Handgun Grips.

[Joe _K]

Recently on another Firearm forum I’m a member of, a thread was started on the topic of what handgun currently is being carried by the collective forum members.

After a few posts it became clear that the most prevalent handgun being carried was some type of 9mm Glock. However several folks began to voice their distaste for the Glock due to problems with the Glock grip. I’ve heard this same complaint time and time again, and yet it is almost never voiced by a trained, proficient, accurate handgun shooter.

Here are my thoughts on this “issue”

As an analogy to handgun grips consider the following. Have you ever heard of a car marketed for the comfort of its stock steering wheel? Or people lining up to buy a certain vehicle because the gas pedal had an out of this world feel to it? No, you say, of course not!
But for some strange reason many people place the ergonomics if a handgun grip much higher than they probably should on the scale of importance.

What IS important when it comes to handgun Grips are as follows.

Can you, the shooter, without dropping the handgun perform the following tasks:

1. Reach and defeat the safety’s?
2. Pull and reset the trigger?
3. Hit the mag release?
4. Operate the slide lever?
5. Does the grip cause you to be injured just by using it (correctly)?

Did you answer No to any of these? If so
you’re in luck because there’s probably a proven/vetted work around technique, or a quality inexpensive factory or aftermarket option to allow you to accomplish the aforementioned 5 tasks.

The vast majority of handgun shooters I’ve seen utilize a sub optimal shooting grip, regardless of what handgun they are using on any particular day. Fix YOUR grip first, then worry about the “Feelz”

There are many wonderful proven handguns available today that weren’t on the market 5, 10, or 15 years ago, but if you are handed a Glock, or must use one for work, don’t disregard it out of hand. There’s probably a work around, be it Software, or Hardware.


For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:5‬

 

[David Mayeur]

I can obtain a high grip without getting slide bite, so that question is somewhat silly. Does it happen? Yes. Do I try to make it happen? No.

I don't care what other people carry anymore. There is only those who have and have not.

Want to carry a XD? Cool... Attend classes with it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen guys show up to class with ABC pistol and tell me they don't carry it, because they carry XYZ pistol.

 

[SCSU74]

Glock has a ridiculous aftermarket and a large number of people that offer modifications. I dumped the platform because I shoot others better, but when I did carry a Glock I found it relatively easy to modify it to fit. A grip force adapter, undercut trigger guard, removal of finger grooves and stippling were standard mods I did to all of my Glocks. Now that I'm all in on the 320 platform none of those things are necessary

 

[PortableCougar]

It’s the physical angle of the grip that turns some off.

Though I’m sure some time and training would eliminate the problem, I find my natural point of aim and glocks grip angle are not conducive to sight alignment for me personally.

I do understand that I am in the minority on this point. And again, I’m sure if I owned one it’s something I could work through. I have just made the decision not to.

I do wish my platform had the same aftermarket support though.

 

[Paul053]

My biggest realization when it comes to grip which I only discovered through more consistent training and classes, is that I now prefer a smaller grip. Particularly the 1.5 grip reduction with razorback mod from boresite solutions. Im 6'4 235lbs and wear xl sized gloves (Mechanix and the leathers from Costco to give you an idea). I always thought I was supposed to shoot large grips, ie largest grip panels on a glock Gen 4 or a Gen 3 with grip force adapter (GFA). But as my shooting technique and specifically grip evolved, a smaller grip allowed me to get the clamping force on my support hand that I needed, this was only found through training in the red dot cuz it exposed my deficiencies. The Razorback mod was also critical because the beaver tail add ons like the GFA and the back straps on gen 4/5 glocks expanded my grip beyond my fulcrum point and actually pushed my grip down the pistol, making me lose the leverage I had on the pistol. The razorback locks my grip high on the grip. All other Stippling seeks to do that by mere friction whereas the razorback does so with both friction of the Stippling and the structure of the remolded grip. On a stock pistol only the ppq and vp9 have a stock factory back strap that does it similarly.

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[RexMagnum]

I think what a lot of people don’t realize especially if buying a pistol in quantity is what support there is for a holster. Sure a czechmate is super rad but can you put a light on it? Does anyone make a quality retention holster for it? Simmunition slide? Rmr options? What about the cost of upkeep, is it affordable to buy 10 practice mags for it every year? Striker springs? Can you send someone to the factory to be an armorer for your agency? All that has to be answered before you even think about how it feels. Personally for my own training I can’t afford 2011 awesomeness and the support that goes into it, but I have a couple glocks, outfitted pretty well, holster options. I have a .22 conversion kit for it and that is a super underrated training piece, not talking about cost savings.
Glocks not perfect but it’s the right way to go if your serious about training and aren’t made of money. I know don’t be poor, but if you work under flashing lights the first thing you hear is your not going to be rich. I just didn’t know I was going to be this broke lol


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