Stippling a shotgun worth it

[BOOM]

Not sure if this is the right area for this,but here goes. I noticed when handling my shotgun it feels smooth to the touch nothing grabbing back at the hands . Does stippling really make a good (long term solution) giving a aggressive grip that will improve the guns controllablity during a match. I'm also thinking its just a cool looking dirt collecting add on that I'll regret , and really more trouble than a functional fix. What the consonance among 3 gun shotgun users here Do it, or Not?

[Finbox]

Skateboard tape works for me...removable too

[BOOM]

Finbox gotcha: Its what Glocks like best cheep and works great, and like you say when it starts looking bad put a new piece on. I kinda Know stipple is permanent

[roxymajor]

Fine if you are a fair weather shooter. Rain, sweat and mud?

[tyler79durdan]

Absolutely. I did my 500 as a tester. Then right out of the box did my 930. Im not sure why they dont just do the front strap and hand guard from the factory.

[swhiteh3]

Whenever I'm trying to decide what to stipple, I start with grip tape. Use it that way for a few days, and you'll quickly find out where you like the grip, and where you don't. Trim it, re-do it, until you find just what you want. Then mask and stipple it permanently. Just my $0.02.

Scott

[openclassterror]

One of my customers made a tip for his soldering iron that was ball-nosed full round, about 3/16 diameter. Very grippy, but WAY easier to keep clean and nice looking. I will try to get pics at the next local club match if he doesn't mind. I had never really considered stippling before because of just the issues you mentioned, but after handling his I am really giving it some thought.

BTW Tyler79, that is one of the best looking jobs I have seen with the outlining and the masking. Well done! Much more professional looking than the 8-beer Friday-night- before- the- match jobs I am used to seeing You can always tell how far they got before they realized they were gonna run out of time!

Tom

Edited March 19, 2014 by openclassterror

[NateStaskiewicz]

It is absolutely worth it to get your shotgun stippled

[BOOM]

I was thinking of doing it my self, and no I've never stippled any gun before. I see youtube vids seem pretty straight forward. Thanks for the pic's Tyler I think the tape idea is spot on .

[bagdrag]

So

Skateboard tape works for me...removable too

Fine if you are a fair weather shooter. Rain, sweat and mud?

So is stippling good enough or is skateboard tape a competition standard? Some sponsored shooters posted on Facebook that skateboard tape is pretty much a requirement to shoot a shotgun fast effectively.

[Willz]

The feel and grip of a firearm is ultimately a personal choice.

A friend of mine tends to have extremely tough dry hands and all but the most aggressive textures feel slick to him.

He textured his Glock so heavily it literally looks and feels like very rough tree bark. Much like his hands.

When I shot it, it was painful on my tender little girl hands.

I like a finer tacky texture.

[BOOM]

I may try some skate board tape just to see if its good enough

[J.Schmitt]

I have never felt the need for me personally. A handgun yes, to assist in controlling the direction of recoil. I load weekhand, 2's and quads, and roll the gun over in my trigger control hand. I like it to roll smooth. I do not exert nearly the same force on the shotgun with my hands as I do on a handgun.

Jay

[Brian Payne]

I have my Vinci stippled so rough it takes skin off, I like it that way. I borrowed it out at a local match last weekend and after one stage the poor guy had to wear gloves. It works for me because I don't pay much attention to my grip and I tend to hang on pretty tight, also when it gets hot out my hands sweat like crazy and that makes everything I touch very slippery.

[alma]

I did my shotgun using a cheap soldering iron. Results were good but it took me a few passes to get the texture right.
Temperature seemed to make the biggest difference in how much it digs in.
With the iron fully heated it makes nice flat circles that didn't offer much more grip than the factory texture. A warm iron with a bit pressure makes some aggressive and uneven peaks that really dig a bit too much. I ended up finding a happy medium between the two and have been setting my iron's temperature by unplugging when it starts to get too hot and plugging it back in when the peaks get too high.

Not the pretties but works well.

Edited March 20, 2014 by alma

[BOOM]

I was a construction worker,, My hands are beat up dry, and feel like sand paper, So for me the rougher the better on a gun. I'm trying to eliminate thinking about over gripping the gun focus more on the front sight.

