One of the easiest ways to personalize, upgrade and preserve a handgun is to replace the stock grip panels with new ones. Of course, this applies to pistols that have grip panels in the traditional sense — of which, thankfully, there are still plenty.
One of the newest guns on the market is just such a gun, and it is all the rage – the Springfield SA-35 pistol. The grips I’m reviewing to illustrate my point are made by LOK Grips — a Michigan company that creates high-quality grip panels for a wide variety of pistols, in an even wider variety of designs, colors, materials and options.
Personalize
Of the reasons I listed for changing your grips, the first was to personalize the gun. I believe this is the most common reason most folks change out the panels. Whether it is just to make a color statement or to proudly display your favorite 2A credo, once you swap out those grips there is a good chance that no one else’s gun will look exactly like yours anymore.
Upgrade
The next most common reason to swap out those stock panels for a new set is to upgrade the quality or performance. Not all grip panels are created equal, and even amongst good quality grips there are personal preferences. You might want a more aggressive texture to bite into the skin for a combat grip – or, you may find the standard grips too uncomfortable for casual shooting, and want something smoother.
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You can even get a completely different shape to the grips, which can literally transform the way the gun feels in your hand.
These extremes and everything in between are what LOK provides its customers.
Preservation
Not as many people think of this reason, and it’s clearly not the most common — but a very good reason to change the grips on your pistol is to preserve the originals. This clearly makes sense if you own a vintage gun and want to shoot and handle it without causing wear or damage to the grip panels – some of which can command hundreds of dollars in and of themselves. Resale price on whatever gun you might sell in the future will be higher if the original factory stocks look like new.
Whatever your motivation for changing the grips on your pistol, you’ll likely find what you need – even if you didn’t know you needed it – at LOK Grips. The number of colors and styles is a bit mind-bending, and in addition to the ever-popular G10 material, you’ll find products made from some unusual sources — like solid brass!
Conclusion
New LOK grips on your gun are a great way to accomplish all of the above – personalize, upgrade and improve performance, and preserve your favorite handguns. And it doesn’t hurt that they are great conversation starters at the range!
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