My recently purchased Smith & Wesson Model 610 10mm is an okay revolver out of the box. When I replaced the factory sights with the vastly superior D&L Sports fixed combat sights, it got a whole lot better.
It’s now an entirely different — and far better — revolver entirely, and much of that is owed to the new D&L Sports Performance Revolver Grips.
After I saw the quality of Dave Lauck’s sights, it was an easy decision to have him tackle the rest of the revolver. That work included an action job, a bit of timing adjustment, smoothing out the cylinders to fix the extraction issues, re-crowning the barrel, pinning the front sight, media blasting the whole thing a matte grey, and installing a new set of Performance Revolver Grips.
All of the work was exceptionally well done and worth every penny I spent. I will very happily send my future revolver business to Mr. Lauck. It’s all good, but it’s those grips that have made the biggest difference in both handling and appearance.
There are a lot of grips on the market, but none that I can find that are quite like this. They make the S&W double action revolver point differently, and for me, much better.
Like most folks, when I put a single hand or double crush grip on one of these guns and drive it forward, I’m having to tilt my wrist down, out of the knuckles-to-wrist-bones locked position, otherwise the sights are pointing above the target. This puts my trigger finger out of alignment, increases felt recoil, and slows my time-to-target for follow-up shots.
That was the primary problem Dave Lauck set out to fix with his Performance Revolver Grips, and he’s done just that.
Now, my 610 points much more naturally to the target and my firing hand wrist is in the correct position to obtain and maintain a solid hold on the gun. Movement of the front sight throughout the trigger press is noticeably reduced, as is the revolver’s movement during recoil.
I’m convinced that grip geometry and grip fit mean more for a double action revolver than any single action or semi-auto pistol, especially in heavier recoiling guns. Your trigger finger has a lot of movement and all while pulling some weight. Combine this with the fact that you don’t really want a double action revolver to “roll in the hand” as a single action does and you’ll see why getting the grip right is critical to keeping the sights on target during the trigger pull, as well as managing recoil to get them back on target as fast as possible.
Enter Lauck’s grip.
Note the wide beavertail at the top. That allows the shooter to get the highest grip possible in order to reduce muzzle flip. The same goes with the bottom hand stop. The heavier the recoil — or the faster you want to shoot — the more value you’ll see in this design.
D&L Sports makes each grip in G10. Each grip comes smooth, but not slick. If you choose, they can be checkered or otherwise textured for a more aggressive grip surface.
G10 is pretty darn ideal as a grip material. It’s strong enough that any breakage or wear is extremely unlikely for generations, and yet it can be contoured to fit any hand.
When it comes to revolver handling, grip fit means far more than grip material. Those over-sized soft rubber grips so many firearms are sold with are known for reducing felt recoil. They do this somewhat because the material is cushioning the recoil, but moreso because it squishes and fills the hand.
The downside is that these grips flex during recoil, potentially diminishing accuracy as well as increasing muzzle rise and the amount the gun moves in the hand.
A properly fit grip in any sturdy material fixes this problem. Following the instructions on the DLS web page, they will contour the grip to your particular hand. If you’re particularly concerned with concealment, DLS can further reduce the size of the bottom stop, or reduce the thickness or overall size of the grips.
When I was first looking at these grips, I was concerned they would be too large to allow for OWB concealed carry, one of the requirements for my particular firearm. That bottom stop looked to me like it would print horribly under an untucked button-down shirt or jacket.
Mr. Lauck assured me that would not be the case, and he was absolutely right. Although hiding an N-frame is never easy, these grips print no more than the original factory rubber grips from Smith & Wesson.
The photos of the grips, those on the DLS website as well as my own, tend to make the grips look thicker than they are. In fact, the midsection measures only 1.080″ thick on the K and L frame, and only 1.150″ thick for this N frame. That’s just a bit thinner than a common 1911 grip. That said, if you have particularly large hands, additional material can be left on the grips to accommodate your big paws.
The grips themselves are a clamshell design with two internal locator pins and triple outer cross bolts to insure a tight and secure fit on the revolver, and each grip includes a built-in lanyard anchor.
As with his sights, Mr. Lauck is grossly under pricing these grips. The DLS website advertises them at $155. That’s so low for custom fit G10 grips as to be kinda weird. When I asked Lauck about the low pricing on his sights, he told me he had to “keep them low enough for duty officers to afford them.” Nobody tell him.
Rating (out of five stars):
Overall * * * * *
The D&L Sports Performance Revolver Grips are well beyond a cosmetic improvement for Smith & Wesson double action guns. Dave Lauck has managed to solve a problem revolver shooters have been working on or working with for a long time. They look great and improve in-hand accuracy as well as recoil management. These are the new quintessential grips for any “combat magnum” or S&W Mountain Gun.
