3913/14 grips

[petepeterson]

On the discount rack at the LGS today, I ran across a Hogue grip sleeve that covers full-size semi-autos, and a set of Hogue grips for my 3913 or 14 (these items are for the 14, the 13 is the "pretty back-up" for the sake of this thread).

I've opined before that the 3914 is just about ideal for a CCW, but there are a few spots where the grips don't make contact with my hand, feeling slightly "thin" but not terribly so. Not enough to make me want to carry something else, anyway!

I've also mentioned that I don't like the way my CS9 sits in my hand with the stock Hogue grips (never could figure out why they made that the standard way of selling those instead of as an after-market option- but, I digress). I always thought the CS9 would be the perfect carry pistol.

Getting to the point, I bought the grip sleeve, brought it home, and trimmed it to the size of the 3914 (while the groceries got warm in the Jeep, of course.) It does fill the hand nicely, and I'm looking forward to a test run. The sleeve, however, does add a good bit of thickness, or at least it gives the perception that it does, much like my CS9.

So now I'm wondering if it maybe the length of the CS9 Hogue's troubled me, and not necessarily the girth.

So my question is: Has anyone tried both the sleeve and the actual Hogue grips, and do they pretty much have the same feel? Aesthetically, I think the Hogue grips look much nicer than something I stretched over my grip like an industrial-strength condom, and if they feel the same, why not make her look nice? After all, 3rd Gens can have esteem issues just like any other pistol...

Any experience with both products? Thoughts on which one I should settle on?

 

[18DAI]

I use both.

I like and use BOTH. I have the Hogue rubber grips on my 3913 and 3914. They make the gun feel like it was made for my hands. BUT - they do reduce the concealability a little bit.

So on my deep concealment 3914NL I went with the factory OEM grip with the grip sleeve over it. Still gives more controlability than the OEM grip alone yet doesnt really take away from the inherent thiness and concealability of the 3914NL. Regards 18DAI

 

[petepeterson]

Thanks 18,

So you feel that the sleeve still offers more concealability than the grips? That was my general question that took a long time to get to.

 

[18DAI]

Yes, the sleeves dont add as much girth as the grips do. In fact, there is a product locally called The Gripper. It is basically a piece of textured rubber sleeve available in three sizes. Sm, med, lg.

I use the small one on my 3914NL. It is thinner and considerably less expensive than the Hogue sleeve. Regards 18DAI