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Making the gun fit me?


Aiden

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Hi all.

Currently in a quest to turn my Edge into the ultimate gun for consistency. I'm a C limited shooter who swapped from a Glock 34 in Production.

Needless to say, it's a fun transition. I've had it for two months now, shot two or three matches with it, and I've reduced/stippled/undercut it. But now I'm ready to take it from stock to slightly more "me". Also I want to install a new ignition, so if I'm gonna fit a safety, I may as well fit a safety I want and get it all done at the same time.

I've been researching a variety of parts and mixing and matching to try and get the gun fit to me as well as possible. I have medium hands and shot the G34 sans backstrap and could just barely hit the mag release without shifting my grip. Boxy and inelegant as it is, happens to fit me perfectly out of pretty much every Production legal gun in existence, so I'd like for my 2011 to fit me at least as well.

I tried a paddle to keep from having to flip, but I hit the magazine release once inadvertently and promptly went back to my Dawson Lopro and flipping.

My primary goals are to:

  • Have my grip as high as possible on the gun. Consistently.
  • Maintain my trigger finger position with flat MSH and medium curve trigger (where it is currently).

So far, I've purchased a Nitro Fin, which arrived a couple days ago. I love the index for my weak hand thumb but now I feel as though I should make some more changes.

Currently in the running for my love and money:

  • Shielded ambidextrous safety of some sort? Swenson, Double Tap, PT (unobtanium)?
  • Wide ambidextrous safety? EGW, Ed Brown, SVI, Wilson? Shields are a gimmick? I rack the slide from the rear as well.

    Additionally, I'm wondering about swapping around some other stuff to get my hands up higher and maybe angled a bit better.
  • Arched MSH/Wedge MSH to push my hand up the grip? I currently flip the gun to hit the mag release, so I can increase the grip size slightly. And it'd be a similar angle to my Glock so I'd adjust quick.
  • Short curved trigger to compensate for the increased distance from the Arched/Wedge MSH? Enos curve?
  • Magwell choices? Dawson ICE would be higher up than the factory STI. What about Brazos Big Mouth?

I handled a friend's DVC with both the Nitro Fin and Swenson safeties installed, and I really liked the wide shelf of the Swenson along with the shield. It seemed to match perfectly with the Nitro fin. But I wasn't particularly impressed with the Swenson itself. For the price, it seemed... less refined?

I quite liked the Ed Brown extended safety back in the day, but that was on 1911. I also used to use a short curved trigger with arched MSH on 1911 and standard grip panels. I realize the best option is to simply try everything before I buy, but the choices around me are pretty limited. Everyone rocks flat MSH, STI/Cameron magwell, with medium curve STI trigger.

Any opinions would be welcome!

Edited by Aiden
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Shielded parts seem like a mechanical engineer's answer to an administrative problem. If you rack from the rear, and shields are in the way, where are you then? Chumptown. Thumbs aren't needed when gripping, so keep them away from the slide/frame. Why buy parts when technique is free? Most safeties aren't wide, but they are long. Grip as high as possible by gripping as high as possible. Buy some grip exercisers and use them daily.

You are a C shooter. You need a ton of projectiles and practice.

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But is there anything wrong with a mechanical engineer saying "this doodad I've stuck to your gun will make it easier to develop consistency while you invest the projectiles and practice"?

So that's a vote against the shielded safety. And a vote for more practice.

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Get a right side mag release from Mitchell Custom Guns.

I'll admit, that has never crossed my mind ever. Trigger finger to release?

For the paddle mag release: get an extra power mag release spring. Some springs are so strong that there is no way your support hand is going to activate it.

Any recommendations on how strong of a spring? All of em and see what I want? 10 dollars in parts versus changing up everything else... tough call haha.

Edited by Aiden
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I too have medium sized hands and recently aquired a steel arched msh that has been the best way for me to grip high and consistent. I use Ed Brown ambi safety wide on left and the grip is very comfortable, I jave a nitro fin on the way. Thanks Kevin

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

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For the paddle mag release: get an extra power mag release spring. Some springs are so strong that there is no way your support hand is going to activate it.

