Fitting Handguns

[Pk14]

Greetings all -

After researching the past 3 months of topics related to the subject (took a little while), I did not see a complete answer to the topic, thus a new post.

Of the several critical aspects of getting a handgun to do what you need it to do, when you need to use it, the grip has to be one of the most significant. Properly indexing the handgun to the desired point of aim / impact, naturally positioning the weapon's controls (trigger, safeties, and releases), and compensating for recoil to provide correct cycling, user control, and comfort readily come to mind.

Handgun manufacturers (as well as the aftermarket grip industry) have spent a considerable sum of money to provide a decent compromise to accomodate a certain percentile of potential users. Some (such as Beretta's PX-4 and S&W MP series, to name a few) offer a variety of backstraps to allow the user to make some adjustments to their personal weapon grip to improve one or more of the factors impacted by the grip.

As an avid golfer, I notice a significant improvement in my ability to make shots on the golf course with properly fitted golf clubs. The best experience was with a custom fitter who (among other measurements) looked at my hand size and grip in selecting the right sized golf grips. Where is the parallel in the shooting world?

Certainly, my local gun shop has a few different models of 1911s and a few different aftermarket grip choices to try out once I decide on the caliber and task in mind for the gun, however, there are many more combinations of grip material, texture, thickness (in addition to MSH for the 1911) and shape to choose from than the local shop has available.

I replaced the factory grips that came with my Kimber CDP Pro with Hogue rubber wrap-arounds to improve the interface with the gun when shooting. Why the Hogues? Well, they provided a perfect feel for me when fitted to my CZ-75 and they were available to try in the gun store. They did improve the feel, however, not as much as with the CZ-75 (A little too thin for me). To keep the feel consistent between my CDP Pro and my Kimber Warrior, I switched out the 'Nutter Butter' stock grips with the Hogue wrap-aounds as well.

Are the 1911's better now? Compared to stock, the grips and the accuracy of my offhand shooting are improved. Are they perfect? Not really. I don't want to be conscious of my accomodation to the grip when engaging a target. It should be natural.

In a perfect world, there would be a travelling gun fitter (not unlike the Golf Tour Trailer) that carried examples of all the various grip manufacturers that could be fit to your weapon at the range to help you get the most out of your shooting experience. I can't afford to order grips from VZ, Gunner, Esmerelda, Alumnagrips and others just to see which one would be the best for my needs. Does this service exist?

Alternatively, are there manufacturers that can take a hand print along with a photo of how you hold your handgun to make grips that truely meet your needs?

Thanks for your thoughts and advice - still searching...

Pk

 

[elprofeloco]

Interesting post.

I too have noticed that shooting accuracy has improved dramatically with certain guns, with a simple change relating to grip ergonomics - on one (SW 637 revolver) a change to Hogue monogrips; on another (KelTec P3AT) with addition of a mag extension (pinkie) finger rest. Both changes were cheap and easy to accomplish and the shooting accuracy/precision improvements were huge.

Also, I now more carefully check guns I'm looking to buy for point/indexing, grip comfort, trigger length-of-pull, easy access to safety/mag release/ slide lock, etc. Some very good guns (Glocks, Beretta 92F, many SW autos; etc.) just do not work for me.

In target shooting, one can slowly adjust and compensate for these types of differences. For self-defense, things tend to be so quick and automatic that these ergonomic factors can affect survival (and practice with more than one weapon may not instill enough muscle-memory).

More manufacturers and after-market suppliers (who tend to focus on aesthetics) should provide a wider variety of grip ergonomic options and accessories. In many cases these options would be very inexpensive and easy to change out.

 

[cheygriz]

The grips make all the difference in the world!

When I got my first .44 magnum, (S&W 29, 8 3/8 inch barrel) I was young and inexperienced. I shot 6 rounds, and took it back to the shop to trade in. The dealer, a wise old owl, took of the wooden target grips and installed a set of rubber grips on it, and I tried it again.

I went back to the shop, but not to trade. I bought a set of reloading dies in .44, and 500 bullets.

And it was all in the grips!

 

[Starter52]

Congrats on the 1000th post, cheygriz.

I'm sure there are hundreds of shooters who can relate to your .44 magnum story. For me it was a .357 Ruger Security-Six and those painful wood stocks that Bill Ruger provided in the 1970's. Switching to rubber made all the difference.

Thank God for Frank Pachmayr.

 

[bfoster]

Many years ago I purchased a second hand S&W Magnum with stocks made by Walter Roper.

Though I'm a lefty, the revolver was a revelation: this was the first handgun that really came close to fitting either of my hands. Pk14 noted an increased ability to make shots with golf clubs that fit him. The Roper stocks, though not quite perfect for my weak hand, made an immediate and repeatable improvement in my right handed shooting. Suffice it to say that a mirror image of these old stocks (they were made in the late 1930's) with minor modifications to fit my strong hand (and also influenced by some ideas purloined from Skeeter Skelton and Steve Herrett) has become my standard for a well stocked revolver.

IMO-

A properly made stock positions your hand repeatably- with or without finger grooves.

A properly made stock will position the hand so that the trigger finger will clear the stock and frame and contact the trigger properly.

A properly made stock has a swell to fill the hollow of your palm (this can also be accomplished by relief carving- look at a picture of any of Elmer Keith's revolvers).

A properly made stock makes it just about impossible to seat the butt of the handgun in varying places.

When Herrett's was starting out they'd make a stock for anything- I have a free pistol that Steve stocked many years ago.

Steve and all of the other above mentioned shooters have passed away. Herrett's is sort of like a glove company- they offer standard styles which they fit to various sized hands, they do prefer that you send accurate tracings of your hand and your handgun so that they can you'll get a reasonably good fit.

As you might have guessed from reading the above, I still favor wooden stocks- even on my 500 S&W- but only if they're properly fitted to my hand. Otherwise I'd be in the same situation cheygriz described- shooting a M29 with the factory "target" stocks isn't an experience I'd want to repeat, and I'd not like to even contemplate shooting my X-frame with factory type stocks. FWIW, I also like stag and ivory as stock materials.

The same principles apply to stocks for automatics.

There are a few small custom stockers who do top quality work. Most have waiting lists. Roy Fishpaw is one of the best.

Bob