Who else thinks interchangeable back-straps are stupid?

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I do think it's a bandwagon thing, but I also don't think it's necessarily a bad thing.

I really wouldn't know from firsthand experience, I don't own a gun with interchangeable backstraps (unless you count my 1911s) and I've never tried out different sized backstraps on any guns I've handled that do have that ability.
 
I just got an MP40. I had fired a rental and thought the medium grip on it was fine. But when I got my own gun, I checked the small grip and found it did help me make a smoother trigger pull. I think they are a good idea. Clearly not everyone needs them. We can all adapt our grip to the hardware. But the grips can improve performance for some so they seem to be a good, functional design element. It makes no sense to put them down just because they are a new idea.
 
I'd say those are an improvement, and something the polymer crowd got from the 1911 crowd.
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+1

This is not a new concept that was created by the M&P. It has been around for a long time.
 
I like them. Recently a friend of mine bought a Walther P22, and both her & myself find it easier to shoot the gun with the largest backstrap on. (It was wearing the medium when she bought it)
 
You're not so much set in your ways as set in your hand size. If you have medium-sized hands, most guns were DESIGNED to fit YOU.

Try teaching some petite females to handle an M-9. After watching them use their weak hand to flip the safety, because their strong hand thumb is too short, it is obvious that one size certainly does not fit all.

And it's not like this is a new idea. The 1911 is the original adjustable gun, designed when the average hand size was smaller than it is now, with different size triggers, grips, and mainspring housings to fit just about anyone.
 
Originally posted by jmr40:
I say it is something else that can go wrong.
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Sure, anything is possible, right? But, what are the chances that an interchangeable backstrap can "go wrong"? 1 in a million? And, even if it goes wrong, what's the big deal? Our "amazingly adaptable" hand can adapt, anyway.:evil:
Bottom line is, choices are good. And given choices, I bet most people would choose what fit them most.
 
Changing a revolvers grips results in a completely different grip configuration. These interchangeable back straps make such small differences, it's mostly unnoticeable.
 
I own an FNP-9M and an FNP-45. The different backstraps are subtle but they change the natural point of the pistol. I have medium hands so I ended up with the backstrap they come fitted with (arched for the 9 and flat for the .45) but I tried them both and could see a difference. I've tried on an M&P 9 and I prefer the smallest backstrap on it.
 
It's not a fad or a niche. It's an attempt to make that particular weapon more appealing to a wider range of people. This in turn creates a larger segment of individuals that are willing to purchase the weapon based on "feel" alone.

I have average sized hands and just couldn't get into my Gen 3 G17 grips. The ergonomics were perfect but the grip was just a little to big. I sold the 17 to a good friend and bought a Gen 4 G19. No back strap is perfect for me.

I have no doubt that the M&P and the XD would fit just as well with the correct grip configuration. But the XD grip safety and the terrible trigger on the M&P pointed me more towards the Glock.

But hey, there's plenty of choices out there if you aren't into the interchangeable back strap configuration.
 
No two bodies are the same

The different backstraps give you options and tailor the gun to you.

Take a car or truck. First design, map and build the engine so it meets your needs. Tailor the gas pedal to your liking makes a big difference from stock.
Now get in the car/truck with half a tank of gas the suspension is completely adjustable. Set the alignment with you in the car and corner balance it. Now
have the seat molded for your bod and set at just the right distance from the steering wheel, mount the shifter so its just right, mount and set the steering wheel at just the right angle and choose the steering wheel that fits you.
Now decide what type of pedals you want ie hinge at the bottom or at the top and choose pedal pad size and shape and finally set the distance. Then take the car out and adjust shocks, bars and springs. Boom you know have a car/truck set up for you. Makes a big difference. Problem is these days airbags make it difficult and expensive.

Life is to short to be driving cars and shooting firearms that don't fit. They have adjustable stocks on M4's now. You heard about it right?

Try a FNX-9 and see how much better it shoots under stress when you spend the time tailoring it for your hand. You wont get close shooting it as is.

Va herder
 
<Deleted>

Backstraps are just a way to change the ergonomics of a pistol. It makes the pistol ergonomically appropriate for a larger quantity of people at a slight manufacturing cost difference. Makes pretty good sense to me.
 
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As someone with larger than average hands and long fingers, I can tell you that a proper grip can be hard to get and hard to maintain through recoil. A larger backstrap and a bit of a palm swell make it much easier for me to get the correct grip from holster to presentation.
 
Sharpdressedman

How did we live w/o indoor plumbing, miracle bras and portable frozen connoction makers?

What did we do before velcro? Remember the bad old days when you had to hunt down a movie projector for the bachelor party. Way before VHS, DVDs and VOD.