Any recommendations on how strong of a spring? All of em and see what I want? 10 dollars in parts versus changing up everything else... tough call haha.

I bought some from Shooter's Connection several years back. Not 100% sure if these are them or not but I'd give it a try:

http://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/Wolff-Colt-1911CMMDR-Magazine-Catch-Spring-Extra-Power-P3464.aspx

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Fun isn't it----getting everything just like you want it.

I have medium hands, short thumbs. Currently:

Flat mainspring housing

PT safeties

Mitchell right side release with the button trimmed top and bottom

SV trigger with bottom curve insert

Nitro fin with lower corner trimmed to clear trigger finger when firing weak-hand

Dawson Ice magwell

If you don't want safety shields, look at Lone Star Innovations safeties. Just put a set

on a single stack gun--impressed.

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I have shmedium hands, I wear medium gloves.

On my edge I am running the SVI extra wide safety set. Its awesome for me. And its stainless so no worries about finish when you are fitting it to the gun. I will say that if my left hand thumb knuckle was meatier the safety would dig into my hand. Luckily I didn't have to modify the "pad" part at all on either side. I did cut my thumb 2-3 times on the slide serrations until I had these installed. Now I no longer have that issue.

The next biggest difference was my EGW JEM beavertail. These beavertails have a higher cut in the saddle part of the grip. Allowing not only to get higher on the gun, but also deeper. They cost more and are worth it. They come over sized so you will have to grind them down to meet your frame and grips.

I am running the Dawson stainless flat MSH with EGW cap/pin and a 17lb spring. I wanted flat because I wanted my hand to be as close to the gun as possible. Unfortunately not every STI grip is made EXACTLY the same so I had to ream the pin hole on my grip to get the mainspring retaining pin in. Also be prepared to hone the inside of the dawson mainspring housings. They are quite rough from the initial boring.

*thumb rest [generic]*. I dont run one. If I did it wouldn't be in the same spot as my slide stop. I cant my left hand wrist so that my fingers open at a 45 deg angle when on the gun. It would have to be further out similar to the Go Gun design. No stock gun on the market has a *thumb rest [generic]* from the factory, and I like to be able to shoot all guns well. And I don't want to have to get the frame drilled for one and deal with another part on the gun to go wrong.

I am using the Dawson ICE magwell. Definitely better than the factory STI one. Do not waste your time on the STI one. I like the dawson cause after you beat up the inside you can replace the plastic insert for a few bucks and keep on trucking. The brazos magwells are nice too, my friend had one on his gun.

Dawson lo-pro is the mag release I use. Its perfect for my hand. You only reload once shooting limited, learn to flip the gun. Making one reload maybe easier at the cost of ruining your grip position and possibly dumping a mag on the ground is not worth it.

As for trigger bow/shoe I am using the STI gunsmith blank cut down very short to my preference. If you already have the SVI trigger fitted to the gun you will have to experiment with different inserts. I personally prefer a short flat trigger.

Trigger internals. I have the extreme engineering litespeed 2 in my gun. Get the kit direct from them or shooters connection. It comes with hammer,sear, and disconnector. Take a new sear spring along with your new thumb safeties to a competent gunsmith. Tell him what you want and go pick it up when he is done.

IF all that doesn't effect your ammo/practice budget order what you want and do it. Otherwise keep shooting. I had barely made B class when I got my edge in Feb/March. I just finished doing everything I want to the gun. Now I am a high B nearing A class. Shooting makes you better, constantly swapping parts doesn't. Reliability and consistency are key.

A very important feature you are leaving out are sights. Factory sti sights are great for me, but I found I like the brazos manny dot front sight better. Also another important change is the guide rod/recoil spring. The recoilmaster is no good to me, YMMV. I put in the dawson tool-less and found a spring I liked. These were the first 2 things I did to the gun. Sights and recoil assembly.

Hope all that helps.

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first of all forget the swenson safeties. they are cheap for a reason. poor quality and lots of work to fit. great idea just badly executed. far better are the PT version and I've heard the double tap version are great too (though not tried/handled one myself).

