I have Pachmayr grips on mine. Think they were like 25 dollars

 

I use Pachmayr on my Model 36, they work great on the hands, but look awful for aesthetics.

 

I have a 642 and I use S&W smooth wood grips. No checkering at all. I like being able to slip it in & out of a pocket with very little to no resistance.

I have unusually large hands. It's difficult for me to even buy gloves that fit properly. The recoil with the smooth wood grips is a non-issue.

 

I have a 642 and I use S&W smooth wood grips. No checkering at all. I like being able to slip it in & out of a pocket with very little to no resistance.
I have unusually large hands. It's difficult for me to even buy gloves that fit properly. The recoil with the smooth wood grips is a non-issue.

*For todays range session I put the S&W smooth wood grips back on for a test. You are correct for me the recoil was not a issue. As I stated before I will try the Hogue grips and if it does not work out I will keep these. The ones that came with it just did not cut it for me.
*I love shooting this little 38 and spent time with our new LCPII22LR's today and neither one had any issue. Spent time shooting 9mm 1911's and our SR9 and SR9E series wonder 9's but keeping ammo use down. Have a good supply but want to conserve due to our current protests.

 

Altamont make nice S&W grips. I bought a set for my 627 I really like. They are still wood but slightly lager and fill my hand a little better. It makes the recoil more manageable. They even come with S&W logo engraved.

 

Altamont makes a full line of nice grips. I'm picking up my GP100 Match Champion on Thursday and I've already placed an order with them for a set of rubber grips with wood insert panels like the original Ruger grips.
They have several choices for the J-Frame.

I found Pachmayr grips a bit bulky on my Redhawk years ago but the Hogue Monogrips that came on my N-Frame Mountain Gun felt great so I recently put a set on the Redhawk and they are keepers. They have J-Frame Monogrips in standard black and several colors.

 

The Pachmayr grip(the ole school one with the medallion) are the best on the market for reducing recoil and shooting the J frame series of pistol with comfort, at least for me. They really got it right with that grip and have been doing it a long, long, time. Not the smallest grip, but they are the first thing that goes on any snappy J-Frame for me, very noticable difference over the stock.

 

Thanks for the information one and all. I think the S&W 642 has the "Centennial" frame as stated on the Hogue site. (www.hogueinc.com/handgun-grips/smith-wesson/jframe) Deciding between Pachmayr and Hogue. Trying to find the correct grip has been a pain. Does Pachmayr have a site? If I can not locate the correct grip by Pachmayr I may go with the S&W J Frame Round Butt Centennial/Polymer Bodyguard Rubber Tamer Grip Black. I already have tubs and a drawer filled with grips I do not use. Thanks again for the replies I appreciate the feedback.
*By the way PhuBai70 congratulations on the up coming "GP100 Match Champion".

 

I put a set of pachmayr grips on my 629. I found the rubber to be to soft really didn't like the feel. squishy kinda sticky. I went back to the original rubber grips.

 

Mmmm, the pachmayr grip I use is like this one, very hard rubber and neither squishy or sticky? At least for me.

 

I believe the ones I had were the decelerator grips. I thought so much of them I must have thrown them away.

 

I have the the "Gripper grips," as opposed to the "Decelerators."

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003965463?pid=335629

 

I went through a lot of grips when I bought my LCR9mm. I landed on these from a review I read and they work out great.(bantam boot grip). While it did not look like they would help with recoil and snap they turned out to be the best for the gun.
For right now, I like the stock grip on the 642 but added some of the (gritty) grip tape to hold the gun steady and it does a great job. I do not want a big bulky grip. One reason I bought the 642. I actually train with the 9mm and carry the Smith more due to the light weight and of course concealment.
One grip I am very interested in is the ERGO grip. Ugly, but it looks functional. Any one tried it?

Actually just watched this video and will order one.

 

I rarely carry any of my J-frames anymore. Obviously the grips you choose depends on the size of your hand. Of mine I like the Tyler "T" grip adapter with a stock set of wooden grips or something similar in size. The stock rubber grips feel great too, but aren't too pretty. Altamont's wooden grips look great and are top quality but feel kind of awkward in my hand. The VZ grips work pretty well, look great, feel good and hold up well. But again every hand is different.

 

Try this one...
Pachmayr GuardianGrip S&W J-Frame... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB18R9P?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

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I went through a lot of grips when I bought my LCR9mm. I landed on these from a review I read and they work out great.(bantam boot grip). While it did not look like they would help with recoil and snap they turned out to be the best for the gun.
For right now, I like the stock grip on the 642 but added some of the (gritty) grip tape to hold the gun steady and it does a great job. I do not want a big bulky grip. One reason I bought the 642. I actually train with the 9mm and carry the Smith more due to the light weight and of course concealment.
One grip I am very interested in is the ERGO grip. Ugly, but it looks functional. Any one tried it?

Actually just watched this video and will order one.

Have to say that shooting the Ergo grip was interesting. It did reduce the recoil, sending it more toward the rear and straight back and into the plam of the hand. Easy to shoot the gun.
But was too big for my personal preference. Even though I have a large size hand and long fingers, I prefer narrow grips.
What I did not like was the fact that it is bulky, and not conducive for fast drawing. What does work for me is the Original grip, with traction tape. I shoot it well, and easy to draw fast. Point of aim was different as well and that would take some adjustment to get us to. BUT it did shoot great groups once I got the hang of it.

 

I am going to try the original grip again and give the traction tape a go. If that does not work out I am going to order the S&W J Frame Round Butt Centennial/Polymer Bodyguard Rubber Tamer Grip Black
Sku: 60020. There are some good looking photos here of these little 38's/9mm's and nice collections. I have some tape on the way with a new speed loader or two to try.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BB18R9P/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_sAtDEbFET7FZV

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Ordered the Hogue S&W J Frame Round Butt Rubber Monogrip Black to try for the range. Put on the smooth S&W wood grips and they worked good with no recoil issues and no snag. Just wanted to try the larger grip for the range. Really love shooting these little guys. Getting much better with accuracy and have much more time with it at the range. Will see how I like these now.

 

Put on the Hogue Monogrip revolver stock to try. Fits good and feels right but a trip to the range is order to test out. So far I like these on this one for the range. The other 642 still has the S&W smooth wood grips that I prefer to the original.

 

Tested the Hogue grips yesterday and I am very happy with these for the range. My groups are much better and I able to put more rounds down range. Getting older and these grips made it much more comfortable to shoot. Will keep training with these and glad I put them on for a test drive. Keepers...

 

I need some new grips for my 442 and 637. I can shoot them well enough, but I have to make an effort to bury the front sight in the site trough, otherwise I shoot high.