lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 While putting 200 rounds down range today, I noticed a sharp pain in my thumb after the first 50 rounds. It appears as though the way I grip the gun with thumb over thumb, my strong hand thumb is riding against the lower edge of the slide and the sharp edges of the serrations are sawing into my thumb. I modified the trigger guard yesterday to gain a slightly higher grip. Well the by product was this. Any suggestions as to what I can do? I'd hate to change my grip as its constant and I've trained this way for years. I was thinking of filing the lower portion of the serrations to knock the sharp edges down a bit but its a new gun. Picture of my grip with strong hand and closeness of the meat of my thumb to the slide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Grow a callus or smooth the bottom edge of the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 It's funny, all the talk of glocks biting people and I never encountered this with that platform. Lol. I even taped my thumb while shooting and it cut clean through three layers of duck tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Move your thumb.... or, as Steve says, smooth off the bottom of the slide.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 (edited) I tried moving my thumb. But due to muscle memory, it always ended up back against the slide edge while riding the safety when running drills. I couldn't break the habit. I guess I'll try to lightly stone the slide edge. I hate to do this to a new gun though... Edited March 25, 2013 by lksyotas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Only leaves option 1 !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B_Seehawer Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Look into a shielded safety and keep your hand placement where you feel it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Look into a shielded safety and keep your hand placement where you feel it should be. Does anyone know if this would be IDPA legal? I purchased this gun to shoot ESP with. Thanks for the idea, I've never seen one but just did a quick search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 (edited) I have a Swenson safety that has a guide to prevent your thumb from hitting the slide. I shoot USPSA so don't know if it's legal or IDPA. The reason I had it, was my thumb was slowing the slide down from coming back into battery 100%. Light spring and thumb in the slide isn't a good combo. Good luck. http://www.shootersconnectionstore.com/Swenson-Ambi-Safety-P562.aspx Edited March 25, 2013 by Trent1k1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I had this exact same problem on my Eagle. I resolved mine by changing out the STI beavertail grip safety for an Ed Brown. Its subtle, but the relief cuts in the STI BTGS allow the gun to sit deeper in the web of your hand. But in my case it sat deep enough to allow the slide to cut into my thumb. I have a scar more or less in the same location as yours. The Ed Brown BTGS doesn't have the relief cuts but still allows me to get a high grip on the gun. Its also a match for the frame cuts, though some minor fitting to cosmetically blend everything together may be needed. I also noticed that once I replaced the BTGS I also stopped getting hot spots from extended firing sessions from the corner of the thumb safety. All three of my STIs (1911 and 2011's) now have Ed Brown grip safeties on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 I had this exact same problem on my Eagle. I resolved mine by changing out the STI beavertail grip safety for an Ed Brown. Its subtle, but the relief cuts in the STI BTGS allow the gun to sit deeper in the web of your hand. But in my case it sat deep enough to allow the slide to cut into my thumb. I have a scar more or less in the same location as yours. The Ed Brown BTGS doesn't have the relief cuts but still allows me to get a high grip on the gun. Its also a match for the frame cuts, though some minor fitting to cosmetically blend everything together may be needed. I also noticed that once I replaced the BTGS I also stopped getting hot spots from extended firing sessions from the corner of the thumb safety. All three of my STIs (1911 and 2011's) now have Ed Brown grip safeties on them. Looks like a pretty low cost alternative to try out! I read your previous post when you stated how this helped you out. Thank you for sharing - I will approach this angle before I grind away on the slide. Many thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Its your gun. Its a tool. Just stone the edge to give at a slight bevel. Quick and easy, touch it with cold blue and you'll never know you did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Its your gun. Its a tool. Just stone the edge to give at a slight bevel. Quick and easy, touch it with cold blue and you'll never know you did it. True - I am just concerned about the resale value - I have to weight that modification out against other means that would not be so permanent...Just in case I end up not liking this gun after a season and resorting back to my Glocks! Hehe...did I say that out loud?