Altamont grips – The ExhaustNotes Blog

A week or so ago I posted a load development plan for my .38 Special Smith and Wesson Model 60, and I recently finished the Model 60 load testing. The Model 60 with its new Altamont grips and the custom work good buddy TJ did for me is surprisingly accurate.

Altamont grips on the Model 60. They improved accuracy significantly.

I tested four bullets and four different propellants at two different levels, and I fired two 3-shot groups with each load combination. The one exception was the Hornady 148-grain swaged hollow base wadcutter bullet, which I tested with one propellant (Bullseye) at one level (2.7 grains). I did that because the wadcutter load is my standard target load (and it’s what my Star progressive reloader is set up to produce). The other bullets were the Hornady 110-grain jacketed hollow point, the Hornady 158-grain jacketed hollow point, and a cast 158-grain flatpoint bullet a local caster produces.

The four bullets used for this test: The 158-grain cast flatpoint, the 158-grain Hornady jacketed hollow point, the 110-grain jacketed hollow point, and the Hornady 148 grain hollow base wadcutter.

Four propellants used for this test: Unique, Power Pistol, Bullseye, and Winchester 231.

The propellants were Bullseye, Unique, 231, and Power Pistol. As I mentioned above, all groups were 3-shot groups, and I fired each from a bench at 50 feet. I tested for group size and for deviation from the aim point, and I used the standard NRA 50-ft slow fire bullseye target. Point of aim was at 6:00 for all loads.

A few of the NRA 50-foot slow fire targets. I fired several groups on each target, marking my shots as I progressed. I took about 3 hours to test fire all loads included in this test.

The group size/accuracy results follow.

In addition to recording group sizes, I was also interested in where the groups printed with respect to my point of aim. I held my aim at 6:00 on the bullseye. Here’s what I found.

With regard to the group size testing, some of the loads were consistent, and others had some variability I think was mostly due to me. Many of the groups that went above, say, 2.3 inches or so in group size had two of the three shots right next to each other and then one was a flyer that opened the group up. I attribute that to pilot error. Yeah, I know, if I used a machine rest I could have eliminated that, but I don’t have a machine rest. You get what you get with this test, and that’s me.

The 110 gr Hornady JHP shot significantly low with all loads, and its accuracy was okay but not great. It was close enough, I think, for a defense round, but this bullet shot 4 to 6 inches low pretty consistently. That’s because the lightweight bullet squirts out of the barrel before the muzzle has a chance to rise much in recoil (so it hits lower). You might think that these 110 grain bullets would offer a significant recoil reduction, but if that occurred, I couldn’t feel it (the recoil felt about the same as the 158-grain loads). My conclusion is that, for me, 110-grain bullets are a nonstarter for the Model 60.

My standard target load (2.7 gr Bullseye and wadcutter bullets) grouped relatively well, although for me it shot about an inch to the right in the Model 60. That’s probably close enough for government work. It’s good to know this load works, because that’s the load my Star reloader is set up to make (and I make a lot of them).

The 158-grain bullets are obviously what the Model 60 is set up to shoot, and of the two tested, the best accuracy occurred with the 158-grain cast bullet and Winchester’s 231 propellant. It’s a sweet load at either the high or low propellant level, and it shoots essentially to point of aim at 50 feet.

I can also load the 158-grain cast bullet with Bullseye on the Star reloader, and that load did okay at 2.8 grains of Bullseye. The Star reloader has a small amount of adjustment in it for powder throw, but I would leave it at 2.7 grains (the same as the wadcutter load) if I loaded the 158-grain cast flatpoint bullets on it. That’s close enough.

Overall, I was surprised at how accurate a little snubnose can be. It’s not dramatically different than larger target handguns. Some of this is undoubtedly due to TJ going through the gun and making sure everything is perfect. And some of it is due to the Altamont grips. I sure enjoy shooting this handgun.

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I visited with good buddy Paul up north last week, and while I was there he showed me a set of Altamont grips he had for his Smith and Wesson snubnose handgun. When I saw the grips it was love at first sight, and I had to have them for my TJ-customized Model 60. Paul was happy to oblige (thanks, Paul!), I came home with a new set of Altamont‘s finest, and they promptly went on the Model 60. The Model 60 now looks like a scaled-down version of the big .45 ACP Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 625, and I had to grab the shot you see above. The 625 wears custom grips, too, but that’s a story for another blog.

