Grip Questions

[billjohnso20]

Ok, as y'all know I bought a set of the walnut grips CZ-USA sells last year. Y'all also know that they shattered under fire the range. I'm looking for info on other wood grips. I want a wood grip that I can actually use and not just carry. So here are my questions:

1) What about Marschal's grips? How do they hold up under actual fire?
http://www.marschalgrips.com/cz82/cz82.html

2) What about the oiled walnut grips made by Grips4U? How do they hold up under actual fire?
http://www.grips4u.net/index.php?cPath=48_65&osCsid=fb4f63b23929974563332da23b27b026

3) What about Designer Grips synthetic walnut grips? As a synthetic grip, how do they look and how do they hold up?
http://www.designergrips.com/

I'm looking for real world experiences not conjecture. I want to know if your wood grips hold up under fire.

[Hayfield123]

I have a pair that, from the look, size and placement of the logo, and the checkering, are from grips4u, although my son got them for me as a Christmas present, so I can't be 100% positive.  I have a couple hundred rounds on them, and they seem to be holding up.  I know this isn't much help - later in the summer, I'll know more.  They are good looking, though, and fit, perfectly, once I put the inserts that CZ sells in them.  Prior to that, I had to tweak how much I tightened them to akkow the mag to drop - too tight and it bound.  With the metal inserts, that is not an issue.

[geen]

I have the grips from grips4u on my CZ82 they have been on for over a year lots of range time and they have been on and off the gun many times and I tighten them down and have not had any problems. I also have a set on my Walther P1 and again great grips no problems. One other thing is that grips4u is a company out of Boise, ID.   Buy USA when you can!

[cegha]

Just curious did you have those bushings your suppose to put on wood grips for the 82/83. CZ usa shop sells these special bushings which are suppose to spread the pressure from the screw out more evenly. I've heard a lot of people cracking wood grips without having the bushings. So did you have any on yours when this happened? If you didn't I would definitely order a set.

[czainsaw]

Just curious did you have those bushings your suppose to put on wood grips for the 82/83. CZ usa shop sells these special bushings which are suppose to spread the pressure from the screw out more evenly. I've heard a lot of people cracking wood grips without having the bushings. So did you have any on yours when this happened? If you didn't I would definitely order a set.

Mine had the bushings, and if iirc from bill's past posts- so did he. I had used a #44 drill shank to make a slightly oversized and over length mainspring pin. This was an attempt to keep the panels properly located and keep from shifting. The grips on mine were from CZ-USA and since they weren't totally broken- I CA glued them, whittled the exterior surfaces down (removed the thumb shelves more towards carry than anything), scraped them w/razor blade to smooth and placed them in a bag of acrylic for a day to 'harden' them. I added o-rings to the grip screws to give a little wiggle and dampen vibrations. So far so good. I'm also still looking for options because I feel sooner or later this set will break again.   

[billjohnso20]

Yes, I used the inserts CZ USA sells. The grips broke before the first mag was empty. I have a set I bought from Thailand last year that fit okay and hold up to being shot. However, I need to relieve them on the under side. They put pressure on the magazine causing a downward pressure that after a few shots causes the slide to fail to fully chamber the next round unless I push it home with my thumb. I believe once I use my Dremel on them I think they will be good to go.

For those of you with the Grips4U grips (Yes they sell on Ebay and sometimes on Gun Broker too) will one of you post pics of the inside surface of your grips so I can see how they are made? Also will one of you with Marschal grips do the same please?

I really like the looks of wood but I need wood grips that won't break and won't cause my gun to jam.

Thanks all.

[SMSgt]

I have Marschals on both the 82s I bought and the finish and fit is excellent. I highly recommend them if you don't mind the wait. It takes about 5-6 weeks depending if in stock or not.

It's worth your time to view the site as they offer several different styles (plain, checkered, finger grooves and/or thumb rest) and wood types and finishes.

I've had no cracking on my shooter (gave one to the son).

[billjohnso20]

What does the underside area of your Marschal grips look like?

[geen]

here is the under side of the grips4U grips

[billjohnso20]

Thank you, geen. The Grips4U grips are much more substantial than the grips CZ USA is making and selling. I can see why I haven't heard any complaints from those who own and use them.

[czainsaw]

Rite on! O see a Noticeable difference in inletting, in a good way. It may be just my CZ USA grips but after staring at the G4U wood grain - it seems the grain is orientated differently(properly) compared to mine, not to mention having "more character" to the grain.

[Hayfield123]

. . .  and now I have no doubt that my grips originated with Grips4U . . . I just took them off and they are the same as yours, except the number written there is 505, same size letters, same place - look to be written by the same hand!

[Digitalshooter]

So here are my questions:

3) What about Designer Grips synthetic walnut grips? As a synthetic grip, how do they look and how do they hold up?
http://www.designergrips.com/

I'm looking for real world experiences not conjecture. I want to know if your wood grips hold up under fire.

I'm the creator of designergrips and I do several things to add extra strength to my grips. First, there is a hollow area that runs nearly the length of the backstrap which I make solid, sort of like a backbone. Around the screw holes and the super thin thumb area I add a large amount of Kevlar fibers, then a continuous piece of fiberglass cloth from top to bottom. Lastly I shred fiberglass into the high grade epoxy mix of the grips.

I've created at least 75-80 sets of the 82's and have had two returned with stress cracks near the upper corner, but as far as I know none have ever cracked at the screw hole. Kevlar is great stuff.

[Tinner]

Those grips are saa-weeet, I have a project 82 going, The silver reflective carbon fiber grips are the ticket for my 82.