quote:

Originally posted by stiab:
Pictures sent, feel free to post them here if you desire.

Thank you. Although it’s a rather obscure issue, perhaps some members might be interested.

The first two photos and the last one were provided by stiab, and the rest are mine. The grip plates I have were offered for a short time as a “slim” grip for the DAK P229. In addition to not being usable with a decocker, the slim grip reduced the diameter and might have been better for shooters with smaller hands. They were clearly not the same as the grip stiab pictured based on its date code (see below), but they were very similar.

Both grips are odd, however, because although they were not intended to be used with a traditional DA/SA gun because they cannot accommodate a decocker, at first glance they look like standard decocker grips. Why they were made that way is anyone’s guess, but I suspect it was because its specifications were poorly described to the manufacturer.


P228 grip plate 1.



P228 grip plate 2.



P229 slim grip.



P229 slim grip plate on left side; standard grip plate on right side of gun.



Front of left P229 slim grip plate.



Added: stiab sent me this additional photo showing the date code on the grip plates he had. As he points out, 1990 was long before either the P229 or the DAK trigger was introduced. He also reports that the ones he had were definitely marked “P228.” All that helps clear up some of the questions I’ve long had about DAO grip plates that I had heard about, but had never seen, and, I admit, I was somewhat skeptical about.
Thanks again for all that.