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcs Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I had to have the bottom of the slide beveled on all my open guns. My thumb got bit also. Problem solved after that. No worries on devaluing the gun if done professionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 The first thing I tried was beveling the slide, but I think would have needed to take quite a bit off to avoid getting bit 100% of the time. The Ed Brown BTGS keeps me from getting bit 100% of the time, and on two of my other STIs that I replaced the GS I found that I didn't need to bevel the slide. For me this was the fix, but hard to say if our hands are the same or if we even hold the gun the same exact way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakpb Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I'd get a low mount thumb safety before taking a file to the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gennaro Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Iksyotas, had the same problem with mine, and I did not have it in me to sand it down either. So I got a G34 and now wear a band-aid everytime I shoot it. LOL. And it doesn't bother me working on that gun. Do what you gotta do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3gunwoody Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 Have the same problem. Go to Brazos's web site look under parts. What you will need is a thumb guard. Last time I ordered one it was $30.00.Most anyone with a mill can install it for you. Its simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmcc Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I have really long fingers and I get bit further down my thumb than you (right on the second joint). My Edge really lays me wide open but my Razorcat isn't nearly as bad because the cocking serrations aren't on the bottom edge. The limited gun acts like a chainsaw, I've just gotten use to cleaning my guns with peroxide! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Well, I took two approaches to fixing this. I lightly dehorned the sharp edges of the slide serrations and refinished them and I also ordered the recommended EB grip safety I shot 20 lead 147 test rounds yesterday with just the dehorned slide and while it still hits my thumb, it no longer cuts into it. I will report back after I've installed the EB safety, hopefully this issue will be done for good... On a side note, while testing the lead rounds, both mags ended up locking back with one round left in the magazine. I've read about this before but its the first time my gun has exhibited this failure mode in 480 rounds. I ended up filing down the bottom edge of the slide stop lever by .050", hopefully this will eliminate the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 (edited) Update to my story: I shot my first IDPA match yesterday with the Eagle and it functioned flawlessly. I used Berry's 147 reloads and didn't have an issue with the slide locking back prematurely and it stayed open on each empty mag. The magwell helps slam the mags home quickly on tac reloads also. I have to get used to the trigger, I had a few instances of a "dead trigger" when trying to do fast splits, I am used to shooting worked over Glocks and its just a totally different reset and press. Accuracy was decent, ended up with 30 pts down with a total of 96 seconds after five stages. I re shot the match in the evening with my old trusty G34 and had 35 pts down with a 110 second overall time. So not to bad for the first time out with the gun. I think once I get used to the trigger, I can really let the gun run. I haven't shot it with the EB grip safety yet, I just fit it this evening, it was tight in the grip and I had to stone it down on both sides to make it fit smoothly. Even without it, the stoning I did on the slide edges worked out great. No more issues with my wimpy thumb getting cut... Thanks again everyone for all your input. I appreciate all the advice! Edited April 1, 2013 by lksyotas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 One more update: gun has just over 600 rounds down range now with two matches under my belt shooting this new platform. So far no issues or malfunctions of any kind. All loads shot so far with the exception of the previous mentioned lead have been MG or Berry's 147's. I'm going to cook up some 124's I just received soon to see how they feel. I ended up refinishing it over the weekend with Graphite Black Cerakote. I was going to have it Melonited but ended up wanting to try out Cerakote first. So far, no wear with 200 rounds fired and aprox. 500 holster draws. Seems to be holding up way better than the factory finish on the gun prior to refinishing and also better than my other weapons that I've Gunkoted. Thanks again for all the advice getting this rig setup. I'm a happy shooter and feel this platform will be a winner for my shooting style from here on out. Anyone need a well used Glock 34? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin16 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Which Grip is that on your gun Iksyotas? Grip tape? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40S&W Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Just install a shielded safety. From what I read for IDPA ESP your allowed to change safeties as long as the safety stays operational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lksyotas Posted April 10, 2013 Author Share Posted April 10, 2013 Which Grip is that on your gun Iksyotas? Grip tape? Yep, Dawson grip tape. Very well cut and finished. I was going to stipple but I really like this grip tape. I'm already used to using it on my Glocks so it feels right at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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