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Why don’t we see more rubberized grips on pistols? Login/Join 
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posted
I’m thinking of the AR15 or Sig 226/229 grips made by Hogue. Maybe not a completely rubber grip but maybe integrating rubber as part of the grip. I picked up a gen 6 Glock 19 and took it out today along with the Ruger RMX. Even with the new grip texture on the Glock both guns feel a little slick. I had the same problem when shooting an Sig 320 in the past. The hard plastic of these grips is slick to me and rubber would be better.
 
Posts: 1581 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: December 05, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Because it gets tacky under certain conditions and grabs clothing. And eventually it starts to degrade and just gets gross. I've done the Hogue rubber grip thing in the past, but have found that I much prefer textured plastic or G10. Those offer the same or better traction without the downsides of rubber.


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Posts: 11816 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I have used Pachmayr rubber grips for a long time. They get old and hard, eventually losing their grip but I wouldn't say "gross."

I have Talon rubber tape on Glock and similar.
 
Posts: 3489 | Location: Florence, Alabama, USA | Registered: July 05, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Ruger GP-100 revolvers had integrated partial rubber grips.

I lived through the Pachmyr then Hogue polymer grips. Sure, they feel great new. But, once you feel G10, I don't think you can enjoy rubber again.


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Posts: 6114 | Location: Commonwealth of Virginia | Registered: January 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freethinker
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Why not more common? I cannot say, but I dislike rubber grips in general precisely because they are not slick. I prefer grips that allow my hand to slide into proper firing position if I don’t grasp them just right during a draw other engagement.




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Posts: 49521 | Location: 10,150 Feet Above Sea Level in Commirado | Registered: April 04, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oriental Redneck
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The only rubber grip I like on a pistol is the Hogue one-piece wrap-around on the P239. And that’s only because it eliminates the uncomfortable flat front strap. Don’t care for the feel that is actually sticky and slippery at the same time.

On revolvers, I’ll take it because I hate wood even more.


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Posts: 30990 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: September 04, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Jim Watson:
I have used Pachmayr rubber grips for a long time. They get old and hard, eventually losing their grip but I wouldn't say "gross."



Maybe Pachmyr and Hogue don't, but

some brands of 'rubber' grips and other items get sticky-icky, nasty gross, like 92FSTech said.

You can try cleaning them with any manner of chemical agents and cloths, but they keep exuding sticky-icky nasty grossness.
 
Posts: 17360 | Location: Florida | Registered: June 23, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Big Pachmayr user back in the day. Still use them on 1911s with no stippling on the front grip strap. I have not experienced them becoming sticky or tacky or losing their effectiveness due to hardening. I am also using the Talon rubberized grip on smaller guns, like the G26.


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Posts: 17721 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Big Pachmayr user back in the day. Still use them on 1911s with no stippling on the front grip strap. I have not experienced them becoming sticky or tacky or losing their effectiveness due to hardening. I am also using the Talon rubberized grip on smaller guns, like the G26.


I have a few set of older pachmayrs and like them. They seem to be made of a harder rubber that is less likely to get "stick" or "tacky", and doesn't break down as easily as some others. The flip side is that they aren't as effective at cushioning recoil or providing a "grippy" feel. They make up for it with effective checkering and offering grips in well designed ergonomic shapes that actually fill the hand.

Unfortunately, the last few sets of new production Pachmayrs that I've bought were crap. They didn't fit the gun they were designed for, left huge gaps on either the front or back strap, and had a bunch of flashing and other defects. It was so bad that I contacted Pachmayr about a warranty return and they sent me a new set...that was just as bad as the first ones. I even tried modifying a set to fit with no success. I've given up on them wich is disappointing because the older ones were nice.


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Posts: 11816 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Diablo Blanco
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I replaced the rubber grips on my CZ PCR as well as the rubber grips on my 1990s era Colt Detective Special due to the oily sticky goo that plagued both. I tried washing in dawn dish soap, goo gone, and even applying liberal amounts of corn starch. Nothing worked. Once they start to degrade, I have not found a way to stop it.


