I just received my Glock 17 back from Dane Burns, which I sent it to him for his grip reduction job. All I can say is "wow"! What a difference the new grip feels compared to the stock grip.
I always liked Glocks for their simplicity, durability, and reliability. They are accurate enough for most practical uses too. However, being an avid 1911 fan, there was always one thing that bugged me about Glocks, and that is their grip shape. For me, the grip feels to thick and clumsy, and it doesn't point right for me, being that I am accustomed to single stack 1911s. Part of what made the gun feel thick and point to high is that annoying "hump" that sticks out on the lower backstrap. Also, the section of the upper rear of the grip that is right under the rear slide rails, which rests on the web of my strong hand, was a little too wide there. The "tail" would pinch the lower joint of my shooting hand thumb, causing it to get shore after a range session.
For these reasons, I sent my Glock to Dane for his magic. He grinded down the back and front strap, removing the stock "checkering" and finger grooves, and refinished it with a stippled/matte texture. This texturing ends in nice clean borders on the upper part of the backstrap and frontstrap. The most notable modification on the grip itself is the removal of the hump on the lower backstrap. Dane then filled it with his own proprietary polymer material, and blended it so the entire backstrap flows in a straight line. The filling material has a different appearance than the rest of the grip, since it is new material that has been fused to the polymer frame. It has a somewhat "molten" plastic look to it, and the color is a little different than the rest of the frame. Honestly, the first time I saw a picture of this, I wasn't quite sure of how I felt about this look. After seeing more pictures, I got used to it over time, and now that I have this gun in my hand, it really isn't that bad. Just try to think of it as a mainspring housing :wink: Anyhow, no Glock will ever look nearly as nice as a 1911, so it probably doesn't really matter. A Glock is more function than "fashion". Dane also removed a little material from the upper tail end of the backstrap, thus solving the lower thumb pinching problem I had. To finish off his grip reduction work, Dane removed some material from the rear of the trigger area, making it easier for the trigger finger to reach the trigger area.
The gun feels great in my hand. Of course, it doesn't feel or look as good as a 1911 for me (plus I like the feel of steel), but it's almost there. The 1911 feels the best in my hand, followed closely by a Browning Hi-Power. No other gun came to a close third before. Berettas had too long a trigger reach for me, SIGs sat too high in the hand, and the HK USP felt clumsy too (the P7 feels nice, but I'm still not used to the squeeze cocker). I can now say that my BCP modified Glock 17 is a close 3rd to the 1911 and Hi-Power. It points a lot like the 1911 now, and the overall feel of the grip is so much better now. I have a stock Glock 31 too, which has the same stock grip as the Glock 17. Both guns are in front of me as I write this. Doing a direct comparison, the Glock 17 with the BCP grip reduction blows a stock Glock grip away. I can now grip the Glock with great comfort and confidence, instead of feeling like I'm holding on to a small brick. It's so good that I never care to shoot a Glock that does not have a BCP grip reduction job done on it!
Thanks Dane, for your superb work and great service.
Here are some pictures of my BCP modified Glock 17. Of course, I'm not a great photographer at all, so the pictures don't do justice to Dane's work. You have to actually see the gun up close in person, and more importantly, feel it, to really appreciate it!
I always liked Glocks for their simplicity, durability, and reliability. They are accurate enough for most practical uses too. However, being an avid 1911 fan, there was always one thing that bugged me about Glocks, and that is their grip shape. For me, the grip feels to thick and clumsy, and it doesn't point right for me, being that I am accustomed to single stack 1911s. Part of what made the gun feel thick and point to high is that annoying "hump" that sticks out on the lower backstrap. Also, the section of the upper rear of the grip that is right under the rear slide rails, which rests on the web of my strong hand, was a little too wide there. The "tail" would pinch the lower joint of my shooting hand thumb, causing it to get shore after a range session.
For these reasons, I sent my Glock to Dane for his magic. He grinded down the back and front strap, removing the stock "checkering" and finger grooves, and refinished it with a stippled/matte texture. This texturing ends in nice clean borders on the upper part of the backstrap and frontstrap. The most notable modification on the grip itself is the removal of the hump on the lower backstrap. Dane then filled it with his own proprietary polymer material, and blended it so the entire backstrap flows in a straight line. The filling material has a different appearance than the rest of the grip, since it is new material that has been fused to the polymer frame. It has a somewhat "molten" plastic look to it, and the color is a little different than the rest of the frame. Honestly, the first time I saw a picture of this, I wasn't quite sure of how I felt about this look. After seeing more pictures, I got used to it over time, and now that I have this gun in my hand, it really isn't that bad. Just try to think of it as a mainspring housing :wink: Anyhow, no Glock will ever look nearly as nice as a 1911, so it probably doesn't really matter. A Glock is more function than "fashion". Dane also removed a little material from the upper tail end of the backstrap, thus solving the lower thumb pinching problem I had. To finish off his grip reduction work, Dane removed some material from the rear of the trigger area, making it easier for the trigger finger to reach the trigger area.
The gun feels great in my hand. Of course, it doesn't feel or look as good as a 1911 for me (plus I like the feel of steel), but it's almost there. The 1911 feels the best in my hand, followed closely by a Browning Hi-Power. No other gun came to a close third before. Berettas had too long a trigger reach for me, SIGs sat too high in the hand, and the HK USP felt clumsy too (the P7 feels nice, but I'm still not used to the squeeze cocker). I can now say that my BCP modified Glock 17 is a close 3rd to the 1911 and Hi-Power. It points a lot like the 1911 now, and the overall feel of the grip is so much better now. I have a stock Glock 31 too, which has the same stock grip as the Glock 17. Both guns are in front of me as I write this. Doing a direct comparison, the Glock 17 with the BCP grip reduction blows a stock Glock grip away. I can now grip the Glock with great comfort and confidence, instead of feeling like I'm holding on to a small brick. It's so good that I never care to shoot a Glock that does not have a BCP grip reduction job done on it!
Thanks Dane, for your superb work and great service.
Here are some pictures of my BCP modified Glock 17. Of course, I'm not a great photographer at all, so the pictures don't do justice to Dane's work. You have to actually see the gun up close in person, and more importantly, feel it, to really appreciate it!
