idHawk Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I made the switch to a steel grip a few years back. No regrets. Last week however, I was at the range with a buddy that has a similar Open Gun to mine, only his has a plastic grip compared to my steel grip. I ran his pistol for a few practice runs and I was surprised and how much quicker the gun seemed to transition and how much faster the draw seemed. The weight seemed much more noticeable than I had realized previously. I really like the balance and perceived recoil management of my gun, but I'm pretty sure if I had to make the switch back to a plastic frame I could get used to it plenty fast. This got me thinking... Have any of you made the switch back to plastic, or at least considered it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Pt steel grip on my limited gun. Great grip fit great etc. Never got used to it, never could duplicate drills on the timer etc. Went back to my plastic grip. Akai custom limited gun, A class fwiw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acsr Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 8 hours ago, idHawk said: I made the switch to a steel grip a few years back. No regrets. Last week however, I was at the range with a buddy that has a similar Open Gun to mine, only his has a plastic grip compared to my steel grip. I ran his pistol for a few practice runs and I was surprised and how much quicker the gun seemed to transition and how much faster the draw seemed. The weight seemed much more noticeable than I had realized previously. I really like the balance and perceived recoil management of my gun, but I'm pretty sure if I had to make the switch back to a plastic frame I could get used to it plenty fast. This got me thinking... Have any of you made the switch back to plastic, or at least considered it? What was the timer saying, was your times truly faster or was the gun just lighter? Loving my evo grip, friend had same setup with plastic side by side I am loving the steel. 8 hours ago, idHawk said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idHawk Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 4 hours ago, Acsr said: What was the timer saying, was your times truly faster or was the gun just lighter? Loving my evo grip, friend had same setup with plastic side by side I am loving the steel. I was definitely faster on the draw with the plastic grip and on the few runs that I had to compare with, it was a fairly even split with respect to times. I'm not contemplating a switch back to plastic at this point, but I certainly liked the lighter weight of the plastic grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Too funny. Caspian and Paras were deemed out of stye, and to heavy.... 2011 with light plastic grips ruled the day. Then they decided to improve them.... just like the heavy steel guns they replaced. Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 1 hour ago, sfinney said: Too funny. Caspian and Paras were deemed out of stye, and to heavy.... 2011 with light plastic grips ruled the day. Then they decided to improve them.... just like the heavy steel guns they replaced. Just sayin' My first gun was a 54oz Open Tactical Sports as I moved to lighter and lighter guns, the cool kids started adding weight to get their 2011s up to the weight of my TS! I've been playing with different ideas for four years now, and I'm almost done with a 46oz TS Open gun with an aluminum comp and a 6" barrel, I think of it like a fencing foil: long and light! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 I've been playing with different ideas for four years now, and I'm almost done with a 46oz TS Open gun with an aluminum comp and a 6" barrel, I think of it like a fencing foil: long and light!46oz is light? [emoji6] My gun weighs 39 with a steel comp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 How about light for a 6" open gun with a steel grip?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Haha I'll give you that one!Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWprotected Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I have one gun with a steel grip and I love the look and feel of the gun, but I do shoot my plastic grip gun faster. The weight difference is 54oz vs 43oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 On 3/24/2017 at 9:21 PM, sfinney said: Too funny. Caspian and Paras were deemed out of stye, and to heavy.... 2011 with light plastic grips ruled the day. Then they decided to improve them.... just like the heavy steel guns they replaced. Just sayin' Honestly, the only reason we have steel grips today is because the Strayers didn't want to spend the 90K on new molds for the polymer grip. Instead, they programed their 5 axis CNC machines to make them out of steel. After the steel grips were the only option and SV shooters talked about how much they liked them, other builders started doing the same thing. I wish SV would have kept the polymer grip as an option just to reduce weight for carry guns and lower the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digi531 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I made the switch back to plastic from the aluminum grips after cracking problems and actually like it again. One thing I realized I missed is the reloads, the plastic grip is much more forgiving to poor reloads where the aluminum and steel is not. I've heard more than one competitor say the same thing when the reload is slightly off the mag will partially jam and add time but this doesn't seem to happen with plastic. Personally, I prefer the lighter grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Brandon does something to the inside of their grips that eliminates the binding that can occur when a mag isn't inserted perfectly. Other than the weight, the most obvious difference to me, is the metal grips drop mags much more quickly than the polymer grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 I'm trying the steel grips at the moment on my primary and backup. So far I like the weight. it acts effectively like a lever. For the muzzle to rise it must displace that weight in your hand. The trigger guard is basically the pivot point. so more weight in the grip 'should' tame the muzzle a bit. I have botched a few reloads badly where they just jam into the steel. I also feel like the grip is a little narrower side to side than would be ideal for my big hands but I'm going to give it at least 6 mths before I decide if I'll go back too plastic. my 2nd backup still wears a plastic grip with silicone carbide grip job but it's about to get a metal grip too so it matches the other 2 blasters. I think fit to your hand is probably more important than weight. Possibly: Fit grip weight So if the steel fits you ok and is grippy enough then you'll enjoy the weight. If it doesn't fit you right then shaping a plastic grip to suit may give better results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersonj55126 Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Not sure if it is useful information but at this years Open Nationals I believe 7 of the top 10 were shooting steel frame guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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