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Posts: 3325 | Location: Nashville, TN | Registered: November 05, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by 92fstech:
I have a few set of older pachmayrs and like them. They seem to be made of a harder rubber that is less likely to get "stick" or "tacky", and doesn't break down as easily as some others. The flip side is that they aren't as effective at cushioning recoil or providing a "grippy" feel. They make up for it with effective checkering and offering grips in well designed ergonomic shapes that actually fill the hand.

Same experience here. A few years ago I ran across an old display of "new in box" Pachmayr grips in an antique/junk store. The plastic was so yellowed with age it was difficult to see the actual condition of the grips. I found a set for a 1911 and a P220, and for $15 cash I walked out with both. Was very happy to crack open the packaging (literally) to find the grips were in perfect condition. They are still in great shape for something that is probably 40 years old or more.




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Posts: 2669 | Location: West of Fort Worth | Registered: March 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
My other Sig
is a Steyr.
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Bought an old P220 with the Hogue rubber grips.

They had gotten to the icky-sticky phase of being rubber.

I don't have that problem with checkered aluminum.




 
Posts: 10326 | Location: Somewhere looking for ammo that nobody has at a place I haven't been to for a pistol I couldn't live without... | Registered: December 02, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I'm the opposite - I think rubber grips are too "grippy." I changed to wood CZ and G10 VZ Grips on my CZ PCR and P-01, respectively, but this is due as much to the originals' palm swell. I haven't had any rubber grips long enough for them to degrade or build up "funk." Speaking of funk, I can only imagine how those narrow-spaced and parallel-grooved ones found on some Taurus revolvers must feel after a while.





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Posts: 31594 | Location: Johnson City, TN | Registered: April 28, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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For those who brought it up, it really just depends on the composition of the rubber.

Hogue has two different types. One of them is more similar to hard plastic and the other one is the soft one that eventually becomes oily or sticky over time (and even starts peeling). Pachmayr rubber grips are like Kraton knife handles and don't have this problem unless exposed to certain solvents. Their only "problem" is that they start to bloom over time (they develop a white film that can be cleaned off).

Why don't we see them anymore? Other than cost, I think most would agree that G10 is superior to rubber (and many other materials) in almost every way. Also, the shock-absorbing function of rubberized materials (for managing recoil) seems to no longer be really necessary given our 9mm-dominated shooting world.
 
Posts: 792 | Registered: April 14, 2018Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I really like the Hogue rubber. I've put Hogue rubber grips on several pistols over the years. I'm not a daily shooter like others may be, but I have yet to have a set get gooey or funky, even on my match gun.

And for 25 bucks or so, it's not cost-prohibitive to have a spare set on hand in the event a set does get icky.




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Posts: 16013 | Location: VA | Registered: July 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Frangas non Flectes
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quote:
Originally posted by 92fstech:
Because it gets tacky under certain conditions and grabs clothing. And eventually it starts to degrade and just gets gross. I've done the Hogue rubber grip thing in the past, but have found that I much prefer textured plastic or G10. Those offer the same or better traction without the downsides of rubber.


All of this. No more rubber grips for me.


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Posts: 19019 | Location: Sonoran Desert | Registered: February 10, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I've never had Hogue's get tacky, but I
ve only owned a few. Pachmayr's seem to get smoother and harder with age if anything.

I think the real answer is it's cheaper NOT to. Molding in texture doesn't cost more, nothing to age and fall apart, no complaints down the line.
 
Posts: 22155 | Location: 18th & Fairfax  | Registered: May 17, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Originally posted by 12131:


On revolvers, I’ll take it because I hate wood even more.


Blasphemer!! I love walnut, and Goncalo alves, whatever that is. Smile
 
Posts: 1990 | Location: Mason, Ohio | Registered: September 16, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Sounds like a CZ P10 is in orderSmile Those things are grippy!
 
Posts: 559 | Location: Michigan | Registered: November 22, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I prefer the rubber wraps you can get for a gun like Handleitgrips and the like, as it is not as tacky,(gripping clothing wise) and offers a nice purchase on the gun. I have had a few factory firearm grips, like that from Ruger and I change them out quick.
 
Posts: 7830 | Location: Treasure Coast,Fl. | Registered: July 04, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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