BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

Hold On To Your Gun: Tac-Grips (TM)
10 April 2006

For the past 25 years (give or take a year) I've been in professions where people handled guns: rifles, carbines, handguns, shotguns. The ability of shooters to customize their guns has always amazed me. I mean, a gun is a gun, right? You maintain it, aim it, shoot it and a bullet goes where it's supposed to, right? But no: combat weapons end up looking and performing different than competition or "race" guns. In the end though, everyone has to be able to hold on to their gun in whatever operational environment they find themselves in. A lot has been tried to assist with this oh-so-simple sounding challenge: just hold onto your gun. Now there's a new solution: Tac-Grips (TM) from Silberbak Investments, LLC, retailed by Brigade Quartermaster.

When I attended the Glock Tactical Pistol course at Blackwater a few years ago, I found out that some SWAT Teams use tread tape - just like you'd find at the hardware store - to increase the friction on the grips of their Glocks. Not only did they use the tread tape on the grips, but also in place of front serrations on the slide, to replace (or create) something other than a smooth surface on the front strap, etc. From what I was told, an awful lot of time and effort went into measuring, templating, cutting and applying the tread tape to the guns. And once it was there, it was there damn near forever.

Before I heard of Tac-Grips I too had used tread tape on my Glock Model 19. Mine is a second generation gun (no finger grooves on the front strap) and I sometimes felt it was a bit slippery when wet. Following the examples set by some of the folks I'd met in that class at Blackwater, I purchased a roll of 3" tread tape at the local hardware store and used common paper and pencil to make my template. Then I cut it and applied; found out I hadn't done it quite right, and did it again. It took me three tries before I was satisfied with the results. Now that I've discovered Tac-Grips (Thanks Jose), I'll never do the work again.

Tac-Grips are essentially a peel-and-stick solution to increasing the friction surface of your handgun's grips. Instead of having to measure, template, etc., just select your weapon model from the following list of current availability:

- All Glock 9mm pistols (except 26)
- All Glock .40S&W pistols (except 27)
- All Glock .357Sig pistols (except 33)
- All Glock .45GAP pistols (except 39)
- Beretta 92 series
- Beretta 96 series
- Springfield Armory XD series
- Colt Government model
- Para Ordnance double stack 1911 style
- SigArms P226 and similar
- SigArms P220 and similar
- Sig P245 and similar
- S&W 4000
- S&W 4906

And if you have an AR style weapon, Tac-Grips are made to fit the pistol grip on that as well.

What color do you want? As you can see from the above photo (Tac-Grips on G19) they are available in blue. They are also available in Black (shown on Glock 17 in top picture), gray, sand, red, light blue, orange, green, neon yellow, pink, purple and brown. In fact, for orders of sufficient quantities, Silberbak says they can even produce camouflage patterns. So if you're dressing up a race gun, you have a few options to match your weapon design scheme. If you're adding security to the grip on your duty or off-duty weapon, then you have the more traditional (less exotic) colors.

Now, when I discussed sets of Tac-Grips for Test & Evaluation, Silberbak Investments LLC sent me numerous sets of grips, all for a Glock 19 as I had requested. After all, I already had my own doctored tread tape on the G19 and if I took it off I wanted to replace it with something of equal or greater value. It's important to note here that before you install the Tac-Grips you verify the fit and coverage. This is in no way a negative comment about Tac-Grips. Instead, it's a comment on how manufacturers can modify weapon designs in subtle ways that you're not aware of until you test "one size fits all". Take my 2nd Generation Glock 19 as the example...

While Glock says that the difference between the G19 2nd gen frame and that of the 3rd gen are only the accessory rails and the finger grooves, something else changes as well - like perhaps the grip angle. My Tac-Grips were perfectly cut for a 3rd gen G19 - but on my 2nd gen G19 I had to trim a bit off the bottom panel sections of the Tac-Grip before applying it. Why? Because the curve is different around the front strap of a 3rd gen G19 as compared to a 2nd gen G19, and the Tac-Grips are designed for current model weapons.

Since my 2nd gen G19 doesn't have finger grooves like the 3rd gen does, the addition of the three wraps that were designed by Silberbak to fill in those grooves felt excellent on my 2nd gen gun. They offered a new sense of security and increased grip along the front strap that I didn't know was missing until I experienced it. After applying the Tac-Grips to my G19 and handling it for awhile... and at the range a couple of times... I began to think about my Springfield Armory 1911. It has a smooth front strap with rubber grip panels. I hadn't asked Silberbak for any Tac-Grips for my 1911 (even though they make them) because I just hadn't thought about it. I've always been quite happy with the grips on my 1911. However, after having experienced the increased security feel of the grip on the G19 with the Tac-Grips in place, I started to think about improving my 1911 as well.

Since I had extra sets of the Tac-Grips for my Glock 19, I took one and started playing with it, laying it over the front strap of the 1911 (after having cleared the weapon and taken off the grip panels of course). What I realized was that the center section of the Tac-Grips was perfectly sized to provide the front strap of my 1911 with those three flat "finger grooves", and if I cut it out with a little bit on each end, the sides would wrap around and be held snug under the grip panels. One mark with a pencil. Two cuts with a regular pair of scissors. Apply the center section to the front strap of the 1911. Push it on firmly and then put the grip panels back on. The results are seen in the picture below.

I dont' know what else to say about such a simple but valuable product. Tac-Grips are retailed through Brigade Quartermaster and through Silberbak Investments LLC online. At only $14.99 for three pieces, it's much more cost and time efficient than buying raw tread tape and trying to do all the work yourself. Check 'em out. You won't be disappointed.

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Don't forget to check out this week's Recreational Equipment Review about doubling up your PST steel 80 tanks.

This week's Training Article (really an editorial future fiction commentary) about U.S. border control and immigration reform.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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