Firearm grips, like many “One Size Fits All” designs, tend to be good but not great. Since your grip is one of the fundamentals of shooting, you want it to be great. So what do you do if you love everything about your gun except for the grip? Luckily, there is an assortment of products available to help get your grip just right.
Identify What’s Lacking
To get the perfect grip setup, you need to assess a couple factors. First off, narrow down what you are trying to change about your grip. Often people are looking to add texture to the grip in order to increase slip resistance. Sometimes, a factory grip is too aggressive and increasing the comfort of the grip enhances prolonged sessions at the range. Other issues can involve the thickness or the length of the grip. While most people are looking to increase functionality, there’s nothing wrong with changing a grip just for appearance’s sake. Identifying the type of change you want to make helps to ensure you get the right product. Next determine if you want the changes to be permanent or reversible. Now you are ready to shop.
No Grips, Just a Frame
Just because you don’t have removable grip panels on your gun, doesn’t mean that you are stuck with it as is. For the reversible option, there are an assortment of gun sleeves to choose from. They slip onto the gun, typically offering additional comfort and added thickness. I have a friend who uses a gun sleeve on her LC9 when we go to the range. The factory grip was taking a toll on her hand during sustained practice, but a Lyman Grip Sleeve fixed that. The best part is that it can be easily removed if desired for concealed carry.
Ruger LC9 with Lyman Grip Sleeve and Lasermax laser
For a permanent option, frame stippling is very popular. Using a heated tip of asoldering iron, the polymer frame can be reworked for a different texture. While you can do this yourself (please practice first) it is highly advised that you employ someone who is experienced with stippling to do this service for you. A quick google search for “gun stippling” can show you how much the final result can vary and should give you a healthy dose of fear that you may ruin your frame. But the upside of this modification is that it can reshape the grip entirely, like removing finger grooves or creating a trigger guard undercut. But significant changes equals more labor which costs more money. So make sure it is what you want before you commit.
Stippling on a Glock 34
Just like with Goldilocks, there is a 3rd option and in my opinion it is just right. Talon Grips makes laser cut, adhesive grip textures that are applied to the firearm and “set” with a heat gun (hairdryer). They have a massive variety of precut designs for most firearms and some AR grips, but they also sell the raw material so you can create your ideal grip from scratch. What isn’t as well known is that Talon offers their grip in a rubber texture as well as their more common granulate texture (think skateboard tape). I choose a rubberized pre-cut design to install on my Walther P22, but decided not to use the entire cutout. Instead I selected the areas I wanted to cover, wiped down the frame, applied the texturized sticker, and once it was perfectly placed I “locked” it in with a hair dryer. Simple, effective, and still offers a custom look. Like I said, just right.
Walther P22 with Custom Talon Grips application
Got the Grips Off, Now What
If you have a firearm with removable grips, like most metal frame handguns or revolvers, then take a look at Hogue grips. Whether you are after a more attractive grip or a more comfortable grip, or even both, odds are that Hogue has you covered. Go with the rubber overmold if you need to combat recoil and increase comfort, browse the G10 grips for eye catching functionality, or select a wooden grip for a classic look.
For grips that need a little extra length, like my XDS, a grip extension is awesome. Grip extensions usually replace the magazine baseplate and provide additional space for the pinky finger to grip upon. They can also provide additional magazine capacity but do not always do so. The Pearce grip extension on my XDS does not increase magazine capacity. If you do go with a grip extension, Talon Grips has cut-outs for those as well so your grip is uniform from top to bottom.
XDS with Pearce Grip Extension
No matter what your preference is, make sure that your grip fits you. Just like there isn’t a single shoe for all foot sizes and applications, there isn’t a single firearm grip that suits all hands and applications. Don’t worry if you still can’t pick your grip, there’s enough choices to give anyone pause. If you are really stumped, drop us a line and we can work through the options together.
Hi, my name is Matt and I am a Gear Aficionado.I like trying out new gear whether it is a bag, a knife, an optic, or a firearm accessory. I want to know exactly what an item can and can't do or whether it's worth recommending or not. My friends may say I have a problem, but that doesn't stop them from asking for my feedback. Hopefully you do too.
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