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Hey YouTube, fsfazekas here
Well, old man winter still has a grip on upstate New York so we're inside today with an accessories
video for you. We're looking at VZ Grips for the 1911 and how to install them.
You should know from watching my previous videos that I have two 1911s the Remington
R1 Enhanced in stainless and the Ruger SR1911CMD, the commander sized version of the Ruger SR1911.
Both 1911s are nice looking firearms by themselves the Remington has aggressive dark colored
grips while the Ruger has blued accent pieces and less aggressive, double diamond wood grips
with the Ruger medallion embedded in them.
However, once I had both these 1911s in my collection, I really wanted a more unified
look, something that said, these are MY 1911s. Since both guns are stainless, I
figured that installing the same grips and screws on both guns would achieve that goal.
There are many makers of 1911 grips, in many materials wood, plastic, G-10 and even
metal and a quick search led me to the VZ Grips web site (vzgrips.com). Right now G-10
is very popular for gun grips and since VZ offers grips made in G-10, I decided to take
a closer look at their grips. There are many patterns and colors available
from VZ, but there is nowhere near where I live to try before you buy. VZ grips aren't
exactly cheap so I played it safe and stayed with a pretty plain grip. Let me show you
what I chose.
These are the VZ Grips Aliens grip in their color Army Green in other words olive
drab. I also bought two sets of these Turbo blackwash screws. The screw sets come in either
black out or blackwash finish. Black out means the screw is completely blued
and there is no shiny metal while black wash is where the screw is blued but the
raised portions are bluffed or polished to reveal the metal.
Taking a closer look at the grip, one of my concerns was that the long grooves that run
from the top to the bottom of the grip looked to be very deep. I thought there might not
be much material to grip and that the cross section of the grip might be rather thin.
However, as you can see here the grooves are not all that deep and the cross section is
thick enough to provide a good grip. I wanted to show you guys a good end view showing the
cross section because thatís something that VZ really doesn't have any pictures of you
know from this angle.
I wonít bore you with my ordeal of choosing the colorÖletís just say I almost drove
my wife nuts and spent hours photoshopping pictures of my guns with the various VZ grips
on them!
Well letís go ahead and get these grips installedÖ
First thing weíll do is safety check the gunsÖLetís check the R1Öno magazine and
itís clear. Next check the RugerÖitís also clear.
We begin by removing the gripsÖon the R1 we have standard or flat head screwsÖthis
screwdriver is actually a bit small but it works. You may want to wrap a bit of masking
tape around the end of your screwdriver to protect against scratches if
you slip. Ok the R1 is done.
Now the SR1911CMD has hex head screws that are removed with an allen wrench or hex key.
These are 3/32î sizedÖ
OK the Ruger is done
If the grips stick at all; remember that with the magazine removed you can use your finger
to poke them out. I wanted to mention the options you have when
selecting your grip - after choosing the pattern and the color you still have a number of options.
First, youíll need to select the frame sizeÖthatís full size or compactÖthe R1 and Ruger are
full sized framesÖcompact is for some of the mini 1911s with a shorter grip ñ this
is not the difference between full size versus commander size ñ thatís about the barrel
length. Then you need to choose the thicknessÖthese
grips are standard but they are also available in ìslim lineî if a narrower grip would
fit you better. If want the thinner grips, just be aware that youíll need to replace
the bushings ñ thatís the piece where the grips screws screw in. Theyíll need to be
thinner or shorter and VZ sells those. Your next choice is ìprofileî and it has
to do with the shape of the grip at the bottom. The grips I bought are standard profile. They
have a flat bottom and a cut out for the mainspring housing pin. These grips from the Ruger are
standard profile with a beveled bottom that might be nicer for a carry gun. The ìmagwellî
option means that the grips are not cut away to access the pin for the mainspring housing
as that is where the magwell attaches. Then there is ìround bottomî. This option
rounds the back of the grip rather than having the sharp corner. Itís for specific models
of 1911sÖI think mostly from Kimber but Iím not 100% certain on that. Finally, the ìbobtailedî
option is
where the back corner is cut away at an angle. Again this is for specific manufacturerís guns.
After ìprofileî you get to choose the mag release...these are options that give you
better access to the mag release. Iím left handed and the mag release is on the wrong
side for me so none of these options matter to me, however, if youíre right handed you can choose between the ìthumb notchî
and the ìsuper scoopî. The Remington grip shows an example of a thumb notch. The ìsuper
scoopî is a deeper and wider cut and is supposed to be quite popular.
Lastly, you can choose your ambi safety cut. This is a cut out on the back of the grip
on the right side of the gun that facilitates the installation of an ambidextrous safety.
As I mentioned, Iím left handed and might want to install an ambi safety so I chose
a standard ambi cut. VZ also provides options for Rock Island
and STI/Taurus ambi safeties.
Alright then, letís install the new gripsÖthe turbo blackwash screws use a Torx driver to
install them. Itís the T-15 size and if you donít have one, you can get it from VZ.
WatchÖI wonít be able to get these darn screws out of the bagÖ
OK thereís one side of the R1 doneÖ Öand thereís the otherÖ
Letís move on to the RugerÖ Ok thereís one side of the Ruger doneÖ
OKÖ thereís the other side of the Ruger done.
Well there you
have itÖweíve installed VZ Grips Aliens Army Green G-10 grips along with the turbo
blackwash screws on the Remington R1 Enhanced stainless and the Ruger SR1911CMD. Both these
guns look like they belong together now and have a more uniform look. Iím very pleased
with the way this turned outÖthe grip is greatÖall in all I think itís a big success!
I hope you enjoyed the video and found it informative. I certainly encourage you to
check out VZ Grips if you have a 1911Öand just a disclaimer that Iím not associated
with VZ grips in any way, Iím just a satisfied customer.
If you think about, it putting custom grips on a 1911 is kind of like a car guy putting
new rims on his carÖit makes it ìyourî gunÖand itís an expression of your individual
taste. Just donít let me see you putting ìspinnersî on your 1911 okay?
Well, it looks like our time is up for todayÖthanks for lookiní in on meÖ