There’s no question I’ve gone overboard in getting grips for the Model 60. It came with the stock checkered walnut grips (the original equipment on this handgun), as well as a set of Pachmayr rubber grips. The Pachmayrs would have been better for shooting, but I wanted a set of smooth rosewood grips and I found them on Ebay. They looked great, but they were painful to shoot.

The Model 60’s OEM checkered walnut grips. Photo by TJ of TJ’s Custom Gunworks.

Smith and Wesson J-frame uncheckered rosewood grips. These are the same size as the walnut grips shown above.

The problem with both the OEM walnut grips and the replacement rosewood grips is that they are too small. My pinkie wraps around beneath the frame and takes a pounding with each shot.

The problem with the stock walnut grips and the Ebay rosewood grips is that my little finger gets under the grip. The recoil from the little Model 60 is significant (as we engineers like to say, f = ma), and it would pound my pinkie every time I fired it. Think about putting your pinkie sideways on a table and having someone whack it with a hammer, and you’ll have a pretty good idea what shooting this little snubbie was like.

All that’s changed with the Altamont grips Paul provided. Take a look. They’re beautiful.

Custom Altamont grips for the Model 60. Note the stippling (a crocodile pattern!) and the laser-engraved S&W logo.

The Altamont grips installed on the Model 60.

The new Altamont grips are extended just a bit below the frame and they have finger grooves. It keeps my pinkie from getting underneath the frame, and with the new grips the Model 60 just feels right in my hand.

The Altamont grips provide a much better ergonomic hold. I like them a lot.

These new Altamont grips have a much better feel to them. The wood-to-metal fit is way better than with the stock grips (the grips exactly contour to the Model 60’s frame, unlike the OEM grips). The next obvious question, and the one that really matters is this: How did the Model 60 shoot with the new grips?

In a word, it was amazing. The new Altamont grips completely changed the character of the Model 60. First, a couple of shots of the Model 60 on the range:

The Model 60 became an entirely different animal with the Altamont grips. It’s much easier to shoot now.

Good buddy TJ reworked my Model 60 extensively. It has an action job, selective polishing (ejector rod, cylinder, trigger, hammer, and cylinder release), and a red ramp front sight. TJ’s Custom Gunworks is the place to go if you want a bespoke handgun.

And here are two targets I shot at 15 yards (45 feet). One has 10 shots on it; the other has 12 (each had two cylinders of 5 cartridges, and I had a couple left over to finish the box).

Two targets on the 15-yard line. That little Model 60 has near-target grade accuracy with the Altamont grips. If you have a snubbie, you need these grips!

Several things are amazing about the above targets. The first is that it was windy as hell out on the range this morning, and even though I was shooting with both hands from a bench, I could see the sights swimming around as the wind gusted. The second is that the groups are dramatically tighter than they had ever been before with this handgun. And the third is that the revolver shot almost exactly to point of aim. I was holding at 6:00 on the 50-foot slow-fire NRA targets you see above. My load was the tried and true .38 Special target load: 2.7 grains of Bullseye propellant with the 148-grain Hornady hollow base wadcutter. Before, with the OEM and rosewood grips shown above, this same load shot a good 12 inches to the right of the point of aim, and the groups were huge. Evidently, as the revolver discharged, it was rotating to the right in my hands with those much smaller grips (and beating the hell out of me in the process). The Altamont grips brought the point of impact essentially in line with the point of aim and just a bit high, which is what I want in a handgun.

You may recall from a recent blog that I have a load development test planned for the Model 60, and I’ll be firing the cartridges I loaded for it within the week. I was up north on a secret mission last week and I didn’t get to shoot during that time. I recently read that if you go 72 hours without firing a handgun your skills deteriorate. I believe that, and I wanted to get in a little shooting before I shoot for group size. Hopefully, the Santa Ana winds through the Cajon Pass will die down, conditions will be right, and I’ll get to do some real accuracy testing in the next few days. You’ll get the full report right here. Stay tuned, my friends.

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