Forgive me for trolling old threads on a Saturday morning, LOL...I think many people (myself included) have a difficult time with change. Many have commented negatively on the loss of the finger groove on the new checkered 35. How much the grooves added for consistency with hold placement. Yet the most accurate model 55 only had the grooves on the basic standard model. Most prefer the Match or Tyrolean version which has a checkered forearm. You would think if the grooves add so much they would surely be on the Match and Tyro. ???
The oldest HW 55's actually did have finger grooves on the more deluxe models...here is a Tyro from about 1956:
Just speculation on my part, but perhaps it's that in later days, match shooters came more to rest the fore end on top of the front hand, instead of grasping the sides. For many years the HW 55 thus had a generous patch of checkering underneath, though it shrank over time.
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