The handgun grip is the most important component of a pistol when it comes to its handling and operation. The better control of the pistol provided by the good pistol grip does not only ensure a good target but also the safety of the shooter. Several designs of pistol grips such as the exotic wood pistol grips designs promise all these benefits and a bonus of good looks for your pistol.

The pistol grips’ design is not the sole provider of these benefits. The ease of handling and handguns’ stability can also be traced from the materials used in the construction of the pistol grips. If you own a good pistol you may also want to use the best handgun grips that are made of a durable and extra comfortable material. It is very much important to choose the best that fits your pistol and your taste, whether it is exotic wood pistol grips or the rare pistol grips such as ivory or pearl.

The grip material is always important to consider in choosing your pistol grips. The most common materials used in making pistol grips are the hard woods, ivory, rubber, and synthetic or plastic materials. The woods are the most popular and widely used due to its availability, warmth when held, and better appearance. The wood materials used in the exotic wood pistol grips are sometimes plain finished or sometimes finished with paints and varnish. Next to the woods in popularity is the use of plastic or synthetic materials such as acrylic. Plastic grips are designed much like designs of the natural woods but only lighter. Ivory is another high quality material that is used in making handgun grips. Ivories used in the pistol grips are more durable but too expensive. Other grip materials include the rubber that is much softer than the woods or plastics. Rubbers are good to use because of its flexibility and ability to absorb pressure especially when the pistol is dropped on the floor.

The popularity of woods as a grip material has come up with a wide variety of exotic wood pistol grips. The following are the exotic wood pistol grips named according to their wood materials.

• Bubinga. This wood is reddish brown in color that has a dark vein highlight. This exotic wood pistol grip design has straight and interlocked grains.
• Cocobolo. This wood has a rainbow of different colors including gold, reddish brown, tans, and some black streaking.
• Cordia (Bocote). This wood has a color ranging from yellow to greenish-yellow and a set of black veins. As this grip ages its color becomes darker.
• Kingwood. This grip uses a rich violet colored hard wood.
• Rosewood. The wood used in this grip has several streaks of dark and light bands in its pinkish brown wood color.
• Tulipwood. This wooden grip is usually colored pink or yellow with stripes of purple or sometimes red.
• Thuya Burl. This grip uses a high-grade wood that is colored gold or reddish brown. A small birds eye is common in this grip design.
• Lignum Vitae. This grip uses a denser and sometimes oily wood material.
• Pau Ferro. This uses a hard and dense wood that is easy to hold.

Other hard wood used for pistol grips are Bloodwood, Coralwood, Ebony, Leopardwood, Maple, Osage, Sapele, Walnut, Zebrawood and Ziricote. These exotic wood pistol grips are available in different designs namely; tactical stocks-half checkered, diamond pattern stocks, combat stocks, and smooth stocks.

The next best pistol grips are the ivory grips that can last for decades and becomes more beautiful as it ages. The ivory material used is too expensive and manufacturing of the pistol gripes is now regulated making its price to soar higher. Those wanting the ivory designs can have a grip made of plastic or synthetic material that resembles the original ivory. These are much cheaper than the real ivory or pearl pistol grips. Rubber grips and the Crimson Laser grips that use laser-sighting system are also good choices if you want a replacement for your exotic wood pistol grips. Check out our auctions at our online store.

Personalizing your handguns requires you to snap out the original handgun grips and replace it with the new one from your pistol kit. Several sets of screws and bushings hold the grip in place and replacing the grip requires you to unscrew these locks first before you can use your new handgun grips. You can also replace the original screws and bushing of your 1911 pistol kit with new stainless bushings and some special hex-head screws or bolts. These replacements add more appeal to the handgun grips.

The hex-head screw requires a special driver to tighten or loosen it. That’s why it is not advisable for use with the handguns or pistols that are used in the army. The absence of the special instrument in the battlefield required to tighten the hex bolt if it had stripped off may cause unstable handgun grips. The grip screws and bushings must be secured tightly in place to ensure better handling of your pistol.

We sell handgun grips made from exotic wood such as Bloodwood, Bubinga, Burl, Cocobolo, Coralwood, Ebony, Kingwood, Leopardwood, Maple, Osage, Rosewood, Sapele, Walnut, Zebrawood and Ziricote. Plus we offer acrylic, pearl and ivory handgun grips at our online store which sells these by auctions.

Choosing the best pistol grips usually depends on the model and features of your handgun. The Browning Hi Power in particular has a feature that is hard to control in heavy and rapid firing. This type of gun is risky or hard to maneuver especially if your hands are sometimes sweaty or cold. This gun requires special half smooth and half checkered design pistol grips. The Double Diamond grip design of some 1911 pistol grips is always effective in giving better hold and comfort. This design also has a semi-rounded checkered design that is not abrasive to the palms.

