Well let's see....I have a rubber grip on my S&W 586 and I just put a cheap set of rubber grips on my 1911 with palm swells to try that feature out. If I like it I'll buy a set of wood grips. I'm not real particular. I like the rubber on the 586 cause the stock anvil grips sucked. The rubber grip absorbs a lot of recoil of the 357 mag cartridge so they stayed. Rubber or wood.... It all depends on the pistol.

I have found that the rubber grips on magnum revolvers do absorb a lot of recoil and give on a firm purchase too. When I was shooting a great deal and had numerous pistols, it was my habit to put Pachmyers on almost everything. But I do not care for them on 1911 models.

I have a security six that I bought with Pachmeyers on it. I bought a set of original wood grips..... now I know why the Pachmeyers were on it.
My 1911 has a set of Pachmeyers, Rosewood with rubber finger grips.

If you are going to c.c. think about certain grips getting "hung" up.

RT

Gee Dan, it changes.
My Officers model has wood, but I would happily put crimson trace on (rubber i believe) if i had the funds to do so. Course that is to add the laser sight.

Mostly wood on all. But the Taurus model 85 i next have in line has rubber, and those will stay.

Now on my soon to be owned Polymer, well wood isn't really an option now is it? So i would say polimer, or maybe a rubber after market gripcover, we'll see.
How is that for a non-committed answer?

I like the looks of blue steel and wood the best. For carry some combinations I like rubber better for more control.

For shooting, I like rubber.
For looking, I like wood.

Wood:
+ Looks better
+ Gives more grip when wet or slick as rubber will slide
+ More durable than rubber overall.
- uncomfortable/painful to shoot with for long periods
- Gives a less positive grip unless custom-molded for the shooter's hand
- Cleaning can be difficult or impossible unless done regularly and thoroughly.
- If unfinished or finish wears, holds water longer than rubber.
- More expensive
- Most polymer frames won't even take them

Rubber:
+ More positive grip, especially with grooved front strap
+ Cheaper than good wood grips
+ easy cleaning; the grip can generally be removed and scrubbed with dish detergent
+ Some "rubber" grip compounds are tacky/sticky, giving a coefficient of static friction greater than 1 (that gun ain't movin' in your hand)
+ virtually any gun can take a rubber grip, if only a sleeve
- Though flexible, most rubber grips aren't as durable overall as wood
- Looks cheap
- can be difficult to install
- Will tend to hold water against a metal frame.

Hmm, well, I'll make it even a little more complicated.

On most steel pistols I prefer wood.
On 'plastic' pistols I prefer a rubber or polymer grip.

For revolvers I usually prefer rubber, but in some cases wood just looks a lot better.

O.K. here's my preferance: Wood.

Rubber, besides being as ugly as a mud fence, gives the gun a running start before hitting the web of my hand with heavy recoilling revolvers. And, rubber abrades the skin of my hand badly, wearing a blister at the base of my thumb. I did some shooting with a Thompson Contender fitted with Pachmyer grips and my hand was blistered and sore by the end of the day.

And, grabbing my gun quick-like, I somethimes need to shift my grip slightly as the gun levels, this not possible with rubber.

And, wood allows my vest or jacket to slide over it as I move around, never catching the material as does rubber.

And, while this is relative, wood just gives me a solid feel in my hand.

And, while not mentioned, ivory is even a better grip material.

Bob Wright

Proper combat hold on a semi-auto pistol places all the pressure on its grips' front- and back-straps, and no real pressure on the pistol's side panels. The firmest hold is aided by stippling or checkering on the front- and back-straps; but resilient rubber on those surfaces softens a firm hold and decreases control.
Rubber side panels catch against the hand, when one moves the pistol in the strong hand (or merely moves the hand) to punch the magazine-release button when making a quick reload. This slows the process down.

Conversely, I personally find that a rubber grip helps me establish better control of a revolver. I prefer the backstrap to be bare metal, but for me the front and side panels need to be "grippy."
My preference comes from my observation that a smooth-handled revolver tends to rotate (in two separate planes) in my hand during both DA trigger presses and recoil, and that a "grippy" rubber handle tends to limit that rotation.
My strong hand doesn't have to reposition itself during a revolver reload, so rubber grips don't affect that process at all.

Rubber on a heavy recoiling revolver 357 magnum and up.
Anything that meets your fancy on an auto.

Wood grips, rubber is what a teenage boy keeps in his back pocket hoping to get lucky.

Originally Posted by tony pasley

Wood grips, rubber is what a teenage boy keeps in his back pocket hoping to get lucky.

Yeah, but in certain circles the thing one puts the rubber on is called "wood."

Rubber for more comfort.

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

Yeah, but in certain circles the thing one puts the rubber on is called "wood."

I always felt it was kinda like taking a shower with a rain coat on....Ya just miss out on a whole bunch.

Rubber on everything is what I say. Only thing I ever kept wood on was a Colt Trooper Mark IV.

Originally Posted by rollin thunder

I have a security six that I bought with Pachmeyers on it. I bought a set of original wood grips..... now I know why the Pachmeyers were on it.
My 1911 has a set of Pachmeyers, Rosewood with rubber finger grips.

If you are going to c.c. think about certain grips getting "hung" up.

RT

security six with wood....bad idea lol, PM was the best thing that ever happened to that gun!

...and then try to guess my preference.

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r...%20collection/

What about Alumigrips or Stag?

I go with rubber for revolvers and wood for semi auto. I've had best luck with Pachmayers on revolvers. Have them on my Model 19, 620, and 37. Have wood on my 1911s. I do have the rubber ones that came with my P220, but I don't like them (any suggestions for replacements gratefully accepted).

Wood....
..It's one of my issues with Tupperware guns is the inability to put wood grips on em. I have some guns with rubber or plastic grips and one (Browning Pro-40) that is the frame is poly grips and all....I don't shoot them as much mainly because I like my wood grip guns more.

My Ruger Redhawk has Rosewood Grips and is a 44 rem mag. Figure I can hold on to it I can anything.

Something about the wood grips on a gun...just gives it a nice sexy look. I love the look of a SIG P229 Equinox and P226 Blackwater with wood grips. The tradeoff for this sexiness is the thickness of the wooden panels. And the screws do tend to get loose after a few range visits; can't over-tighten as the wood could potentially crack.

I've always appreciated how the rubber grips on my P-01 fit my hand but recently put on wood grips and noticed a little improvement.

My first question is what caliber in revolvers? IMHO, anything in the .357 and above shoot better with rubber. That said, I REALLY like good looking wood grips, just hard to shoot with heavy loads.