The best G10 grips for your RIA 1911 pistol is probably going to be something from VZ Grips. Let’s be honest, they have the coolest designs and the best variety to choose from, but at the end of the day, do you really want to spend $60 + on grips for a gun that is already seen by many as a “budget 1911”?
Disclaimer: I’ve never used VZ Grips, so I can’t speak to how good they are. As far as all the hype surrounding them, I’m sure it’s all true. I’m not going to attempt to disprove any of it because, like I said, I’ve never owned their grips. If I had the extra cash lying around, I’d probably buy a pair myself.
My first gun
Alright, so here’s the backstory, in case you wanted to know. I just bought my first gun, a Rock Island Armory 1911 A1, which is the full size GI version, not the tactical. It cost me around $500 out the door after transfer fees and what not, which is considered cheap for a new 1911.
I went with the 1911 platform as opposed to a Glock, or any other modern, polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol purely because I fell in the love with the all steel frame, aesthetics and mystique of the gun.
Just to show you what I mean, this is a .45 caliber Colt 1911 government model with a gorgeous blued finish, done Dan Wesson style with the stainless no-holes half-moon trigger and G10 grips. If you look at the Dan Wesson Specialist or Valor, they look very similar to this one.
Obviously, I’m not going to jump into a $2,000 + gun for my first 1911 (even if I had the money), so I went with the RIA, which is the same gun as far as general looks are concerned, but for a quarter of the price. Rock Island Armory is also known to make a very good quality 1911 for the money.
It has the same proportions of the Colt 1911 in terms of the frame and slide, minus the high-end customizations and hand-fitting, of course. The other difference is mine has a matte black parkerized finish, skeletonized hammer and trigger and is chambered in 9mm.
The thing I love most about the 1911 is its history. It’s won two World Wars and has been the standard-issue sidearm for the Unites States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1985, when it was replaced by the Beretta M9. Holding a 1911 is like having a piece of American history in the palm of your hand. It’s a weapon that’s easy to bond with because it’s not just a tool that could one day save your life; it’s also a work of art and a historical relic.
By the way, If by chance you’re still in the market for a 1911 and you’re not sure whether to go 9mm or .45 ACP (“God’s caliber” and all that), then this short interview with Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat and Ken Hackathorn should help clear that up for you.
Why I decided to buy a gun in the first place
The practical reason why I decided to buy my 1911 was for home defense.
A handgun is better for home defense than a rifle or shotgun because in the event you have to use it, the long barrel could become a liability and make it easier for a perp to disarm you. A rifle or shotgun could also make it harder for you to maneuver around tight corners. At least, that’s what I’ve heard.
I’m not really a gun guy. I grew up in a blue state. I wasn’t raised with guns and I’m only just learning about guns and gun safety now, as a forty-year-old man.
Why now? Because the world has become more unstable than it’s ever been in my lifetime.
Just imagine for a moment if the economy were to crash, which it looks like it will. Almost immediately, crime and home invasions would skyrocket, potentially putting you and your family at risk. When people don’t have food or other basic needs met, they tend to go apeshit. This means crime, looting, unrest and chaos in the streets. Think George Floyd riots times ten. If that scenario sounds scary to you, it should because there’s a real possibility of it happening.
This is why it’s wisdom to own a gun. Not because you intend to do harm to anyone, but because you want to be able to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event others want to do harm to you.
And, speaking for myself, I don’t have the ability to just lay down and let my family get taken out, my wife get raped and killed and my own body mutilated or worse by low-life scumbags all because I’m not willing to do what’s necessary to protect them.
The reality is, in the blink of an eye, the world could turn upside down and we could find ourselves in a dystopian nightmare, like a scene from the movie Death Wish.
We could all be thrust into the position of Charles Bronson’s character, Paul Kersey, and feel what it’s like to live in a lawless land where crime runs rampant, the police protect the criminals and the only one looking out for you is you.
