All posts tagged 1911 Grips

Adding gear and altering the guns feel

I took the dive into the laser sights and laser grips world a  few years ago and I am very happy with the results.   The whole pocket pistol and pock gun thing has actually boasted laser grip sales and it’s very obvious why.  The smaller the gun, the shorter the sight radius and the more likely you are to not really use them.  The Rohrbaugh firearms have guns with sights and without them.   The Ruger LCP practically goes hand in hand with the Crimson trace grip, probable 40% of what we sold has them on them.

The one thing  you have to think about though is the laser grips will not be the Hogue grips you have on your gun now.  The vast majority of the guns I own have Hogue Grips on them and the Crimson Trace laser grips were a trade off.   The laser sights are very nice for that short pistol especially at night and it is a confidence boost, but I did have to adjust my grips slightly.   If you are spending $200 on a laser, make sure you know you want the grips too.

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The gun may not fit your hand, but it could

There are a lot of things to think about when you are choosing a primary firearm for concealed carry purposes.  Not  only will you have to find the right holster configuration and see if it works for you, but you may have to think about another mode of carry if the seasons change and you have to wear a t-shirt or a winter jacket.   I have carried 1911s in the past, but the more I had to wear as far as clothing, the less I liked carry them.   The notion of having to disengage a manual safety after moving a vest or jacket out of the way, seemed to be too cumbersome, and after having too many problems disengaging the safety, I moved on to a different firearm.

Another thing to think about when choosing a primary CCW gun is how well  your hand falls into place.  If you have to constantly adjust your grip on the firearm, you may want to consider swapping out the pistol grips and try something different.  Many firearms are now coming out with new generations with adjustable backstraps that will help you with fitting the gun, but to actually retain the firearm better you may want to try Hogue pistol grips or some other brand.

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Brass knuckle gun grips!!!

I got stories to tell you about the things my Grandfather use carry that are now all illegal to carry,  everything from night sticks to brass knuckles.   I wish I would have been able to get a hold of them before his Estate sold everything, but I don’t  think my parents would have let a 14yr old keep those.   I recently watched a Gabe Suarez video about the AK rifle and there was a short segment about fighting with the AK.   I have found the AK to have several sharp areas that can cut or hurt the operator if they don’t watch their movement.   The good thing about that is you also have a nice sharp a rough stick to beat a bad guy with if you ever happen to be in the nightmare situation where you run out of ammo.

When it comes to handguns, they always retain the weight that they have and can be used as a striking weapon, but pistol whipping is probable not a very good tactic to train with.   Hogue grips are on all of my primary CCW guns except one and I don’t think that will ever change.   Having an improved retention over you firearm is important because anyone trained to know how the body moves is going to be able to take the gun away from you if you aren’t paying attention to retaining it.  When I trained with my primary fighting pistol, for combat, when the gun runs dry it can be used as a tool to poke and smash.   If need be it has more weight than most hammers if that doesn’t give you a sense of what an empty gun is capable of doing.

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Buying used guns

Hogue pistol gripsI’m the type that goes through sticker shock whenever I go to gun shops or gun shows and see the prices the NIB guns cost.   People seem to think that buying used means the gun is closer to breakage than a new gun.   Nothing could be further from the truth.   There are several manufacturers that are making incredible reliable and durable firearms that may have fewer than 500rds through.  If you look at barrel life and frame life, those guns are in the equivallent of being in the early stages of grade school.     There are plenty of used police trade ins that just have holster wear and probable only were shot during qualification each year by an LEO.

Right now there are a lot of agencies and police departments dumping used Glocks and Sig Sauer pistols.   Those are probable the top 2 handguns in existance.   I was never one to be a big fan of the factory grips on Sigs, but Hogue pistol grips will increase your retention and if you choose the finger grooved version, it’ll help you get the same feeling everytime you pull your gun.   I noticed I could shoot my 1911s better once I had a firm consistant grip of the gun, but that’s really the hard part.  Even though a gun may feel nice and look nice, it may not fit your hand very well.   For about $20 you can find a grip that will increase your comfort and accuracy.

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Gun Modifications that are worth it

Pistol GripWhile there are many arguments about which firearm may suit you, one issue that the novice shooters often need to be educated about is that even if you are shopping for a gun that is reliable and a caliber you can handle,  everyones hands are different and knowing that a gun grip can be easily customized or modified is something often over looked.

I have picked up various firearms over the years and one thing I have ended up doing was replacing the factory versions of the grips to Hogue or Pachmayr.    There are some drawbacks to using fingered groove grips, some complain about hand cramping after long range sessions, but the reality is that you have to try it before you know it feels right.   Accuracy is another improvement I see whenever I reccomend people try different pistol grip styles for the same gun.   I’ve seen shooters change their opinions about which gun to buy just bases on the grip they were using.

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