Get a grip. Get a good, strong grip on your firearm. It’s just what you do, every draw and before every shot. Until you don’t…. until you’re in the desert and it’s 115 F and sweat is rolling down your arms. Until you’re in a temperate rainforest in Alaska and it hasn’t stopped raining in two months. Or until you’ve done so many draws with your favorite sidearm that the grip has worn slick. All three have been an issue in the lifespan of one Glock model 17 I have. Not to say the firearm has been flung off into the bushes, but having to make little hand adjustments between shots lets you know your handle on things isn’t so secure as it once was.
Enter Talon Grips. An all-American tale of “see a problem, make a fix, turn that into a thriving business.” Long recognized as the all-important interface where man meets machine, the grip is a tough bear to tackle perfectly. A hard, aggressive surface is great for gripping but rips your hands up. A softer material is easy to grip but lacks the durability. This is why an attachable, replaceable grip is a great idea. It can run a good line between rubbery material which is tactile, yet soft enough to be ablative so it wears out (eventually) without taking too many epithelial cells with it.
Here’s my installation and initial impressions.
- Wipe down the grip area with a little rubbing alcohol to degrease the region. Allow to dry.
- Remove the backing on the grip sticker.
- Line up the left (port) side of the grip sticker and handgun. Gently apply and slowly wrap around the gun, pressing out air bubbles and checking often to make sure you haven’t got it on there cockeyed.
- Once it’s all wrapped on, press on all the surfaces (especially the edges) to make sure it’s totally adhered.
- High five self.
The material used is about .5mm thick so it doesn’t add much in the way of thickness. This is good if you have barney rubble hands like I do. The texture is a noticeable improvement over my smooth-worn stock grip texture.
I’m looking forward to getting this out to the range and getting some live rounds through it. I’ll also be testing it when wet to see if the rubber gets slick
Stay tuned…
