Model 41 grips

I'm taking a survey to see what kind of grips most guys use on their 41's. I have Herrett nationals on mine but I'm not sure if I like them or not, they don't feel right, there has to be something better. Your input is appreciated.

for I've tried quite a few and still go back to the stock grips

Nothing ever felt quite right, and that's one reason I switched out of the 41 many years ago.  But it is a highly personal thing, and many folks really like the 41.

I have a set of new oil finished Harretts Nationals which I stippled you can buy, they look really nice and feel great. I am a decent wood worker as I used to restore wooden boats. $60 including shipping,  send me an PM if your are interested and I can send picks.  

The Nationals are a little big for me and I wanted to try an ergo grip I bought Karl Nils because I like their wood and grip style better. 

I measure about 87 to 90 mm across my hand but I have a short index finger which makes everything feel too big.  

Factory grips are too big for my hand. Harretts make 4 styles, Custom, Nationals, 1911 Trainers and a model that resembles the factory grip which I call checkered. 

Harretts checked seem much better than the new factory grips but I had to take about 3/32s off the back, flatten the arch and stippled them too because the back of the grip is very slick. My rich mans problem is my gun is a real shooter -I found out after KC Crawford did a spectacular trigger job and tune up. So it may be my match gun. 

With the model 41 I think you need a little extra support because the gun is a little heavy and a little unforgiving. So to get through a 2700 I think you need a palm shelf. For me it seems to point better with an ergo grip? 

But my friend  just did great with his Clark Model 41 at nationals, he used the Flat CMM grip. http://www.cm-machine.com/. 

People really seem to like the CMM 1911 grip adapters which are expensive too. 

Dick Horton also makes 41 grips bit they seem huge so I went with Nils

Im a simple soul. The stock grips feel great to me.

The old stock grips are fine, the new ones lift my trigger finger too high and I can't reach the trigger except for the tip of my finger. 


They look pretty but are to big for me.

forgot to say my stock grips are from the early 70s.  tried a set of 1911 trainer Herrits but will have to stipple the back side as they are too slick for me

I have 2 model 41.  A 1959 made and a 77ish made.  The original grip on each is different from the other.  I prefer the 1959 grip.  But I have found no grip at all for the 41 that delivers real comfort and is slide bite free.  The large-Xlarge Nil and Rinks have too much volume.  My hand is 100mm wide with a very thick thumb ham.  And the reach is not real long.

Hello flytrap1,

I have two M41s; one with irons and one with a dot.  I use the factory grips on both (see my avatar).

Jim

If you like the gun and it shoots good for you then get some sandpaper and slowly adjust the grips to fit you better.

Went from the Hogue OEM wood grips (which I could never get used to -- the fat backstrap and narrow frontstrap just didn't feel right) ...



... to Herrett National Match grips, worked slightly with sandpaper to access the slide stop and to somewhat fit my hands ...



... then added a lot of wood putty to give them the shape that worked better with my hand ...



... then switched to a set of Nill adjustable match grips that closely matched the shape I had made with the putty.



I also purchased a set of original, S&W-made stock grips that I like much better than the Hogues (more 'oval' shape); I'm contemplating switching back to them for a while:

Thanks RVL

I think the Nil in size medium (but if they have a large and extra large would the medium not be really the small?) 

Are going to work for me because the front part seems more natural ad because the palm swell seems to help with pointing. 

You might like the Harretts version of the factory grip, I needed to checker my back strap because they all seem slick but the trigger finger channel on the factory grips is too high for my hand.

I like the small Rink grips on my 41 — here, with my best slow fire with this gun to date. 

Good shooting

Thanks rvlvrlvr, I just was putting wood putty on my Herrett National Match grips last night, funny i was adding it at the same spot along the front of the palm.  Any chance you could post more pics of that-some profile etc.  Just curious to see where all you added it and how much.  My first time modifying my grip.  Thanks!

jman wrote:Thanks rvlvrlvr, I just was putting wood putty on my Herrett National Match grips last night, funny i was adding it at the same spot along the front of the palm.  Any chance you could post more pics of that-some profile etc.  Just curious to see where all you added it and how much.  My first time modifying my grip.  Thanks!

Some putty to fill in the crease of my fingers:


A bit on the thumbrest to raise the rest and 'square' it off, so my thumb won't feel like it's going to slip off:


Continuing down to fill in the heel of my hand (I know there's a name for this feature of anatomic grips...)


More detail of the heel portion:


Added a slight "ball" for the palm, for something to push against when my fingers are squeezing the grip straight back into my palm:


A bit more detail of the finger groove ridges. There's a slight flare above the middle finger to have that finger support the weight of the gun more.

Awesome, I really appreciate it, those different angles really help.  I haven't worked on the back for the heel yet, and those pics will definitely save me time!

And a little more about how I wanted the grips to fit:

I wanted the thumb raised to be even with my trigger finger:


Good contact with the lifeline of the heel:


I don't grip with my fingers horizontal, even if there are finger grooves to encourage such a grip; I seem to shoot better with a slant to my fingers. This may be a result of the more vertical palm area of many grips (Nill, Herrett, slabs, revolver grips, etc.). Morini grips have more of a "cone" shape to the grip, narrow at the bottom, wide at the top, that better encourages my fingers to fall into the grooves, but I still don't like them:


Finally: good contact all around with the palm shelf:

Flytrap1,
  To answer your OP I think the best grips for the model 41 are the Herrett Nationals. I have lots of grips for my 41's and I finally settled on the Herretts. I think if you leave them alone except for some skateboard tape you have a grip that you can duplicate on most (American) pistols found in Bullseye shooting. I may not shoot every pistol with the same trigger weight but with the Herretts I do shoot every pistol with the same grip.

Vitarbo (second from the right) for me. Like slipping into a glove.

100% Herrett trainers here.  Came from back in the day I was a military shooter and wanted it to feel like my 1911s.    Never was much of a 22 shooter.  Never broke 890 and a 297 is the best NMC I remember.    Picked us a set if Vitarbos way back and never bonded with them.    Might be time to break them back out.

These came with my 1984 M41. I'm trying them out today. Can anyone identify them?