Late last year my foggy braincells rediscovered that the
Federal standard pressure 125-grain Nyclads have a surprisingly noticeable amount of recoil in my alloy frame
Colt Agent when it is sporting wooden grips. After firing a mere thirty-rounds during a range session, the pain in my arthritic right hand insisted that it was time for me to make a change. Early this year, I did just that.
Years ago my
Colt Agent wore
Pachmayr grips but I butchered them horrifically with a knife in an amateurish attempt to make the grips work with speedloaders. Ultimately, I tossed those grips in the trash and settled on using the
Cobra style panels, often with a Tyler "T" Grip. Since then I have taken to using speed-strips instead of speedloaders, so there was no real reason (other than nostalgia) for me to stay with the Cobra style grips.
I was surprised to find the
Pachmayr grips I needed were still available.
Pachmayr is one of the few outfits that still supports Colt D Frame revolvers.
"Proudly made in the USA" certainly has a nice sound to it. NOTE: Not all Colt D Frames are the same;
Pachmayr has grips to fit both versions.
Other than the medallions, these
Pachmayr grips are identical to the factory grips adorning my
Colt Detective Special. With my bluejeans, pocket carry is a bit more difficult with the
Pachmayr grips than it was with the Cobra style grips.
The new grips cause no concealability or comfort issues for IWB carry.
The new grips do not cause any problems for me when I carry the lightweight
Colt Agent with
Ken Null's lightweight SMZ shoulder holster. It is a very sweet ride and one of my all-time favorite combinations.
When practicing with my six-round revolvers I commonly shoot two groups of five-rounds each per target (set at fifteen-feet, twenty-one feet, and thirty-feet), which is the same as I do with my five-round J-frames. Here is the last of the three targets that I shot that day. Did I shoot any better with the
Pachmayr grips than I did with the Cobra grips? Nope. The difference is in the COMFORT. The
Pachmayr grips are 100% pain free, which is motivation for me to practice with this airweight snubnose more often.
On a whim, as I was packing up to head on back home at the end of the range session, I put a Post-it note on the target backing panel, ran it out to fifteen-feet, and squeezed off another five quick rounds. Yeah, those new
Pachmayr grips put the fun back into my old
Colt Agent.
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