The Revolver And Its Grip Shape

Revolver Architecture

The most prominent feature of any revolver is a centrally located cylinder that holds ammunition spins on a horizontal axis across the gun’s frame. Using the power of springs, mechanical levers and human strength, the linkage parts inside the revolver work to meticulously turn and align the individual charge holes (loaded with live cartridges) precisely in front of the revolver’s breech and forcing cone. Once the charge hole is lined up with the breech, a revolver’s action will also temporarily lock the cylinder in that position for safety. This temporary locking also ensures that the bullet can travel down the bore perfectly after the hammer ignites the propellant charge. Regardless of whether a revolver is double or single-action, this firing sequence fundamentally works the same way and with a similar relationship between the frame, cylinder, charge holes, barrel and axis. It’s an elegant solution from a more civilized age in firearms design. 

Ultimately, the radial nature of the revolver’s cylinder dictates every aspect about its core design, namely the size of its frame and how the rest of its parts sit in relation to that cylinder, especially its barrel. The traditional approach has been to build revolvers whose barrels sit at the top of the frame, with a so-called “high bore axis.” Other than Emilio Ghisoni’s eccentric bottom-firing Italian revolvers, virtually every revolver has a barrel that sits up high. On the other side of the frame, this core revolver layout also dictates the position of the grip relative to the frame. The end-result is a handgun with a radically different shape compared to most semi-automatic pistols.

Revolver Shapes and Firing Grips

Most revolver frames are forged with a sinus between the frontstrap and the rear of the trigger guard. This very distinctive but archaic formation is a legacy from the time of single-action only revolvers; the shape found its way into the guns of old to grant the firing hand easier access to the hammer–in order to thumb-cock it with more ease. As revolver actions evolved into the modern double-action patterns at the turn of the century, circa 1900, the sinus on the revolver’s frame stayed put. It has been part and parcel of revolver frames ever since. The problem with these sinusoidal voids is that they aren’t really ideal for building a cutting-edge (single or double-handed) firing grip on a double-action revolver. Likewise, the thin shape and profile of most vintage double-action revolver stocks wasn’t of much help either. Their small size and surface area in conjunction with the sinus leaves much to be desired in terms of useful grippable surface area. Historically speaking, I find small-frame revolvers like the Smith & Wesson J-frames (or even its predecessors) to be the worst offenders in grip ergonomics for the reasons described in the last sentences.

Advanced revolver shooters of the day were cognizant of this, and the existence of Tyler T-Grips (dating back to the early 1930s) were amongst some of the earliest implementations to solve these problems. Tyler T-Grip Adapters are these old-school crescent shaped aluminum wedges that clip on underneath the grip panels directly onto the frame with the sole purpose of removing the void of the revolver sinus and adding more surface area to the frontstrap so shooters have more of a gripping zone. Besides adapters like the Tyler T-Grip, solving the revolver-grip ergonomic issue gave way to many of the great classic 20th century grip designers–names like Roper, Herrett or Farrant come to mind.

Sinuses or not, thinner stocks or not, the revolver’s naturally occurring shape and grip location means that a shooter can’t simply grip it like a semi-auto pistol. Besides the matter of protecting the support-hand’s fingers from the blast of the cylinder gap, the trigger-finger itself needs to sit in such a way that it can easily overcome the heavier double-action trigger pull without becoming strained or fatigued. More importantly, the double-action trigger must travel all the way to the rear in order for the hammer to fall. Since the revolver doesn’t have that right-angle shape like a carpenter’s square does, the support hand is best left cradling the firing hand.

LOK Grips to the Rescue

This year, I’ve spent some time shooting different Taurus revolvers, from the 692 Executive Grade to the optics-capable Taurus 327 TORO (which I’m currently reviewing) and the Heritage Roscoe. Heritage Manufcacturing is Taurus’ sister company and the Roscoe is based on the Taurus Model 85; more importantly, the vintage styling of the Roscoe was actually what originally spurred me to think more critically about revolver sinuses. 

LOK Grips offers two different styles of Veloces for Taurus revolvers, a 3-finger groove version for smaller framed guns like the Taurus 856 , 327 TORO, Model 85, etc and a full-size, full-length Veloce grip for all larger framed Taurus revolvers; this includes the Hunter, Judge and Tracker families . LOK Veloce grips for Taurus wheelguns are made from G10 and feature a moderately grippy texture that’s suitable for carrying on either side of the waistband without posing an irritation risk to the carrier’s skin or clothes. Customers also have a few different color choices when ordering these from LOK. The grips themselves are profiled with gentle convex swells in order to maximize surface area for the firing hand. Both sets also do an excellent job in filling the revolver’s sinusoidal void which makes guns more comfortable to grip and shoot. The blue-black grip on my 692 Executive Grade has a gentle taper and a small flare at the very bottom. In my original review of the 692 Executive Grade revolver, I voiced my displeasure at the fan-shaped wooden grips it includes. While these wooden grips look nice, they’re not conducive to performance shooting because they have a tendency to slip in the hand during recoil. Swapping them out for LOK Veloces gave me more purchase and control over the gun–and a nicer shooting experience. 

Compared to the full-size Taurus LOK Veloce grips, the smaller green and black grips on my 3” 856 and 327 TORO are even curvier, but the extra girth is actually helpful since Taurus small-frame revolver grips are physically smaller and the firing hand needs as much surface area to grasp. 

Compared to the standard Taurus rubber boot grips included with most small frame revolvers, these Veloce grips can change the feel and handling of the gun. My most positive attribute is that their contour shifted my firing hand, which made it easier to pull the double-action trigger more smoothly and with less fatigue.