Pachmayr 03272 S & W, K & L Frame Round Butt Compac Grip

I saw these grips in a YouTube video by Bubba Fudd, who was talking about his S&W revolver, and his smaller hands. I put these on my S&W 686+ 3” revolver, and they have been a huge asset. The stock Hogue-type grips that came with the gun were well-made -- but they had big finger grooves that were messing up my ability to hold high on the grip and reach the trigger without bending my wrist. The stock grip, although excellent, was a little too bulky for my hand. These are actually the Pachmayr Compac Professional grips (03272). Professionals are 10% smaller than the regular Compacs, and have an open back strap. Even though the description on Amazon may say they cover the back strap, the back strap is open with these grips. Also, there is no palm-swell. These features allow for a better hold on the firearm if you have smaller hands; but it does mean more of a bite with .357 magnums. Shooting .38 special and .38 +P is absolutely no problem with these Pachmayrs. The package says they're for a K frame; but they'll fit the larger L frame too. Both sizes of gun have the same grip- frame size. The only negative, and for me it's minor, is that the top of the grip on the side opposite the cylinder release fans out a fraction of an inch so that it is not exactly flush with the steel of the side plate. Over-tightening the screw only makes it worse. This slight gap can allow dirt, solvent, and oil to get down into the steel grip-frame of the revolver. I had sort of expected this based on some other reviews and comments, but decided to try them anyway. The grips are nice and snug on the gun, though. They feel awesome. I'm glad I took a chance, and got them. I love the way they feel in the hand; and I can shoot better with them. These are well-made, sturdy, comfortable rubber grips with no finger grooves. They look great on the wheel gun, and are more substantial than I thought they'd be. For my smaller hands, the Pachmayr Compac Professionals make my heavy L-frame 686+ even more fun to hold and to shoot. If you have smaller hands, and don't like finger grooves, you should think about picking up a pair of these things. I'm very satisfied, and gave them five stars. Happy shooting!

Very good fit on 686+. Easy installation, screw sits fairly flush with grip, does not protrude. This grip makes the 2.5" barrel gun look much better than the long stock grip and gives a much better reach to the trigger for my medium-sized hands. Backstrap is exposed so make sure that's what you want. The rubber is very "grippy" and this grip does not have finger grooves, which is a plus for me. As has been noted, this grip is not symmetrical and others have posted that it is right-handed - the grip has a different look on each side. I happened to be left-handed but this does not affect shootability for me. Definitely worth the price.

While the grips do fit, the material seems poor quality, and the fitment is somewhat loose. The backstrap is exposed, and on the bottom, there is an extra 1/4”

I love the size, but the quality is so poor. The smell is unbearable, even after soaking and washing several times in vinegar, alcohol and washing with dawn. The molding quality is also bad; you can see the mold halves did not line up and there is flash all over. Even the medallions are crooked!

I have a S&W 686 that had the factory Hogue grips on it. The Hogue grips are pretty thick and have large finger wells. The finger wells prevented me from being able to shift my grip higher to be more in-line with the barrel so I came across these Pachmayr Compact Grips. They fit the gun perfectly and look like advertised. The lack of finger wells is why I still use them, otherwise they are really quite slim. I have small/medium sized hands but these grips are much thinner than I expected.

I got these for a 686 to give my smallish paws a bit of an easier time reaching the trigger, and the result was exactly as expected. These might just be the tiniest grips I’ve seen for a K/L Frame. Being so small, they do leave the steel blackstrap exposed, which makes a difference when firing full-house .357 Magnum loads, compared to the squishier rubber grip that came stock on the gun.

Wish that I'd known before ordering that it DOES NOT cover the backstrap at all, so this does absolutely NOTHING to help with recoil on my 686 Plus. Shooting full-house .357 Magnum loads with these? Fugeddaboutit! Not unless you're a masochist and enjoy crippling your hand. While it does fit the frame well enough overall, the top edge of the grip panels are so soft and flexible that your thumb or just about anything else can easily catch it and pull it away from the frame. Has a definite late 1980's/1990's sort of feel to it - good if you're into nostalgia, not so good if you're looking for modern quality. It's not worthless because it does cut a significant amount of length off of the grip, thus making it easier to conceal, but considering the fact that it's nearly impossible to find a decent concealment holster for my 686 Plus 4" (that doesn't also cost a fortune), that's kind of a moot point for me. These are actually WORSE than the factory grips for anything but concealment purposes. Wishing I'd gone with the Hogue Monogrip instead - also has an exposed backstrap, but has a better overall fit and material quality.

The fit was excellent! Very good grips.