Smith & Wesson surprised many shooters with a new, Enhanced Boot Grip design for J-frame revolvers at the 2026 SHOT Show, which represents an upgrade over the standard Synthetic Boot Grip that has been shipping on its small frame revolvers for decades.
I’ve been working with the new grip, and thought the RevolverGuy audience would appreciate a report on it.
GENESIS
The Enhanced Boot Grip actually got its start in early 2024, shortly after that year’s SHOT Show.
Many RevolverGuys will recall the Lipsey’s Exclusive S&W Ultimate Carry revolvers were launched at the 2024 show, and sucked up most of the oxygen in the convention center. Shooters were excited about the long-needed improvements to the classic Airweights, including the no-lock frames, the improved sights, the durability package, and the improved action.
An additional feature that made the Ultimate Carry revolvers quite attractive was the G10 “High Horn” boot grip, manufactured by VZ Grips. This custom grip was designed in collaboration with the Lipsey’s-S&W team, as we detailed in our story on the development of these guns, and was immediately popular with the buying public. In fact, the new VZ grip was one of the most popular features on the guns, and there was an instant demand for them to be sold as accessories, so older guns could be fitted with them.
The new VZ grip spurred a lot of conversation with the Lipsey’s-S&W team during the show, and encouraged even more discussions about potential improvements to the grips featured on other S&W products. The excitement surrounding the new grips was a good indicator that the market was ready for something different, and would pay for it.
POST-SHOT
The buzz lasted long after SHOT Show, too. As the guns got out into the market, the feedback on the VZ High Horns was very positive, and demand for them grew. Lipsey’s and VZ Grips were fielding hundreds—no, thousands–of requests for the grips to be sold as accessories.
All of VZ’s production was dedicated to S&W, however, so they could build the new guns. There was no surplus available for the accessory market. As a result, a hot secondary market sprang up, where some early buyers of the Ultimate Carry revolvers made a little extra cash by selling the grips that had been shipped with their guns. They often made a substantial profit, which helped to offset the cost of the new gun!
This heightened interest in the grips didn’t escape the notice of Smith & Wesson, whose new Handgun Product Manager, Andrew Gore, had previously decided that the company needed to improve their revolver grip offerings. Since I’d been an enthusiastic supporter of the idea during our conversations at the show, we naturally continued to talk grips after we got home from Vegas.
Andrew already had a good idea of where to start, but was kind enough to allow me the opportunity to share my thoughts on grip design with the S&W Engineering team that was assigned the job of creating a new J-frame grip. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with them, especially when I considered the talent and experience of the other industry experts who were also invited to weigh-in on the project.
THE REVEAL
Armed with a variety of inputs, Andrew and his Engineering team got to work on the new J-frame grip. I know they went through multiple revisions of the design, and worked with a variety of materials, as they refined the new grip.1 Prototypes were made both with and without finger grooves, to see which would work best (the finger grooves were almost universally favored by a test group).
All of that happened out of my sight, though. I never saw any of the prototypes, or had any communications with the team after that initial consultation. I knew they were working on the new grip, but didn’t know what it would look like, or when it would come to market.
As a result, I was as surprised as anyone when the new grip made its official debut shortly before the 2026 SHOT Show, as the grip on the newest of the Lipsey’s Exclusive Ultimate Carry revolvers. The Model 432 / 632 / 442 / 642 Ultimate Carry Revolver with S&W Boot Grips2 may have been overshadowed by the concurrent introduction of the Lipsey’s Exclusive S&W Nightguard series (which, similar to the UCs, two years before, were the talk of the show), but I was no less interested to see what S&W had done with the UC’s new shoes.
GETTING THE BOOT
The Enhanced Boot Grip (EBG) didn’t disappoint, but there were still some surprises in store for me.
In general terms, the EBG is a closed-back, boot-style grip, whose backstrap reaches up to meet the recoil shoulder on the Centennial frame. It has a pair of finger grooves on the frontstrap for the middle and ring fingers, and a smooth finish overall, with just a small, textured panel on either side.
The grip is made of rubber, and is secured with a hex-head screw, whose tip is blind on the right-side panel. A speedloader relief cut is included on the left panel.
