For years I suffered from slide bite when shooting Glock pistols, especially the mid size guns like my issued 23. Between fairly large hands and an aggressive grip I was almost assured to have the web of my shooting hand ripped open by the slide serrations by the end of the day. The Grip Force Adapter has changed all that.
A while back Ken Hackathorn suggested I try the Grip Force Adapter, and after running one for a while all my Glock pistols now wear one. The GFA is a polymer “beavertail” that fits over the tang of the grip on your pistol. It is held in place by a replacement trigger housing pin. In my experience installation can range from easy to needing three hands to get the holes in the GFA to line up properly while putting the pin through. I have found that if I place the frame of the pistol in a padded vice to hold it while I fit the GFA and pin I have much better luck. Keep in mind that you will need to use caution! It would be easy to over tighten the vice and crush the polymer frame out of shape. The GFA website recommends using silicone adhesive for a more permanent installation of the GFA but I have found that the trigger housing pin alone is more then secure enough.
When you order a Grip Force Adapter you will receive two GFAs, the original version and the new smooth version. A original unmodified GFA can be seen in the pic not attached to a gun. The new smooth GFA can be seen on the gun. My prefrence is for the smooth version, but don’t toss those ribbed first versions as a little time with a dremel tool or 1″ sanding belt can modify it to meet your needs.
The GFA does two things. First and most importantly from my point of view is that it totally eliminates slide bite. I can now spend a day at the range training and not have to worry about cleaning blood off the slide serrations. If you suffer from slide bite while shooting your Glock, you need a GFA! The second is that it slightly changes the grip shape thus changing how the gun points. The GFA offers a bit more of a straight back strap. Some people complain about how a Glock points, if you’re one of them give the GFA a shot, it might be just what you need.
The Grip Force Adapter has made my time behind a Glock pistol much more enjoyable and I highly recommend them if you have large hands. For more info go to http://www.gripforceproducts.com/
Is it weird that the only time ive got caught by the slide was AFTER i installed the gfa? Wanted to try it out and smart guy me put it in for a match and was ready to rip it off by the last stage.
I like these too. When I first saw one, I figured that it was another useless gun-show gizmo. However, when I saw that Hackathorn, Bill Rogers, and Dave Harrington were speaking highly of them, I figured I would give them a try. They make the grip angle much more agreeable to my 1911-habituated hand and eliminate slide bite. I ground the ridges off, as they irritated the web of my hand. The fact that they are now including a smooth unit is a plus.
I’ve only heard of one breakage (this in an AAR of a pistol class). They do very slightly increase trigger reach. So those with small hands might not care for them. The price of admission is small, it doesn’t permanently alter the pistol, and no gunsmith is needed for installation. So give it a shot!
I’m a big fan of the GFA, I’ve been using it for about 3 months now on my Gen 4 Glock 19. Roughly 3000 rounds and a class at the Sig Academy later, my shooting has improved dramatically. The change in grip angle and increase in length of trigger pull in particular helped me.
I understand the need, if it avoids slide bite. Interestingly, Robert Vogel does not like the GFA, because he believes it prevents him getting as high a grip on the pistol as without the GFA. I believe Gary Roberts reported, after switching to Vogel’s way of gripping the Glock, that he knocks the GFA off with an aggressive draw. Not that split times mean everything, but I am convinced that the GFA slows my split times down compared to without. Others, like Bill Rogers, really like the GFA, so this is obviously a subjective thing.
I used GFA’s without incident for over a year–put them on all my Glocks, as they seemed to help me get a better initial grip on the pistol, offer superior recoil control, and prevented the web of my hand from getting cut-up. Unfortunately, as noted above, I bent a GFA off my G19 while training with Vogel and working on his grip technique. Since then, I have broken two other GFA’s during practice. As much as I prefer GFA’s, I have now taken them off my Glocks. My ultimate solution will be to use M&P’s–they do everything my Glocks do, but better…
I want to love the M&P and have several, but I have the worst luck with the M&P 9mm Full Size and accuracy. Hilton seems to manage to find a few that shoot some loads okay, but I get better groups from my Glock 17 at 50y than I can get out of my M&P9 full size at 20y. I have a KKM barrel on the way and hope that will rectify that problem.
Tim, I dropped a borrowed KKM barrel into my 9 FS and Pro, before sending them to Randy Lee for Barsto barrels. The KKM shrank groups in both pistols, AND seemed to reduce the POI shift between different loads, which has always been a problem in my M&P 9 pistols.
Alternatively, you could just ask Gary Roberts to buy your M&P 9, as I am convinced when they hear it is his pistol, they go into their stash of Ernie Langdon barrels, and fit one to his M&P.
I actually ran an M&P in 9 for about 18 months. While I like the platform for it’s ergonomics I could not get past the accuracy issues. The Grip Force Adaptor was just what I needed to make the Glock my go to platform again. I have never had any Glock that shot as poorly as my 9mm M&Ps. While there are fixes in the pipeline none are as easy or inexpensive as the GFA so it’s an easy choice for me.
I run my handguns fairly aggressivly and have not broken or dislodged a GFA to this point. I also have not experienced any measurable change in my split times. Some people have stated their times have decreased (faster splits) due to more leverage on the gun.
As always what people like when it comes to grip (much like sights) is very subjective and your mileage will vary. For the cost however it’s an inexpensive modification that may prove to be very useful.
Joe, I have also heard of folks thinking the GFA helps their split times, which shows like many mods, it comes down to personal preference. LIke many things, if you think it helps, sometimes it does. I surely did, and now have a box of GFA’s in my parts bin.
For me, I have confirmed it on the timer. I think the reason my splits are slower is the GFA increases trigger reach and therefore causes my trigger hand to be less relaxed.
As to leverage, if you look at how high your hand is on the pistol without the GFA, and then put the GFA on, you will see the GFA forces your hand lower. Which I thought of that, but I only realized after Robert Vogel pointed it out to me when I was training with him.
Again, if I was getting slide bite, I would be using a GFA, or have a grip reshape done, regardless of splits and leverage
I meant to add, but got too quick on the keyboard, is after years of fiddling with Glock pistols, the only non-Glock parts I have on my Glock are sights, a grip plug/mag well and a Gadget.
“…and a Gadget.”
Sure, rub it in.