Strike Industries offers very affordable modern looking grips for 1911s that you can use to customize your gun if you’re tired of the stock grips or just want to experiment with some new ones. They have many different styles and the PX09 will add a nice tactical feel to your handgun.

General Features

• Molded, semi-gloss golf ball pattern.
• Heat and high impact resistant.
• Made out of PX extreme polymer.
• Magazine release cutaway.

These Strike Industries grips are a great set of grips if you just want to spice up the look and feel of your gun. They offer a better grip than do stock wooden grips do and they make you gun look pretty cool too.

These particular grips have a molded golf-ball pattern to them, so they are more aggressive than your stock grips will be but they aren’t too aggressive. I would put them in the medium aggressive range.

They are made out of a PX extreme polymer, which is very durable and capable of withstanding a fair amount of abuse. They are heat resistant, which is very good for those of us who like to shoot a few hundred rounds at a time. You won’t have to worry about these grips getting to hot while you’re shooting.

They also have a nice magazine release cutaway to aid in switching between magazines. I really like grips with a magazine cut out because it is so easy to switch magazines in and out and it makes doing so feel so natural. As far as cutouts go, this one is pretty standard in size, nothing huge like the Magpull cutout, but still enough for you to know it’s there.

Shortfalls

One downfall of these Strike Industries grips is that they are a little bit large for some people’s taste. They aren’t low profile grips that hug the gun. They are a little bit larger and are shapelier than slim-profiled grips. So if you have smaller hands or prefer smaller grips, these may not be for you. However, some people aren’t fans of slim profile grips, so if that’s you, this may not be an issue at all.

Another thing to keep in mind when you are dealing with polymer grips as opposed to rubber is that these won’t absorb any of the recoil. Rubber grips offer a little bit of cushion where your polymer grips don’t. This isn’t necessarily a downside, but it is something to keep in mind when you’re purchasing.

My Recommendation

As I said above, these grips are great if you’re looking to change the feel of your gun at an affordable price. They may not be as high-end as some shooters might like, but they can make your stock firearm look a little more expensive than it is and they are pretty decent grips too. They are durable and can withstand just about anything you throw at them. And if for whatever reason you don’t like them, you won’t be out too much money either way.

Hogue is more or less the industry standard when it comes to rubberized grips. If you’re looking for quality rubber grips for your 1911, odds are Hogue will be one of the few that you’re looking at.

General Features

• Made out of durable Hogue Rubber Grip 45000.
• Fits the Colt Full Size Auto, including .45, 9mm, .22, .38, 10mm Delta, Spfld Armory.
• Wrap around finger grooves for added grip.
• Resistant to solvents and cleaners.

Hogue rubber grips are excellent for those who want the added performance and comfort of rubber grips without any of the typical problems that are associated with them. As I said above, Hogue has become sort of the industry standard for rubber grips in that if I were to get a new set of them, I wouldn’t really consider any other kind.

The Hogues stand out from the rest for a few reasons. The first is that they are made out of a durable synthetic rubber mold. They are solid rubber, and they aren’t spongy or tacky. This is a common complaint about other rubber grips, especially those with finger grooves, that the rubber is too soft and it melts in your hand instead of providing you with a better grip. I’ve never have this problem with Hogue grips. And even though they are solid rubber, they still provide a softer, more absorbing feel to the recoil than aggressive grips like VZ or Strike.

Another reason I prefer them is that since they are hard, they are resistant to solvents and cleaners. Some of the softer rubber materials will disintegrate when you clean your gun, so you always need to make sure to remove them each time you clean it and set them aside. This doesn’t happen with Hogues because they are harder and more solid.

Shortfalls

If you don’t wash your grips regularly after prolonged use, they tend to get rather slick. I’ve found that this is the only downside to the hardened rubber material Hogue uses. If you shoot a lot and your hands become sweaty at all, this will start to leave your grips slick and you will loose performance. Fortunately, this is an easy fix, as I just make sure to use some soap and water to clean my grips every few times on the range.

I have also heard some complaints that Hogue grips can be difficult to put on your handgun, but I’ve never had that experience.

One more thing about Hogue grips, they don’t add a lot of character to your firearm. They don’t offer the classic look of wood and they don’t look especially modern. They are very functional but can leave your gun looking a little bland.

My Recommendation

As I’ve said a few times, when I’m in the market for rubberized grips, I don’t look too much further than Hogue. I’ve had my Hogue grips for almost ten years and they still look and work just as good as when I bought them. They are easy to clean and can hold up to gun cleaners and they are great to do prolonged shooting with.

Some of the more aggressive grips can really do a number on your hands and a few days of shooting, but I can shoot with the Hogue grips for hours and hours and my hands feel fine.

The Pachmayr American Legend 1911 grips are a slick looking set of grips, and Pachmayr is a trusted name in the world of handgun grips. They make semi-auto grips, revolver grips, grip gloves, recoil pads, and more. Pachmayr products are very well made, they look great, and they are still very affordable.

General Features

• Wood-rubber combination grip.
• Wraparound finger grooves for added grip.
• Fits a wide array of Colt and Colt copies.
• Greatly improves grip on gun.

The American Legend series by Pachmayr are beautiful, elegant grips that function at the highest level. The basic design is a standard wooden grip with a rubber insert that wraps around the front of the frame. The rubber has a textured outside just like a set of polymer grips or checkered wood, so it really is the best of both worlds. You get the classic look and feel of wooden grips, but you also get the functionality, control, and handling of rubber grips. This combination sets the Pachmayr American Legend grips far above the rest in style and functionality.

The wood itself comes in a rich walnut with a great looking varnish on it. I really like the way these grips look on a gun and unlike some grips, I think these look good on stainless or blued steel.

One of the great parts about these grips is, since they are rubber, you can rest assured that you can shoot several hundred rounds from your gun without getting chaffed hands. If you do not like ultra-aggressive grips, but want to maintain the control that they offer, rubber grips like these might be for you.

Shortfalls

Since these grips are designed to fit a wide array of 1911 makes and styles, on certain makes they require a bit of modification. For instance, if you have a gun with an ambidextrous safety, you may need to use a dremel tool to make these grips fit your gun.

Also, if you prefer rubber grips to be very stiff/hard, the Pachmayrs might not be the best ones for you. Pachmayrs uses what they call a “Decelerator” rubber for a soft controlled feel. It isn’t squishy obviously, but it is softer than say Hogue’s rubberized grips. I have read reports, although never experienced it personally, that the Pachmayr rubber can deteriorate if you clean it with heavy solvents, so be sure to avoid that.

My Recommendation

Overall, the Pachmayr grips offer what no other grip on the market can offer right now, and that is wood/rubber combo. I’ve mentioned this a few times now, but it really does take these grips to a new level as they look very classy and perform exceptionally well.

However, for me personally, if I’m going to get rubber grips, I do like the hardened rubber that Hogue grips offer. These of course have a few problems as well, but they are my personal preference. They aren’t as pretty as the Pachmays, but they fit my tastes better. Of course, some people swear by the soft-controlled feel of Pachmayr. I mean, that is the point of rubber, isn’t it?