Frame stippling can be added to any polymer frame for those who prefer a thumbs-forward grip. Stippling offers a felt index to the shooter.
Even the diminutive and popular Ruger LCP .380 can be improved with a bit of custom work.
such as a summer T-shirt. The front of the slide is beveled to reduce bulk and allow the gun to slide easier into the holster. It also makes the gun sleeker, trimmer and much more appealing to the eye. In reality, most any perfor- mance modifi cation that can be per- formed on a 1911 can also be done on a Glock. Forward cocking serrations remain controversial, but I happen to like them, as I am a fi rm believer in press or chamber checking my carry gun before I hit the street. Seeing is be- lieving, and if the light is low, feeling is believing! To conduct a proper cham- ber check, the slide must be pressed to the rear enough to either see or feel a cartridge case in the chamber. I fi nd this easier if I manipulate the slide from the front versus the rear, and these serrations give me something to grab, but how you do this is up to you. If you don’t like them, don’t have them added to your gun.
“Gripability” Stippling is the only way to go on
a polymer-framed pistol as far as grip 1
is concerned. While checkering and similar surfaces are OK, it stabs the skin while stippling allows the skin to fi ll the voids created in the grip, which offers a solid hold while being more comfortable as well. If the stippling on your polymer gun feels sharp, it is easy to correct with a small piece of fi ne grit sandpaper. Like other custom shops, Templar’s stippling is done by hand, one gun at a time. How much of the grip is stippled is up to the cus- tomer, so I would suggest you think about this before hand. By the time this magazine hits the street, Templar will be offering three levels of Glock grip reductions. The greatest reduc- tion is a completely fl at backstrap, while the medium will offer a curve that reminds me of an HK USP. The least amount of material removed is a reduction of the Glock backstrap heel so the gun will conceal a bit better in a belt holster while feeling more com- fortable in the hand. Every gun that comes through the
Templar Custom Arms shop will have a Templar shield cut into the top of
2
Something as simple as enhancing the grip surface can make a combat pistol more shootable. This stippling on the small grip of this Ruger LCP helps grab the shooting hand.
the barrel unless, of course, the cus- tomer prefers it not be. Additionally, Templar has an in-house Cad-Cam system that allows them to offer cus- tom logos or other markings desired by the customer. Templar refi nishes every gun with Cerakote for good looks and added long-life/durability. Templar offers Cerakote in just about every color available including a digi- tal pattern. While I don’t prefer col- ors/fi nishes that make my carry gun look like a toy … to each his own. For those who are not familiar with Cerakote, it is a unique surface coat- ing with a ceramic backbone, and has been proven to improve performance and reliability over other, more con- ventional fi nishes. This state-of-the- art coating technology out-performs most other competitive fi nishes in both laboratory settings and real world applications. Single or multiple coats may be used to achieve unlim- ited fi nishes or designs. The unique formulation used for Cerakote en- hances a number of physical perfor- mance properties and each of these
3
(1) Black Cerakote is a durable fi nish that is also very business-like in appearance. (2) Any place the hands can contact the pistol are stippled to enhance grip surface, even under the triggerguard where the support hand index fi nger can “cup” if desired. (3) Grip stippling is performed to the customer’s specifi cations. This gun has panels only stippling while Dave prefers a complete 360-grip modifi cation.
64 PERSONAL DEFENSE • FALL 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
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