I’ve decided to get some “high speed” grips for my latest 1911 build. I usually do pretty well gripping a relatively smooth gun, and find that heavily textured grips or checkered front straps dig in WAY too much- call them tender doctor hands I guess. I narrowed down to various varieties if davidson’s, vz’s and the simonich/striders, plus a few others. I do not want to buy brand new grips knowing first thing i need to do is take a sander to them. any suggestions?
Have you looked at Alumi grips.
http://www.alumagrips.com/main.taf?p=2,1,1
They make a nice durable smooth grip.
I prefer wood, but almost anybody makes nice wood grips.
You like unique check out
http://www.thefinergrain.com/
Well if you don’t like rough texture or the need to sand upon arrival/install, I would steer completely clear of the Simonich/Strider “Gunner Grips”.
They are quite aggressive, and require some sanding if you don’t want to be rubbed raw shooting without gloves.
The VZ’s I had were very nice, but not aggressive enough for me.
I like the VZ 320s.
I don’t have any experience in this area, but David Barnes of VCD Grips is a member here at M4C. He does custom work, so why not get them made the way you want them?
The VZ Gatorback grips are pretty good. As well as their double diamond G10 grips. Both provide plenty of grip without needing to be sanded down.
I give the nod to Larry Davidson. http://davidsonknives.com/grips/grips.htm
He did a hybrid of his Warthog/Horned Lizard grip that is my absolute favorite 1911 grip. I asked him to sand them down for concealed carry, and they are perfect. They would treat your girlish… err “doctor” hands just fine.
He is great to work with, and can pretty much create anything you can dream up.
My first grips were from VZ, they were diamond backs. Extremely aggressive and sharp. After 500rds straight, my hands were raw and had to wear my gloves to continue to shoot. I then ordered Aliens from VZ and have been using those since…very nice compromise between comfort and grip.
not sure what qualifies as high-speed, but here is my suggestion on grips. None of them are abbrasive, but they all offer good traction.
- Crimson trace laser grips
- Spegel grips
- VZ Double diamond
What is wrong with Houge smooth wood grips? I wonder what you guys would do with the new Glock RTF grips?
Frankly this is the first time I hear about grips for 1911’s being too rough when in general they are not too rough even for women.
For agressive grips I prefer Gunner Grips or the VZ operator II’s, if you have smaller hands the VZ’s might serve you better as they have a relief cut on the grip that allows you to hit the mag release a little easier. I don’t suffer from soft hands or sensative skin, and I can shoot 500 rounds a day for multiple days and not have any issues. I’m also not bothered with them rubbing on me in a strong side belt carry.
I also like the Crimson trace lazer grip in particular the LG-401, how ever I find that I need to take a soldering iron to them to give them a little texture. Durability of the lazer grip is pretty decent and the times I have had them go down they have repaired it and sent it back very quickly. Don’t be scared off with durability issues, from my statement I can and do break just about everything.
the Classic wood grips actually seems smooth to me, The Glock RTF frame isnt very agressive compared to a set of Unsanded Gunner grips. I actually think the RTF frame could have been more agressive, but i think im in the minority on that.
ErikL I was talking about the original posters comments and some that are like him.
The only thing shooting 500 rounds does to me is the damage to my pocket book.
The trend seems to be going toward more aggressive grip textures.
I tried a set of Gunners and I have tried Diamond Backs. Both were too much of a good thing in my opinion for concealed carry.
Like I said earlier the Crimson Trace option really should be considered. If not, I would not hesitate to get a nice set of Spegel’s. They hold up real well to use and daily carry, contrary to what one might think.
Here is a set of Spegel’s on a RRA
This gun (with the Spegel grips) has been through a CSAT 2 day handgun course, a 2 day Ken Hackathorn class, and a Vickers Tactical 3 day pistol/carbine course, plus it once served as my carry gun and a lot of shooting outside of formal classes. The only real wear on the grips is on one the top diamond on the left side from using a handheld flashlight.
The checkered cocobolo offers some traction, but poses no risk of being overly aggressive.
comparison pic of when the grips were newer:
After playing with lots of different 1911 grips, including the VZ’s, Gunners and a bunch of others, I’ve found that Hogue rosewood double-diamonds are ideal for just about everything.
With checkered front straps I use VZ Diamond Back grips.
With Rogers golf balls or Heinie scallops on the front strap I prefer Simonich Gunner Grips.
On plain front straps, I like the old-school Pachmeyer GM-45C rubber grips.
I have Simonitch grips on my Springfield Armory MC Operator. They are very aggressive out of the package, but they include some sand paper which allows you to adjust the aggressiveness to your liking. I hit mine with the sand paper and now they have a great balance of aggressive texture and comfort.
I have VZ micartas on my Wilson CQB. Very comfortable and I think they might be better suited for concealed carry as they won’t eat your clothes up, but they might be a bit slick, especially if your front strap isn’t checkered.
I don’t think you’d go “wrong” with either of those two choices. The Simonitch grips start out very aggressive but you can then modify them to your own comfort level.
Damn Templar take good pictures.
Based on my needs I went with Gunner Grips.
Here is a thread I started a couple years ago I started on the same subject:
I’m a big fan of the Gunner grips.