[alma]

Then break out the soldering iron and give it a go. The cooler the iron the more aggressive the texture. I ended up having to go over a couple of areas with a file to knock down some of the really spiky ones especially by the trigger guard.

[MetropolisLake]

I have never felt the need for me personally.

If it were that useful, we would see it somewhere else in a shotgun specific outlet. For example if it helped for wet weather and muddy stuff, you'd think that duck hunters that trudge through the swamp would be all about it. They're not as far as I know. The 3-gun and sometimes tactical crowd does it but I've yet to see it anywhere else. Best I can tell there's a coolness factor in some people's eyes but that's about as far as it goes.

Edited March 20, 2014 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[alma]

Perhaps, but then again how often do you see duck hunters opening up loading ports on a shotgun? I think our sports push the envelope on what works best far better than typical hunting.

[MetropolisLake]

Perhaps, but then again how often do you see duck hunters opening up loading ports on a shotgun? I think our sports push the envelope on what works best far better than typical hunting.

I don't agree that all 3-gun modifications are the best in general. An extended magazine tube alone negatively affects balance, weight, size, and how it swings. Target sights that you often see also brings worse performance unless you're shooting slugs. Other modifications like ghost loading / out of battery / bolt carrier lightening / etc., are at best pretty useless in the hunting world, so hunters don't do it. I believe that stippling falls into this category, yet it's not like hunters are immune to the environmental factors that stippling is supposed to help with. If anything, they're exposed to worse. So, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Edited March 20, 2014 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[Brian Payne]

"Coolness Factor", wow, that is the first time I have heard that. If you have seen my shotgun you would never think it was done just to be cool. For me, it does serve a very useful purpose but the cool thing is this, if you don't like it, don't do it. I have seen a lot of very good shotgun shooters that don't see the need, J. Schmitt being one of those. I have also seen a lot of good shotgun shooters do it or at least use grip tape.

To the OP, try shooting some other peoples shotguns that have been stippled before you decide to have yours done, or better yet, use grip tape, that way it can be removed if you don't like it.

As far as it being a useless modification, I have done three neighbors shotguns after they handled mine, they don't 3-gun, they only goose hunt with them. They also really like the long tubes when they go to the Dakota's to hunt.

[alma]

They also really like the long tubes when they go to the Dakota's to hunt.

But doesn't that ruin the balance?

[MetropolisLake]

They also really like the long tubes when they go to the Dakota's to hunt.

But doesn't that ruin the balance?

If it helped with this aspect, people everywhere would do it, even when shooting skeet, not just when they can get away with more shells in the tube. Hell I did it myself, +9 on a super black eagle II and plan to use it coyote hunting at night due to regulations that ban rifles after dark. I'm not about to say that it helped with the balance though. I can stuff more shells in, that's about as far as it goes. It feels better without it.

Edited March 20, 2014 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters

[caz41]

They also really like the long tubes when they go to the Dakota's to hunt.

But doesn't that ruin the balance?

Ruin to you, doesn't mean the same to the next guy. Or it isn't all that important as it is to have more shells in the gun is.

[J.Schmitt]

"Coolness Factor", wow, that is the first time I have heard that. If you have seen my shotgun you would never think it was done just to be cool. For me, it does serve a very useful purpose but the cool thing is this, if you don't like it, don't do it. I have seen a lot of very good shotgun shooters that don't see the need, J. Schmitt being one of those. I have also seen a lot of good shotgun shooters do it or at least use grip tape.

To the OP, try shooting some other peoples shotguns that have been stippled before you decide to have yours done, or better yet, use grip tape, that way it can be removed if you don't like it.

As far as it being a useless modification, I have done three neighbors shotguns after they handled mine, they don't 3-gun, they only goose hunt with them. They also really like the long tubes when they go to the Dakota's to hunt.

I agree fully to try another persons shotgun.

For the discussion, my opinion, be it as it may, is that the shotgun does not require x amount of grip poundage to control it as a handgun would. The pommel on the stock keeps the hand in position, it cannot slip backwards as a result of its cant. If shooting with the support arm extended to an appropriate length the shotgun should be pretty solid in the shoulder pocket without requiring much pressure to hold it in place.

Sometimes I think I could use some stippling on the comb to keep my face in place.

Jay