

More than a few owners switch the gripframes out, and/or contact one of the Ruger-specific custom gripmakers for an oversize exotic wood grip panel set, like Cary Chapman ( www.clccustomgrips.com )

.

[Old Ranger]

Got these nice old XR3 Red's but no gun to mount them on anymore
Now that's pretty sad huh?

[BenT]

You need to handle a Bisley grip, it fills the hand out better than the standard grip and is much more pleasant to shoot , in my opinion.

[kimwcook]

You need to handle a Bisley grip, it fills the hand out better than the standard grip and is much more pleasant to shoot , in my opinion.

My thought exactly.

[Jeff H]

............There are many custom grip makers that produce grips somewhat larger than the factory ones. Most of them are members over at The Ruger Forum.
Here's just a couple:
http://www.clccustomgrips.com/
http://www.sackpeterson.com/
http://www.privatescustomgrips.com/index.html

For the most part I don't believe larger grips are then answer. I believe a person needs to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the factory design. But that's just me.
All of my single actions have the Colt SAA style on them.

Joe

I have a set of Cary Chapman's (CLC) grips on my .44 Special Flat Top and they certainly are slightly fuller than the wood grips normally supplied by Ruger and considerably fuller than the plastic grips that came on this one. It was enough to compensate for the thinner grip frame on these, but are not bulky. A compromise worth making to ditch the new plastic - which does not feel like the old plastic. This is the "new" XR3 Joe mentioned. I can't differentiate between it and the original XR3 in feel, but Joe probably knows of subtle differences. I always kept an XR3-RED on my OM SBH in preference over the SBH grip frame - and I belive he has a point about adapting to the smaller grip frames, at least according to my own preferences.

[TMair]

http://www.clccustomgrips.com/

For the most part I don't believe larger grips are then answer. I believe a person needs to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the factory design. But that's just me.
All of my single actions have the Colt SAA style on them.

Joe

I agree, I did replace the grips on my Blackhawk 45 Colt with grips from clccus mentioned above, they are a little bigger but not enough to make a big difference, I also have big hands, I can cover a quarter with my thumb, I don't realy have a problem with the size of the grip, I just don't try to strangle the gun
Terry

[AJMD429]

The Blackhawks will accept GRIPFRAMES, like the longer/straighter Bisley's, or the bigger/longer Super Blackhawk's (and their respective grip panels, issue or aftermarket).

This graphic off Gunblast shows the different Ruger grip frames -


Here's three pictures off the Ruger website that show their 'Super Blackhawk' grip frame, their 'Redhawk', and their 'Bisley' grip frame...





...like the Redhawk, the Bisley is longer (I can actually hold the Bisley with my whole hand, while I can only get TWO fingers other than my index/trigger finger around the 'normal' Blackhawk grip, and the older/larget Super Blackhawk one isn't much better). Also, the Bisley is a bit thicker up towards the receiver, which I think results (for me) in the gun 'filling' my hand better, so my thumb/palm is snug enough against the grip to keep the gun from just recoiling straight backwards (causing the 'trigger-guard knuckle-rap'), and instead causing it to do as intended - namely 'rock upwards' and absorb recoil, as well as making cocking the hammer faster. For some people, I think the Bisley's steeper angle makes them feel it won't 'rock up' like it is supposed to, and maybe if you have small hands or thick fingers/palm, it is bad, but for me it is perfect.

The bottom line is to just TRY as many as you can. They CAN be interchanged, with a bit of fitting. Now that I've found I like the Bisley grip, I'm planning on converting a couple of my Rugers.

Note MidwayUSA and other places ALSO sell a "Colt-style" grip frame that fits the Rugers; it appears a bit longer and maybe more tapered, but I've never held one. Perhaps JMiller or someone else here could comment on the "Colt-style" Ruger grip frames, vs. the factory Ruger ones...

When I was a kid, they didn't have "Bisley" grip frames and so on, so I made these over-sized Super Blackhawk grips myself, and they worked awesomely for me.

Super Blackhawk Grips - 2.jpg

[J Miller]

http://www.clccustomgrips.com/

For the most part I don't believe larger grips are then answer. I believe a person needs to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of the factory design. But that's just me.
All of my single actions have the Colt SAA style on them.

Joe

I agree, I did replace the grips on my Blackhawk 45 Colt with grips from clccus mentioned above, they are a little bigger but not enough to make a big difference, I also have big hands, I can cover a quarter with my thumb, I don't realy have a problem with the size of the grip, I just don't try to strangle the gun
Terry

Terry,

At one time Cary Chapman said his slightly thicker new XR3 grips were the same thickness as the old XR3 grips. That would account for the similarity in feeling.

Joe