What about pizza delivery? Remember when your dad had to drive through 37ft of snow in a blinding blizzard to pick up the pizza and drive home fast enough so it was still warm. Remember the good ole days before organized religion and lawyers when you good just kick your SO out of the cave or hut with no moral or legal repurcussions. Now her family may have come and burned your hut but what the heck you had a new hotty. Rememebr the good ole days when sex was safe and racing dangerous? Sometimes technology works and sometimes LPs still sound better.

And you still cant take it with you and we all die. Growing older but not up.

And to stay on topic remember when you had pistols that fired just one shot and loaded through the muzzle? Or black powder revolvers.

Va herder
 
I think it's a good idea. For years, people have changed the grips on revolvers to get a better hold. In part it's subjective, and sometimes the changes made are of uncertain value, but some grips do fit some hands better. At least many think so, to judge by the number of aftermarket revolver grips made over the years.
 
A few years ago, nothing, they didn't exist,
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Hmmmm I believe the 1st I saw of them, was in 1911.. The army changed from the flat back strap to the arched, to better fit the population as a whole. Many of us who now purchase 1911s swap back straps (main spring housings) to fit our preferences.
 
Wow, I didn't know my little post would start up such a ruckus. :what:

From the looks of things, I'd say most of you really like interchangeable backstraps. Market forces and all that. A couple of responses, if I may:

1. The 1911. Admittedly, my knowledge of the platform is limited. But I was under the (I guess mistaken) impression that the frame was a single piece of cast or forged metal. I know you can accessorize a 1911 to the hilt with grip panels/rubber Hogue-style grips, beavertails, extended grip safeties, larger thumb safeties, different slide stops, etc, I just wasn't aware of a removable panel in the backstrap in the same manner as the polymer guns that I mentioned.

2. I'm not anti-customization. I guess I'm operating from my own biases based on being the "average joe" that a lot of the fixed grip guns were designed to fit. I wonder about the longevity and durability of the backstraps, which is probably unfounded because I know there are M&Ps with tens of thousands of trouble free rounds through them.

3. Mostly, I'm just worried that what I like in ploly guns is going away. When the Gen 4 Glocks came out there was "internet consensus" that the Gen 3s were going to stay around alongside. Well, at least in my Texas location which has a large number of gun shops (both small indys and big chains) the Gen 3s are disappearing from shelves and don't seem to be being replenished. Granted, my G17 isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and works like a dream after 12,000 rounds, but I'm skeptical that Gen 3s aren't going the way of the dodo. Maybe it's just me, but this longtime Glock fan HATES the new texturing more than anything.

Oh well, I like what I have and Springfield doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get rid of their classic XDs, so I guess all is well.

Pleasant shooting.
 
Mostly, I'm just worried that what I like in ploly guns is going away. When the Gen 4 Glocks came out there was "internet consensus" that the Gen 3s were going to stay around alongside. Well, at least in my Texas location which has a large number of gun shops (both small indys and big chains) the Gen 3s are disappearing from shelves and don't seem to be being replenished. Granted, my G17 isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and works like a dream after 12,000 rounds, but I'm skeptical that Gen 3s aren't going the way of the dodo. Maybe it's just me, but this longtime Glock fan HATES the new texturing more than anything.
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The used gun market is your friend... LOL
 
1. The 1911. Admittedly, my knowledge of the platform is limited. But I was under the (I guess mistaken) impression that the frame was a single piece of cast or forged metal. I know you can accessorize a 1911 to the hilt with grip panels/rubber Hogue-style grips, beavertails, extended grip safeties, larger thumb safeties, different slide stops, etc, I just wasn't aware of a removable panel in the backstrap in the same manner as the polymer guns that I mentioned.
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The removable panel is actually the entire mainspring housing. The original model 1911 mainspring housing was flat. In 1924, the "A1" change introduced an arched mainspring housing.

Here's a picture of the difference: http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/4/41/M1911vs.M1911A1.jpg/350px-M1911vs.M1911A1.jpg

Folks have been swapping back and forth to achieve their perfect grip since then.

Now it's possible to buy polymer guns that are just as advanced! :)
 
^ Now I know...! Thanks.

Someday when I can afford to shoot .45 and can afford a quality 1911, I'll get one.
 
Yup. But nowadays it's more confusing, yet. There are flat ones, arched ones, wedge-shaped ones, and even bobbed ones that let you round off the back corner of the frame.

Gonna take the plastic pistols a while yet to catch up on that technology curve! :D
 
Maybe it's just me, but this longtime Glock fan HATES the new texturing more than anything.
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And the new texture is one of the factors that made me buy 3 new glocks since they've been experimenting with the texture. :)
 
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