I immediately liked the overall design and feel of the EBG at first blush, but must admit I was surprised by the choice of material. The rubber used in the EBG is harder than I thought it would be, and I wondered if this would have a negative effect on the grip’s shooting qualities. I appreciated the apparent durability of the material (which seemed much more robust than the previous OEM grip), and its lack of “tackiness” (which would enhance concealment), but worried it might not provide enough cushion for the Airweight’s recoil.
JUST A TASTE
I was eager to shoot the grip and see for myself, about that. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long, as I got a chance to shoot the new Lipsey’s Exclusive 442UC and 432UC with the Enhanced Boot Grip at the invitation-only, S&W Media Night on the first evening of the show (thanks for the invite, Alexa!).
I started with the 442UC, and happily, I experienced less felt recoil than I expected with the new grip. Although my time with the gun was limited, I was able to shoot several cylinder’s worth of .38 Special 130 FMJ with the new grips installed, and it seemed like they did an excellent job of taming the aluminum gun’s recoil. They were even more comfortable on the soft-shooting .32 H&R that I fired next.
I was eager to get a set of these so I could work more with them at home. Fortunately, S&W’s production schedule would allow them to start offering these as accessories from the start, and I wouldn’t have to buy a new gun just to get my hands on the grips. It took VZ Grips about a year before they were able to offer their UC High Horn grips for individual sale, but the S&W Enhanced Boot Grip would be available right out of the chute.
HANDS ON
When I got my sample of the EBG, I immediately put it on an old Model 642 to serve as my “control” for a test of the new RevolGrips J-frame Classic Contour (C2) Boot Grip. Even though both of these grips were new designs, the EBG has more traditional styling and I figured it would offer a good comparison to the more radical RevolGrips design. I could have used the Crimson Trace LG-405 boot grip that I have long preferred on my J-frames, but I was eager to get some rounds downrange through the EBG.
In my first session with the EBG, I shot about 50 rounds of standard pressure, 147 grain TMJ .38 Special with the grips. On a second session, I fired 50 rounds of 148 grain WC and another 25 rounds of 130 grain FMJ with the grips installed on my old Airweight. Very quickly, I determined the Enhanced Boot Grip had exceeded my expectations in almost all areas.
That opinion has remained unchanged, as I’ve continued to shoot the grips with a variety of ammo through both aluminum and steel frame J’s.
LIKES
What makes the EBG so good? Let me break it down into a handful of areas.
Wide, covered backstrap—The EBG covers the backstrap of the small J-frame, which has several benefits for a shooter like myself. First, it provides some cushion for the felt recoil of these powerful, but lightweight guns. More importantly, it increases the trigger reach, which makes the small-frame gun fit average-to-large hands much better.
With open backstrap grips, I’m always getting cramped on the gun, because there’s just not enough gun to fill the hand. My trigger finger is “too long” and lands awkwardly on the trigger face. The added reach from a covered backstrap allows my finger to contact the trigger in a better location, and improves my ability to press it straight to the rear.
Since the EBG’s backstrap is sufficiently wide, it helps to distribute the recoil forces across a larger portion of your hand. The recoil doesn’t go away, but it does feel like it’s reduced when it gets spread across a larger area. Your palm won’t get stung as much as it would from a narrow grip profile that concentrates the force in a smaller area.
High shoulder—The EBG, like the VZ grip, reaches right up to the recoil shoulder along the backstrap of the gun. This “High Horn” design (actually, more of a “High Shoulder” than a “High Horn”—the difference is apparent when you look at a pair of High Horn Spegels) widens the area where the web of the hand contacts the gun’s frame, which helps to distribute the recoil better, as previously explained.
This high shoulder also assists the shooter in taking a higher grip on the gun’s frame, to lower the bore axis and control muzzle rise. This is something I frequently do with my Centennial-frame revolvers, and the high shoulder design of the EBG enhances my ability to do it.
Sufficient palm swells—The EBG has rather thick palm swells on either side of the grip, which do a nice job of maximizing contact between the grips and the hand that holds them. They fill the hand much better than skinny panels, and enhance the overall feel and control. A small J-frame feels like a bigger gun, thanks to the ample palm swells of the EBG.
The palm swells also help to create a nice “shelf” for a thumb rest on either side of the gun, which is useful for getting a strong grip on the small gun. You can really lock down on the grip by bearing down on the thumb rest with your hitchhiking tool. Sometimes a grip maker will ignore the right-side panel and fail to include a thumb rest on that side, but I really like having one there for weak hand-only shooting.