They will quite likely make racking from the rear more difficult. you can install a small slide racker in limited which solves that problem and makes a handle prop for table starts... or learn to rack from the front.

dawson ICE is basically "the": magwelll. most popular around the traps on various open and ltd guns. it just works. they now make the regular version, the big hands version (sculpted sides) and the heavy version as well for those who'd like more weight there.

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Fun isn't it----getting everything just like you want it.

Fun indeed, even if my bank account is yelling at me. "You were supposed to just get a cheap Edge! Why are you buying this stuff!?"

Flat mainspring housing

PT safeties

Mitchell right side release with the button trimmed top and bottom

SV trigger with bottom curve insert

Nitro fin with lower corner trimmed to clear trigger finger when firing weak-hand

Dawson Ice magwell

If you don't want safety shields, look at Lone Star Innovations safeties. Just put a set

on a single stack gun--impressed.

Do you find yourself needing the shield at all on the thumb safety? I tend to ride my safety on the draw, then the joint rides on the back of the safety and my thumb is flagged more or less straight up.

Here's a video of my last match with this gun, you can see my weak hand thumb riding along the frame and my strong hand thumb flagged upward.

Stage video showing thumb position sans Nitro Fin

With the Nitro Fin installed, the weak hand thumb is more upward due to the fin, but it's nicely settled into the Fin/Shield. But my strong hand thumb is still flagged. If I position my thumb in the way I want (picture below) I rub up against the slide. If I move my thumb slightly away from the slide, I lose firm contact with the safety.

I feel as though a wide safety would remedy this, as long as I can get my weak hand underneath it.

m3Mq7QNl.jpg

With my Glock, my thumbs easily rode alongside the frame and my strong hand rested on top of my weak hand. I never touched the slide and I never had to worry about having a *thumb rest [generic]* or anything, it just worked.

TJNaUXhl.jpg

I have shmedium hands, I wear medium gloves.

On my edge I am running the SVI extra wide safety set. Its awesome for me. And its stainless so no worries about finish when you are fitting it to the gun. I will say that if my left hand thumb knuckle was meatier the safety would dig into my hand. Luckily I didn't have to modify the "pad" part at all on either side. I did cut my thumb 2-3 times on the slide serrations until I had these installed. Now I no longer have that issue.

So, same question for you as above with the wide safety vs the shield. You've managed to fit weak hand underneath the wide safety so no need for the shield, right?

I am using the Dawson ICE magwell. Definitely better than the factory STI one. Do not waste your time on the STI one. I like the dawson cause after you beat up the inside you can replace the plastic insert for a few bucks and keep on trucking. The brazos magwells are nice too, my friend had one on his gun.

I've beaten up the STI one, it could definitely use a facelift. Does the Dawson ICE take up more room on the grip than the factory STI? Can you fit your weakhand in there without issue? I have a double undercut so I could probably get a bit higher from the magwell.

Dawson lo-pro is the mag release I use. Its perfect for my hand. You only reload once shooting limited, learn to flip the gun. Making one reload maybe easier at the cost of ruining your grip position and possibly dumping a mag on the ground is not worth it.

As for trigger bow/shoe I am using the STI gunsmith blank cut down very short to my preference. If you already have the SVI trigger fitted to the gun you will have to experiment with different inserts. I personally prefer a short flat trigger.

A very important feature you are leaving out are sights. Factory sti sights are great for me, but I found I like the brazos manny dot front sight better. Also another important change is the guide rod/recoil spring. The recoilmaster is no good to me, YMMV. I put in the dawson tool-less and found a spring I liked. These were the first 2 things I did to the gun. Sights and recoil assembly.

I've been making do with the Dawson Lo Pro, the last classifier I did was a 1.3s shot to shot mandatory reload with good hits. But if I can do it without shifting, I feel as though it removes a variable. But I wouldn't want to add the "drop a mag" variable haha.

Still rocking the STI medium curve, can I just swap out the trigger and keep the trigger bow? Gunsmith blank would be a good way to experiment.

