Grip tape

More questions today, but this one gets a cool poll:

I’m curious about your responses. The more I shoot, the more I don’t want anything to “force” my hand in to a certain spot on the gun. I don’t like rubber grips, finger grooves, or anything like on revolvers. My line of thinking is that I want my hand to hit the gun and slide in to position if necessary, not hit the gun and stick to the grip tape or whatever I have on it. As I return to semi-auto guns, I really don’t like any kind of aggressive texturing on those guns. Especially for any gun I’m going to shoot for 1000 rounds at a stretch. So vote in the poll, and share your comments below.

22 Comments

  1. I can’t vote! I don’t shoot competition (any more) but I do have grip tape on my defensive pistol. I don’t like finger grooves either but they are on my gun. Go figure.

  2. I don’t use grip tape but the grips on my CZ-75 are VZ synthetic grips that have a bit more grip than the standard plastic grips.

  3. I don’t shoot competition but i used to shoot a great deal, and when I did, anything but smooth grips turned my hands into hamburger.

  4. I only occasionally shoot competition, so no grip tape because it would completely spoil the look of my revolver 🙂

  5. “I want to hold the gun, I don’t want the gun to hold me.” Jerry Miculek on why he uses completely smooth grips on his rifle and pistol. Shameless plug, that is on his “Practical Rifle” DVD produced and sold by my employer, Brownells. Sounds like you’re on the right track, Caleb. I’ve been smoothing mine, gradually to see if I can go without the security blanket. Don’t have an iron grip like Jerry. I overheard him tell another pistol shooter, “I’m not good enough to grab the grip in the same place every time, I want to be able to shift it easily.” That’s probably not exact but darn close.

  6. We have to shoot with gloves as part of our uniform for the military and I find grip tape sticks to nomex like velcro. I use it on my competition gun and issue weapon.

  7. I use two layers of bicycle tire-tube on my Glock.
    It’s smooth, simple, cost free and fully functional for me.

  8. I use grip tape, If you look at the majority of high level competitors I think you will find they also use grip tape or the equivalent there of (with the exception of revolver shooters). Jerry M is the exception not the rule. I’m pretty sure he’s some sort of super being.

    Honestly, the one thing that i have done to my guns, that has made one of the biggest improvements for me was adding skateboard tape.

    As far as ripping your hands up… yeah that happens at first, Then you get man hands.

  9. No grip tape, but I do like some texture on my grips for the same reason I like tread on my tires — it gives moisture somewhere to go.

    I live in Florida and usually shoot outside, so my hands get sweaty. I’ve actually been considering getting gloves for *summer* shooting because my guns sometimes slip so much that I have to readjust my grip after each shot.

  10. Great, more rubbish to get into the magwell.

    Put me down as “NO” on those slip over condom thingies on your Glocks.

  11. Turn on the ‘Way-Back’ machine! In the early 70’s when I was getting started in police work one of our trainers was an FBI Agent by the name of Leo App.

    Leo carried a cut-down S&W M27 daily.

    He explained that when you begin your presentation concealed or open, if your hand sticks to your gun in the WRONG place you have to let go and start over again.

    However, using smooth grips you can slide up to the proper alignment, grip the gun and present.

    I’ve been doing it that way ever since, revolver or semi-auto.

    Earl G. Nash
    Vancouver, WA
    LWD Certified Armorer for GLOCK Pistols
    503.333.9558

  12. I use a relatively small strip of grip tape on the front strap of my 1911. I imagine checkering would be better, but it’s not in the budget. It has actually done more help keep my hand situated than textured grip panels ever did.

  13. I do use grip tape, but I use it in strategic spots. I have a HK P30, so the grip itself is already grabby enough.

    https://s363.photobucket.com/albums/oo71/vecdran/Guns/?action=view&current=hkp30_heinie_sight3.jpg
    https://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo71/vecdran/Guns/P30-1.jpg

    The tape on the top of the slide is to add extra grip during power stroking, and to allow me to rack it one handed on my pants. The trapezoidal squares on the side are to provide index points for my thumb and trigger finger.

  14. It’s also worth noting that Dave Sevigny, who has only won two or three hojillion titles shooting a Glock uses no grip tape whatsoever on his gun.

      1. What? That actually is a significant data point. Jerry Miculek, Bob Vogel, and BJ Norris don’t use grip tape either. That’s 4 GMs that have proven track records of winning stuff.

        1. Just because someone is good at something one way doesn’t mean it’ll work the same way for me. I shoot pretty good with a Sig, but the SEALs are dropping the Sigs for H&K P30s last time I heard. So does that mean I should drop a Sig and pick up an H&K because some high speed low drag types are?

          That being said, my Glock and my rat sht Sig P6 (I can’ts afford a shiny new P22x) both have a bit of skate tape on them, which I assume is the same as grip tape. Works for me, I shoot well with it.

          But I don’t shoot competition, so I don’t think this applies to me.

        2. I am willing to bet those folks would do just as well if they had grip tape on their gun.

          1. People do things for very specific reasons. I know Jerry doesn’t use tape because he doesn’t want to blow a draw and have his “stuck” to the gun in a poor position. I’m much the same way – if I’m worried about my gun jumping around in recoil, I’ll just hold on to it 20% tighter.

  15. I posed a similar question to my daughter who is a police officer and her response to me was, what will you do when the pressure’s really on and you don’t have all your fancy gloves and accessories with you, ask the bad guy to wait until you can get your equipment on?

  16. You are right, you should have proper adustment after the draw, theres no such thing as perfect grip when u get your gun on the holster, along the way and of course when you support it with your left hand then you can get the proper grip

  17. I have gone to using baseball grip tape on my Glocks. Its basicly just run of the mill athletic tape. It works great – Not too much grip; not too little; But just right! It comes in several different colors too ( I went with black for the Glocks)

    Go walk around a large sporting goods store and see what all they have… baseball, hockey, football, tennis. There are lots of varieties.

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