Good material—The rubber used to cover the EBG’s skeleton is soft enough to provide some cushion against the recoil, but no so soft that it will lack durability. I thought it might be a little too hard to provide much relief (as a comparison, it’s harder than a Pachmayr, and much harder than a Hogue), but the combination of the material and the wide, properly-shaped grip do a strong job of mitigating felt recoil.
Good texture—The texture on the EBG was well-planned. The majority of the grip is “smooth,” and the only traces of checkering (it’s actually more like stippling) are found on the small panels that adorn either side of the grip. Those panels offer enough surface roughness for fingertips and palms to get some additional traction, but they’re not very aggressive at all, and won’t irritate skin when they rub against it.
The “smooth” areas have a subtle texture of their own, but they’re functionally smooth, and won’t grab clothing or prevent your hand from making necessary adjustments to your grip. Basically, you get enough traction on these grips to be useful in controlling recoil, but not so much that it negatively affects comfort or concealment.
Proper taper—One small, but important, detail on the EBG is the gently-rounded taper at the foot of the grip. This taper makes it possible for your pinky finger to get some purchase underneath the stubby grip, without encountering any sharp and painful edges that will abuse it during recoil. There are some boot grip designs out there that look like someone took a hacksaw and cut off the bottom of a full-size grip, leaving the sharp corner in place, and I think they’re pretty miserable examples of the breed. I was very glad to see S&W paid proper attention to this critical area on the EBG.
GRIPES ABOUT GRIPS
The combination of all these attributes adds up to one heck of a good shooting grip, in my opinion, but there are still some things I’d like to change about it.
The first is a minor gripe, and while some of you may disagree, I stand by it. The EBG uses a hex-head screw that requires a 3/32 Allen wrench to remove it, and I think that’s too bad, as I’d prefer a traditional slotted screw or a Phillips screw, instead. I understand the hex is designed to improve cosmetics and eliminate damaged screw slots and all that, but it’s a real pain in the neck to go searching for the proper Allen wrench every time you want to take the grips off.
The Gunsmith Gods may eventually strike me down for my sins, but there have been plenty of times when I’ve used an improperly-fitting screwdriver to tighten a grip screw when I was out on the range. While my multi-tool wasn’t the exact size I needed, it worked well enough to let me snug things up, and prevent the screw from falling out and becoming lost. I like that flexibility, to fix things with commonly-available tools, and wish S&W hadn’t used a specialty screw on these grips. On the bright side, the screw is easily replaced with another design that’s more screwdriver-friendly . . . and at least it’s not a Torx!
The other complaint about the EBG is more substantial. The speedloader clearance on the EBG is pretty good, but it’s still not 100% perfect. The ubiquitous HKS-36 speedloader will sometimes hang up a little when I try to remove it after discharging the payload—not as bad as on some other grips, but still frequently enough to earn a complaint. The loader goes into place smoothly, but when it’s withdrawn, it can catch the leading edge of the grip just a bit, and snag. It happens less frequently with the Safariland Comp I or the Revision CV speedloader (a low profile, push-style loader, shaped similarly to the aluminum 5-Star), but I still get an occasional hangup from them, too.
The issue here, is one of space. There’s enough clearance to allow the speedloader to mate with the cylinder without difficulty, but once it’s in place, there’s very little room between the aft edge of the speedloader body and the forward edge of the grip. If you get a clean discharge of the cartridges, and they all fall into the chambers neatly, you’re in good shape–the speedloader will just fall away, without interference.
However, if your chambers are a little dirty from firing, or if the gun isn’t held perfectly straight up and down (where the full effect of gravity can help), or if Murphy just decides to show up, you might get one or two cartridges that don’t go all the way into the chamber. With a cartridge stuck halfway in the cylinder, and halfway in the loader, it can take a little wiggling to get the trapped loader free, and the EBGs just don’t give you much space to do that. It’s tight back there, and I wish we had a little more clearance to work with.
The problem I described can often be avoided with a little technique. One advantage that twist loaders like the HKS have over the push-release designs, is that you can release the payload early. If you just start the noses of the cartridges into the chambers, then twist the release knob, you can load the gun without fully seating the loader against the cylinder face. If you do this with the EBGs, you won’t have any problems with snags at all, because the rear of the loader body won’t protrude forward of the edge of the grip. Easy peezy.