The handguns such as the Charles Daly that require ambidextrous grip safety also need special designs of 1911 pistol grips. These guns need special beveling at the bases of the grips.

We have a large selection of pistol grips at our online store at this site. Most of the handgun grips we offer are sold by auctions or can be bought outright at the stated price.

Comfort in handling your handgun especially in firing is the main thing to consider in choosing your new handgun grips. Replacing your original with a new 1911 pistol grips is wise given that it doesn’t hinder your shooting performance. Some shooters choose the smooth designs for their grips and some prefer the sharply checkered 1911 pistol grips. Some shooters find the sharp edges of the checkered design punishing and abrasive especially when firing heavy loads but some winners in the heavy firing competitions like it most because it ensures a stable grip while doing a series of shots.

The size of the replacement for your handgun grips is also important. Some shooters using bulky handgrips usually face a problem of a shortened reach for the trigger. There are also some who like to use the small sized Glock 21 .45 even their hands seem to cover the entire gun with their palms open. Of course they will have a hard time doing the double-hand grip with a very thin handgun grips. For a better handling and ease of using your pistols, you must always use a 1911 pistol grips either of smooth or checkered design that is well proportioned to the size of your hands. Other gun models like the Beretta, Browning, CZ, Luger, Ruger, Taurus and Sig Sauer also offer smooth or checkered handgun grips.

The semi-automatic pistols are usually carried on waists under the belts or with any special holder or case. Carrying a semi-automatic Colt pistol using a shoulder holster requires the correct handgun grips to ensure its easy access. The handgun grips of any handguns are the most banged and most susceptible to wear and tear among the external parts of the pistol. They get banged or scratched on chairs, doors, or any hard objects especially when carried on the waist. The pistols are made with a full-metal frame and the only non-metal component is the handgun grip or colt pistol grip. The grips are usually made of plastic, wood, or any durable materials. These materials are the first to surrender when the pistols are dropped on the floor and hard objects.

Your colt pistol grips may experience some damages caused by mishandling or sometimes excessive firing. If you got one, you don’t have to worry. Broken handgun grips won’t require you to replace your colt pistol with a new one. All you have to do is replace the broken handgun grips with a new colt pistol grips. The two share common features and serve the same purpose—to give you comfort in holding and better control in firing your colt pistol. The grips also protect some internal components of the pistol.

Some owners of a semi-automatic colt pistol do not only buy new colt pistol grips to replace broken ones. They change even their good working handgun grips with a new one to add provide a new design to their semi-automatic pistols. Doing this is also advisable unless it does not interfere with the other features of the colt pistol. Using a new handgun grips must not affect the safety levers and other mechanisms such as the magazine release and the gun’s ambidextrous safety.

The Colt 1911 and other semi-automatic pistols have a wide variety of available grips ranging from simple colt pistol grips to the most famous 1911-A1 grips. These handgun grips were originally made of hard plastics but later productions used a special material to make a softer grip. There are also pistol grips made from exotic wood such as Bloodwood, Bubinga, Burl, Cocobolo, Coralwood, Ebony, Kingwood, Leopardwood, Maple, Osage, Rosewood, Sapele, Walnut, Zebrawood and Ziricote.Special colt pistol grips designs were also made depending on the pistols bore axis and muzzle. The Browning and Colt pistols in particular usually raise their muzzles due to its low hand position. Some pistols experience muzzle flipping due to its high bore axis. The SIG Sauer and the Beretta both have high bore axis but the Beretta has a low muzzle flip than the SIG. Better performing handgun grips can be used to correct your semi-automatic pistol’s bore axis and muzzle flipping.

Almost all handguns or auto pistols have a simple design for their grips. Any handgun grips ranging from the design of the stock to the pistol grips serves the primary purpose of giving comfort in holding the gun both in firing and hand carrying. Aside from the comfort, the handgun grip also serves other helpful functions. It holds the internal components of the handgun in place and protects them from moving when firing. It also gives stability and better control of the gun.

The handgun grip is the only part of the gun that can be easily customized to add some personal touches. You can change the looks of your gun by just changing the color and design of its handgrip. It will surely look appealing to the eyes and at the same time it promotes better handling of the unit. Different looks or handgrip designs for your auto-loading pistol are available to suit your personality. You can try out several types of pistol grips.

