1911 grips: standard or slim?

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Your hands are bigger than mine, based on that measurement. I use standard thickness grips. I like the support standard grips give to the plunger tube, I also don't want to mess with changing out bushings.

Heads up on the blasted black canvas, they will darken with oil, even body oil. You can scrub them clean again, but they will darken with handling. Some like that, and some don't.
 
As many opinions as are folks but,
Black is my favorite color with silver.

I prefer the thin grips, as the thinner grip is my favorite advantage 1911s have over polypistols.

And a bit of medium, or even light gray would look good mixed in with those grips.
 
Those are the Hogue's I have on my Colt Combat Elite. They've been great.

G10 and micarta often require rubber washers to keep the screws from coming loose. That's not a problem, usually, with wood grips.

I believe VZ makes 320's in G10, if you're concerned with color change.
 
Ergo grip makes a thin grip that uses a standard bushing. Sig uses them on the XO, and they feel great.:)
 
FWIW, I have smallish hands -- 7" from the bottom of my palm to the tip of my middle finger
Click to expand...
Smallish???

From the thumb joint to the tip of my index finger is 5 1/2".
A ruler pressed into my palm pocket to the end of my trigger finger is 4 3/4".

Tip of my thumb to the other side of my palm is 6".

image.jpg

I shot standard walnut 1911 grips with an arched mainspring housing and long trigger for a few years years ago in Army AMU match competition.

If you actually have hands that huge???

You need the biggest grips and the longest trigger you can get!!!

rc
 
I prefer standard grips. I use Kimber rubber grips on all of my 1911s.

While I don't consider looks to be important, black grips work well on stainless (and hardchromed or bright nickel) guns. I would probably feel the same if I preferred wood grips.
 
rcmodel, I should do some more measurements. Honestly, my hands are on the small side. For example, from the thumb joint to the tip of my index finger is 4.5" -- an inch shorter than yours. A ruler press into my palm pocket to the end of my trigger finger is 4" -- 3/4 of an inch shorter than yours.
 
My hand measurement is just about identical to rcmodel's. I bought a set of Chip MCormack thin grips and found them to be too small. I really prefer to make my grips with a small tunnel for my trigger finger and a relief cut for the mag release. Kind of a comprise between full size grips and thin grips.
 
I had a plain set of walnut grips on my Springfield GI model 1911A1 but a friend gave me a set of grips with USA in the middle of them and I thought they looked better on that pistol. Both are standard size and thickness...

I have a picture of the plain grips but not of the USA grips.
1911_01.jpg
 
Goes to show how different people's hands are.

My hand
Palm bottom to tip of middle finger: 7 3/4"
Thumb Tim to opposite side of palm: 6 1/2"
Trigger finger tip to thumb joint: 5 3/4"

I wear extra large gloves and find standard 1911 grip to be a hair too small. Thin definately would be a waste for me. Though, the single action pull of a 1911 does make smaller grips more doable.

I typically replace all my DA revolver grips with large aftermarket, closed blackstrap grips to ensure proper grip and trigger reach. My two polymer guns sport the thickest backstrap that comes with the guns.

ACP, it actually sounds like your trigger finger is a little shorter than is proportional for your hand. How much does your middle finger extend past your trigger finger if your hand is flat? Mine is a bit over 1/2" longer than my trigger finger.
 
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I purchased a set of Precision carbon fiber slim True Tactical grips for my RIA FS MATCH. I prefer the slim grips. Worked great and fits my hand perfectly
 
The 1911 frame/grip area feels very rectangular to me, so I find that a thin grip doesn't do anything to counter this. I don't like real thick grips either, but something that fills out a little to the sides seems to fix the unforgiving rectangular feel,IMO.
 
I also like contrasting colors, like black grips on a stainless gun or ivory on a blued gun. I have small hands and if that standard grips on a 1911 feel just fine to me. In wood grips I really like the look of skip line checkering that Kim Ahrends uses on his grips.
 
I never liked slim grips on a 1911 until I got my Dan Wesson. The ONE style of VZ grips I like come on the guns - VZ Double Diamonds. They feel GREAT - they are rough enough to keep the gun from moving, but do not tear up your hands...

Valor1_zps4c8bb5fd.jpg~original
 
I have medium sized hands and love slim grips. Defiantly worth the cost. I got a set with screws and bushings for $25 on the 1911 forum. I planned on reposting them if I didnt like them.
 
Some favorites of mine:

Kim Ahrends Skip checkered grips:

guns2029_zps5939e961.gif

Colt Double Diamond grips:

guns2038_zps417946b5.gif

Colt Pachmayr with Colt medallions:

guns2014_zpsed64bec4.gif
 
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