However, this may be easier said than done when you’re working fast. In the rush to reload the gun, it can be difficult to be that precise, and we frequently wind up with the loader fully seated before the knob is turned (as it’s actually designed to be used). With the loader fully seated, you’re more prone to encounter the snag when you remove it after discharging the payload, especially if you have to pull it off the gun after one or two rounds stick. Once again, if the rounds all drop in perfectly, you can just let the loader drop free, but that’s not how it happens all the time, in my experience.
Another helpful technique is to focus on lifting the loader away from the gun’s port side, rather than pulling it straight back off the cylinder (in line with the chambers). This works better to avoid the snag, but sometimes the stuck cartridge(s) won’t allow you to pull the loader off this way, and you have to pull the loader off straight to the rear. When you do, you’ll be more likely to snag it on the leading edge of the grip.
Good, just not perfect
I don’t want to exaggerate the magnitude of this problem, though. The EBGs are actually better than most of the grips out there, and if I was grading them, I’d give them a B+. Most of the time, even with the HKS, things will work out OK.
Many RevolverGuys will probably be happy with the grips as-is (especially if they’re going to feed their gun using strip-style loaders), but the grips aren’t perfect for the HKS and similarly-sized loaders . . . and I’m that picky soul who thinks they should have been. It was a design requirement for the grips to work flawlessly with the HKS, so I’m a little disappointed they don’t, because they were really close to pulling it off. It’s possible my samples were just made a little on the proud side of the manufacturing tolerance, but I’ve tried several pairs and they’re all the same, so I think the specs are just a little on the tight side, and wish they’d left us a little more room back there.
That’s not a showstopper. Since they’re made of rubber, I can fix the grips with a razor and sandpaper. There’s a hard plastic skeleton on the inside that terminates close to the edge of the exterior rubber cover, but I think there’s enough room to trim the rubber back without getting into the skeleton, and make it work. It wouldn’t require much to be removed, to get the necessary clearance to make them totally interference-free.
I’ll fix it later, but I’m disappointed that it’s necessary, because this was a point that I emphasized when I was contributing my ideas to the project.
ON BALANCE
Despite that, I think the new grip is a definite improvement on the earlier S&W boot grip design that we’ve been living with ever since the Uncle Mike’s Spegel copy went away, and even if it’s not 100% perfect, it’s a 95% solution, and that’s pretty darned good.
The Enhanced Boot Grip has a lot going for it. It feels great in the hand, improves the trigger reach on the small J-frame, helps tame the recoil, isn’t tacky, and is very affordable, at an MSRP of only $35.
While I liked the custom VZ Grips High Horns that shipped on my 642UC, I’ve got to admit I like this new grip even better. The texture offers more traction, the rubber is softer on my bones, and I like the shape better, especially up near the recoil shoulder. While the difference doesn’t bother me at all, the G10 grips are also a little heavier than the new rubber grip, which will make the EBG more attractive to folks who are closely watching the weight.
I think Smith & Wesson has a real winner with this grip, and I won’t be surprised to see it replacing a lot of “old standby” grips on J-frames. In many ways, I liked it better than my long-favored Crimson Trace LG-405s, which is a true credit to the EBG. The Crimson Trace grips still hold the crown, in my book, but not by much. I have to admit that if I was starting over again, the EBG would definitely get the nod over that much more expensive option–$35 for the EBG versus $330 for the Crimson Trace? That’s a no-brainer, to me.
I’ll be buying more of these grips, and will use them as my default for J-frames, going forward. If you like a boot-style grip on your hammerless J-frame, you should give these a try. If you do, make sure to let us know what you think of them in the Comments.
*****
ENDNOTES
1.) Andrew started the ball rolling, but never got to finish the project during his tenure at S&W. He moved to Ruger in June 2025, where he took the position as Director of Product Management, and was no longer at S&W when the new grip design was finalized. We’ve all benefited from the seeds he planted while he was there, however, with the Enhanced Boot Grip being just one example. I’m grateful he initiated this program.
2.) It seems the various marketing teams haven’t really come to an agreement on what to call the grips, or the guns that wear them. The S&W Store calls the grip the “UC Enhanced Rubber Grip for Hammerless J-frame Revolvers,” but the product label on the box calls it the “Grip, J Hammerless Wrap Around Rubber Carry.”