I did swap out the recoilmaster for a DP tool-less and a 12lb spring.

I haven't considered swapping out the STI sights yet, but I could do with a slightly thinner front sight post. The Manny was saved on a list somewhere...

first of all forget the swenson safeties. they are cheap for a reason. poor quality and lots of work to fit. great idea just badly executed. far better are the PT version and I've heard the double tap version are great too (though not tried/handled one myself).

They will quite likely make racking from the rear more difficult. you can install a small slide racker in limited which solves that problem and makes a handle prop for table starts... or learn to rack from the front.

dawson ICE is basically "the": magwelll. most popular around the traps on various open and ltd guns. it just works. they now make the regular version, the big hands version (sculpted sides) and the heavy version as well for those who'd like more weight there.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone (aside from one person on Benos) actually owning the Double Tap safety, but it seems potentially worth investing in (it's in stock!!!).

Don't think I'll add the heavyweight version since I like the balance of the Edge currently. But that's another vote for the ICE.

Same question as above, do you find it pushes your weak hand higher up than the STI?

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Based on the pictures of your grip I don't see the Dawson ICE being a problem with taking up space. If you are concerned get the big hands model.

1.3s is a pretty decent reload. I would stick with the Lo-pro and just practice more with it.

Most triggers have the the shoe brazed, pressed, or soldered to the bow. Not a good idea to be popping them off. The STI gunsmith blank is great. Just remember you can only remove material, not add it.

Yes I was able to fit my weak hand under the safety. Although I have medium hands they aren't very thick, so its hard to say how your hands will fit.

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Why not just take the Thumbrest of if this is interfering with the normal way you hold your gun ?

And just shoot it the same way as you shoot your Glock ?

If you don't need ( like ) a thumbrest don't use one , instead of changing the way you hold your gun .

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Based on the pictures of your grip I don't see the Dawson ICE being a problem with taking up space. If you are concerned get the big hands model.

1.3s is a pretty decent reload. I would stick with the Lo-pro and just practice more with it.

Most triggers have the the shoe brazed, pressed, or soldered to the bow. Not a good idea to be popping them off. The STI gunsmith blank is great. Just remember you can only remove material, not add it.

Yes I was able to fit my weak hand under the safety. Although I have medium hands they aren't very thick, so its hard to say how your hands will fit.

Thanks for the input!

Why not just take the Thumbrest of if this is interfering with the normal way you hold your gun ?

And just shoot it the same way as you shoot your Glock ?

If you don't need ( like ) a thumbrest don't use one , instead of changing the way you hold your gun .

The thumbrest is helping me get a similar grip. Mostly via the shield keeping me from contacting and giving me a index.

When I didn't have the fin, my weak hand grip was the same as my Glock, but a lot lower because I kept touching the slide.

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Maybe a frame mounted thumbrest would be better for you , so the paddle is a bit more forward and a little lower .

With this set up your thumb is pointing slightly upward because the rest is not under the tip of your thumb but under the joint .

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I've considered that, I figure the fin was a safe investment since it involves no drilling, and since I didn't need to fit it I could get most of the cost back if I went with a frame mounted rest.

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Let us know how it went , but if i look at your pictures than your right ,and is it not far enough forward .

And if you decide to buy a frame mounted thumbsafe get a adjustable one so you can try different positions and angles .

DAA makes a nice one .

Edited by Tino2212
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I have small hands. I had Alma Cole reduce the grip, undercut the trigger, and epoxy silicone nitride on my 2011 grips. I also use a Nitro Fin. Glen at Lone Star Innovations makes the best thumb safeties out there IMO. I ride the thumb safety and never have a problem with my thumb getting close to the slide. I also had Wilson High Ride grip safeties installed on my 2011's so I can get a high grip on my guns.

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Hahaha, well I learned my thumb is definitely too far forward on the fin

It's past the pivot point and leverages the slide stop into position.

Spent some time fiddling with my grip and live fire, now I know what sort of a thumb position I'd actually need.

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