Best G10 grips for RIA 1911: thin vs. standard vs wide fit
The rubber grips that come with the RIA are decent, but ugly as sin IMO. They cheapen the looks of the gun. They do give you a good grip, though, but why not switch them out, especially when you can get after-market grips for next to nothing?
I’ve tried multiple companies and, let me tell you, trying to find the right grips for my Rock Island 1911 has been a huge pain in the ass. I never thought I’d end up having to return multiple items and waste so much time to get this right.
That’s why the first thing I will recommend is to make sure to get grips that fit your hand correctly.
I didn’t know this at first and the gun grip manufacturers don’t exactly make this information easy to find, so read a lot of Amazon reviews to make sure that the grips you like, number one, fit your gun, and number two, fit your grip.
Some guns have shorter bushings and require shorter screws for attaching your 1911 grips, so keep this mind when purchasing.
Other 1911’s will have longer bushings and longer screws, in order to fit a wider grip.
My RIA has short bushings, so is meant to handle either thin, or standard size grips, but not wide.
I made the mistake of buying these pearl wide-fit grips from a custom manufacturer I won’t name, which I later returned because I couldn’t even attach them to my gun because they were too wide. They didn’t come with screws either. I could see they were too wide for my hand as soon as I took them out of the box. It cost me almost $20 just to return them, only to get barely a $10 refund. Huge fail.
It would’ve been nice if the description of the item made mention of the thickness of the grips, but you live and learn.
Best G10 grips for RIA 1911: cheap grips vs. high quality grips
I also learned that the best grips for your 1911 won’t necessarily appear highest on Amazon’s search results because those are mainly sponsored ad placements from companies flooding the market with cheap grips.
When I was toying with the idea of wood grips, I bought a pair of Cool Hand gunpowder and dark grey grips that looked like absolute shit, especially with the overly flashy gold screws, so later on, there was no way I was going to order a pair of G10’s from them.
Right after that, I also ordered a pair of Pachmayr laminate wood grips because they seemed like they might be better quality, but they were about as equally cheap-looking as the other ones and even appeared red, which I definitely didn’t want.
Luckily, I had already ordered a backup just in case. I found a pair of G10 grips that cost me $15.99, so I returned the Pachmayr ones and stuck with the G10’s.
Best G10 grips for RIA 1911: the best value hands down (contains Amazon affiliate links)
I saw a YouTuber, 704 Tactical, review a pair of G10 grips from a company called Zohan grips, so I thought I’d give them a try. Mine are the Coyote color. For $15.99, how could you go wrong?
What sold me was that the YouTuber mentioned he owned much more expensive G10’s that were on par with these G10’s from Zohan, quality-wise, but much cheaper.
When I got them, I noticed that they looked high quality and did dramatically improve the looks of my 1911, but I had to really sand them down in certain spots to get the side that the magazine is on to fit right. It took me a solid 30 minutes or so to get the grip to sit flat, so I could screw it down properly. I even had to use my wife’s mechanical nail file thingy to help me sand it down faster, but could have done it without too.
The grips came with black screws, though, which was nice, so I didn’t have to pay extra for those and after I put them on, they made my 1911 look freaking amazing. I’m very happy with my purchase, even though I had to put a little work in to get them to fit.
This experience only made me bond closer to my gun, oddly enough. I actually enjoyed the process of fitting the grip to my gun. Am I weird?
Anyways, check them out. They’re great grips and cheap, two things that don’t always go together. Trust me, pick them up. You can’t go wrong. As long as you’re willing to fit them to your RIA, you’ll be all set.
What do you think? Looks pretty sweet, right?
Just don’t get in the habit of putting your finger on the trigger, like I am in the picture, even with the safety on. Practice indexing, with your index finger out of the trigger guard and resting on the frame, instead. I’m writing this as a way of reminding myself too because indexing is one of the cardinal rules of gun safety.
Now all I need to do is replace the trigger with a stainless one from Wilson Combat with no holes and I’ll have a really sweet-looking 1911.
Your training partner and gun grip advisor,
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