No, it's not the grip. I've been shooting for 40 years and haven't limp wristed a round yet. In fact, I've tried to intentionally limp wrist my 2 Sigmas when I first bought them and only had one FTE. I cleaned the 40VE thoroughly this morning and all looks well. The plastic base of the recoil rod/spring where it locks to the barrel is deformed a bit, but it has always been like that. Maybe that is becoming an issue. The plastic base at the rear end of the recoil spring is uneven and a bit battered. But again, it's been like that since I bought it used. I'll try it again Sunday.