Smith & Wesson also describes it as the “S&W Enhanced Boot Grip” in the product specifications for the gun, which they have designated the “Model XXX Ultimate Carry Revolver S&W Boot Grips.”
Lipsey’s, in contrast, calls the guns “Ultimate Carry/Rubber UC Grips” and describes the grips as “Black Rubber UC High Horns” in their product description.
For simplicity and consistency, RevolverGuy will just call them the Enhanced Boot Grip (EBG).
*****
Featured Image: That’s a Mitch Rosen Extraordinary Gunleather CCQ holster, Express Line BHL belt, and 2 Squared Plus 2 cartridge pouch, in Cuban Brown color. Standby for more on this rig in a future article.
These look good. I’ve railed here many times about the “boot grips that gunwriters drool over” having open backstraps that pound the palm of your hand every time you fire. These look like the bee’s knees wearing the cat’s pajamas for pocket carried J-frames, especially for those of us with tender paws. I’m kind of in the market to replace the 25-year-old Pachmayr Compacs on my EDC 642, and I was reluctant to get another pair of Compacs, since their quality has deteriorated quite a bit. These look like a good replacement.
On a different note, I commented on another gun blog (boo, hiss!) about the lack of a round-butted Python in the shorter barrel lengths, to reduce printing, and said, “Do I have to do all the thinking for the gun companies now?” Now I see that Davidson’s is modifying 2.5-inch Pythons (and Anacondas!) to have round butts. (The grips suck, but it’s a start.) Now that there are also high-quality boot grips with a covered backstrap, it looks like maybe I am in fact doing all the thinking for the gun manufacturers, and they’re getting my messages through telepathy!
I also like the “High Horn,” for the reasons you mentioned.
Thanks to Smith & Wesson for listening to its customers, and thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Haha! 1811, I think we’d be better off if the gun companies actually DID let you do all the thinking for them!
Now for Ruger to build us a good medium-frame double action . . .
Based on your article, I just ordered a pair. It’s my Father’s Day gift to myself.
I don’t remember ever ordering a product sight unseen based on an article, online or not, before, but I trust you.
If I don’t like them, you owe me thirty-five bucks (Sport that I am, I’ll eat the shipping and the tax.)
Trust, but verify, hmm?
You drive a hard bargain, but I’m betting ($35, it seems) that you’ll like them!
Seems a good number of folks like Andrew Gore move from S&W to Ruger, but I don’t read about anyone going from Ruger to S&W. Curious! You noted that the barrel shroud on your UC model was overclocked. Obviously no one checked for sight alignment at the factory. For what those revolvers cost, they should come out of the factory perfect and ready to go.
Given that the .38 Special is a proportionally large cartridge relative to the overall size of the J-frame itself (compared to a K or L frame) I question whether it’s realistic to expect every variation of ‘speed loader’ to work 100% of the time on a revolver with such a comparatively small grip and frame area. I supposed it is something to strive for.
The new grips looked to be a great upgrade on my EDC J-Frames until I got to the fine print on the S&W site: “Will not fit revolvers with exposed hammer.” There went that bubble. However, for those with the concealed hammer models, the new S&W product is half the cost of the VZ grips so you can outfit two of your J-frames for the price of one. (yes, I’m a cheap *** ). One feature I do like about the Hogue version of the Spegel boot grip is that they are compact enough to give me a decent hold on the gun while enabling both my vest and pocket revolvers to slide discretely into and out of their respective hidey-holes despite having bobbed hammers.
Great review – mouchos nachos. I know you hated having to put those rounds downrange.
Dee Nader, amigo.
Yeah, the overclocked UC has to go back, and I’m not happy about it. It took me a few hundred rounds (and much frustration that I couldn’t “fix” my trigger pull) before I figured it out. I presumed that I was obviously the problem, but no . . . it was the gun. I’d assumed the new two-piece barrel system wouldn’t suffer this malady, but it appears the assemblers at S&W are a creative lot, and found a way.
I updated the text to make it more clear these are for Centennial-style frames. Since those are the only ones I’m interested in, I kinda neglected to address the incompatibility with the pocket-snaggers, Thanks for bringing it to my attention!