The designs of the handgun grips started from the stocks that are still found in some rifles. The stocks served as the shooter’s grip or handle when firing. The first separate handgrip that resembles the modern designs was first seen in the early revolvers that used revolving cylinders for its ammunition. The semi-auto pistols adopted the design and became the first handguns to use the extended metal grips. The modern guns are just the improvements of the early handguns. The improvements included the 1911 pistol frame in Colt 1911 and the unique design of comfortable handgrips. These grips can be personalized by using different designs of the pistol grips. Other gun models like the Beretta, Browning, CZ, Luger, Ruger, Taurus and Sig Sauer also allow some customization with their handgun grips.

You can have several types and styles of pistol grips for a single handgun depending on what you are pistol shooting and where. You can think of them as a different set of clothes since they are easily interchangeable. Obviously, the most important aspect of your pistol grips is that it fits your hand properly; however, you can have fancy ivory or pearl pistol grips for display or special occasions or perhaps a cheaper more durable acrylic handgun grips for day to day hunting which should withstand scratches better.  There are also pistol grips made from exotic wood such as Bloodwood, Bubinga, Burl, Cocobolo, Coralwood, Ebony, Kingwood, Leopardwood, Maple, Osage, Rosewood, Sapele, Walnut, Zebrawood and Ziricote.

Stress is a part of everyone’s life and everyone has own technique to manage their stressful life. If stress is not managed in the right and timely order then it can really affect our lives. Some people like to listen to music while others find long walks to be more effective, there are also those who like to indulge in competitive shooting as stress management. Studies have shown that this form of stress management is really a source of inspiration and actually add many years to one’s life. Competitive shooting is similar to what we do in our life i.e. set goal, make plans to accomplish those goals and then feel the unique happiness of achieving the goals. Nonetheless, the most outstanding part of competitive shooting is the fellowship that comes with it. Many shooting competitions utilize the 1911 pistol. Choosing the correct pistol grips for your handgun is essential.

However, before you enter into a competitive shooting you must learn some basics and ensure you have the correct type of pistol grips for the situation.

Stance to be adopted: The right stance contributes a long way towards your shooting. The right stance is to face the target and then turn your non-shooting side almost 45 degrees away from the target. You might need to adjust your position a little to make yourself comfortable. When adjusting your stance you must keep in mind that you need to relax your entire body except the shooting elbow, arm and wrist. Next adjust your gun and arm above the target area, close your eyes and let the gun automatically adjust in the aiming area. If there is a bit of difference then adjust your foot a little such that your aim is focused on the target. This will help your body to support your gun horizontally and you can use your muscles to move the gun vertically in a much comfortable way.

Handgun grips: Use your non-shooting hand to hold the pistol by the slide or the barrel and then use the shooting hand. Although most of the experienced shooters agree on this position as well as using the correct pistol grips; however, the truth is that it depends entirely on you and what is more comfortable for you.

Aligning your sight: Humanly it is impossible to see the sight and the target at the same time therefore, you must concentrate on the sight and accept that the target will be a little blur.

Movement of the pistol and controlling the trigger: When shooting a pistol you must keep in mind that no matter how much you try to control it there will be movement since it is impossible to hold the gun motionless.

Practicing and training handgun grips:

Proper practicing and training with your handgun grips is of utmost importance when it comes to shooting. Here are some pointers to a better handgun grips that will go a long way in shooting for you.

The first and the most important thing to getting a perfect handgun grips are strong muscles. Under normal circumstances your muscles are not strong enough to handle the movement of the shoots so you might need to lift weights. Five pounders is a good thing to start and if you imagine the pistol movement while doing so then it will be even more effective.

Use sight picture exercises to get a control over your movement of pistol when it is fired. One of the recommended sight picture exercises that you might find effective in your case is drawing a vertical as well as a horizontal line. Concentrate on vertical line and then on the horizontal line repeatedly helping you in mentally picturing the arc of your movement and then controlling it.

Controlling your trigger is also of great importance along with your handgun grips.  The first one is where you slowly start putting pressure on the trigger and continue to do so until the shot actually takes place. During this process also concentrate on slowly taking the poundage off. This technique is good for beginners as it helps in accepting the movement. The other method is often called as “staging” the trigger where the trigger is only pulled when the sight is in perfect alignment with the picture.

Practice all the above mentioned tips regarding breathing, gripping, stance, holding the trigger, putting the pressure in a dry firing session.

Go to a practice session and shoot the entire course while noting your weak points the entire time. After completing the course, practice on the things that were bothering you in the first session.

Taking part in matches and competitive shooting can be the real contributor to your learning session. This will not only help in making your shooting better but also contribute greatly towards your confidence.

Post your comments here. Let us know about your auction experiences. Thank you.

Best regards,

Kathy - admin #2

Contact Us

Over the next month I plan to add about several articles on handgun shooting and pistol grips. I hope you will find these articles of interest to you.

Please post any comments you may have on anything about pistol grips in this discussion section.

Best regards,

Admin (Randy)

Contact Us