Single Action Bite

[BigAl52]

I know this has come up before so I thought I would start a topic about it. I have large thick hands. I love the look of single actions and Im a true cowboy at heart. I just dont have Badger out back in the corral. Last time out with the Ruger and shooting those big 180's it was there again, that middle finger knuckle bite. Ive tried the little finger curl under the bottom of the grip. Ya its ok but still get the bite. Ive even tried the 2 hand hold with it putting extra pressure on the finger thats taking the abuse with the other hand and still get the bite.Done some research and come up with several opinions. One is I dont care what the grip looks like or the gun looks like Im gonna have a grip thats comfortable to shoot the gun with. Hogue makes an oversized grip that is suppose to help with this. If you can figure out which grip frame you have. I just ordered one for my new model Blackhawk and yup it didnt fit worth a darn. Im sending it back. Did some more research and found a grip company out of Missouri. Bear Paw grips. I ordered a set and Im gonna give them a try. I will let you know how they work out. Im the mean time OUCH

[Travlin]

I have two single action 45's. One is a Ruger Blackhawk and the other is a Colt S.A.A. Both of them have larger grips on them. I didn't even fire the Ruger before I installed a Pachmyr on it and a Super Blackhwk hammer . If I were doing it over I would find a Super Blackhawk grip frame for the Ruger and go from there. Why Colt did not use the 1860 Army grip frame on the Peacemaker is beyond me. I put a set of large Herrets on my Colt so I could shoot it and hit what I was aiming for.

[fortyshooter]

Al have you looked into the Bisley grip frame? It might help since it lets the revolver rotate up on recoil. Maybe wrap couple band-aids around that knuckle? My Ruger SBH 44 Mag has that squared off trigger guard that you have to watch out for but haven't had issues with that yet.
Maybe try gripping the revolver a bit lower to give more knuckle space? I have a .44 Special and a Ruger BH in .45 Colt and they both have the Bisley grip and work well for me.

[Hatchdog]

Don’t have any advice for you but I feel your pain. (Pun intended) I had a Blackhawk in 45, loved the look of that gun but it was too painful for me to shoot. Revolver came with a nice looking pair of wood grips which I replaced with the Hogue Overmolds but that didn’t help. Ended up selling it (sadly) and decided to stay with double actions. I make take fourty’s advice and look at a Bisley, maybe in .357.

[JEBar]

well understood .... the only way I've been able to eliminate the bite was to get rid of my Ruger 44 Mag Blackhawk and move to a Ruger 44 Mag Redhawk

[fortyshooter]

The only one I had that would take a bite was my Magnum Research BFR .45-70 revolver IF you didn't have a good grip on it!
https://youtu.be/7Wh5teFf5lc

[BigAl52]

Hey Forty
I have a Bisley in 45 Colt just like yours. I ordered as I stated some of the Bear Paw Grips so I can adjust my grip and be able to hold it. Right now the grip panels I have are just to slim to get a good hold on it. Its a 5.5 inch New Model Blackhawk 357 with the 9mm conversion cylinder. If these dont work. Im just gonna shoot the Smith 657 Classic Hunter Power Port in 41 mag. and my Freedom Arms in 41 mag.

[RanchRoper]

The SA Army grip on to Richards Mason any better?

[North Country Gal]

Before I went with the pinky under the grip hold, I was getting severely wounded shooting a 5 1/2" Super Blackhawk 44 mag. The grip would rotate in my hand from recoil so bad that the hammer was coming back and gouging the back of my hand to the point of drawing blood. I even wore a glove and it chewed through that. Oh, yeah, I still have scars on my hand from shooting that gun. Still, the gun was very accurate, so I went hunting for a solution.

Brace yourselves! This may be the ugliest single action grip you've ever seen. It worked, though.


It's an Altamont grip https://www.altamontco.com/pistol-grips ... blackhawk/ (oversized finger groove super walnut) for a Blackhawk, because the 5 1/2" and 4 5/8th inch SBHs use a standard Blackhawk grip frame, not the Super Blackhawk grip frame of the 7 1/2" SBH. Note that Altamont is having issues with the production of their grips during the pandemic, so this one may not be available, right now.

By the way, Altamont does a very good job of listing which grips fit what single action Ruger. By contrast, I've had to return several Hogue grips for Ruger revolvers for not fitting.

Keep in mind that when ordering replacement grips for Ruger revolvers, it's going to be kind of hit and miss as to how well they fit. This isn't a problem with the grip maker so much as the way Ruger makes their revolvers. Ruger sands their grip frames down to spec and grips are added from a bin with no attempt to fit. It's why you see sometimes see factory Ruger's with less than ideal grip fit on their revolvers.

Uberti Colts are made the authentic way Colts were made and the grips are fit to individual guns.For sure, my Uberti Colts put Ruger SAs to shame in this department.

For fixing the problem of not enough room for the fingers, I would also warn you that rubber grips will need to be oversized, considerably, to solve the problem because rubber grips do give under recoil. I learned this the hard way when shooting rubber versus wood on my TC Encore pistols.

[BigAl52]

I dont think its ugly at all. I read one mans opinion on another forum. I dont care what it looks like I want it to be comfortable to shoot. You are right NCG the Altamont people do nice work and I have ordered from them before. I would have ordered that grip for mine but like you mention they dont have any of those in stock right now. RR yes the Army 1860 grip is better but I still get the bite from that one also. I might need to try the Johnson and Johnson trick next time out.

[BigAl52]

Ive been shooting my Ruger New Model 357 lately with some different loads. Rifletom those 180 pugnose do well in one of my pistols. My Flattop model likes them. I might back that load down to what Randy was loading and try some more. 11.2 is where I think he was at. One thing I would like to say here is Bear Paw Grips. I highly reccomend them. They give you a good feel and a good hold tucking that pinky underneath the grip. No more Single Action bite from the one I put his grips on. Another thing I like is it doesnt change the looks of the gun. Im going to buy another pair as soon as he has more made.

[fortyshooter]

Could you post a picture of your grips? I looked at their site and they do have some really nice grips for the Rugers.
Might pick one for my Bisley Blackhawk .45 Colt.

[Vaquero]

Good news Al, glad you finally found something that'll work for you.
Like Forty said, how about a pic??

RP

[BigAl52]

Here is some pics of mine. The Pics dont do the grips justice the Mo Walnut is nice.

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[BigAl52]

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Another pic had to resize this one

[fortyshooter]

Looks great Al !

[Vaquero]

Thanks Al, I like the looks of them.
Like you said not a lot of difference in their appearance.

RP

[BigAl52]

JB the owner and maker of the grips will also spend whatever time you need on the phone to answer any questions. Very nice man.

[North Country Gal]

Love those grips! I'll have to see which Ruger could use them. Thinking maybe the Super BH 44 mag.