Christmas gift, new grips!

[Jgf329]

Hey guys, got a new set of VZ grips to replace the plain black factory set. Tried them out at the range yesterday, and they are really comfortable and aid in attaining a secure grip. They also still allow the pistol to draw smoothly from the pocket. I'm very happy with my gift, and am glad I put them on my wish list. Happy New Year to all!

[Buffalo]

They look great..... you must have been on Santa's Nice List
to get something like those.

[tracker]

That is a striking and handsome combination.

[Reinz]

Looking good!

Nice rig too.

[Douglas]

Oh man!!!

I got a set too, but no matter what I could not get them installed and the trigger to function. I could put the factory grips back on and it would work fine.

So, I contacted VZ who said send 'em back and they'd make it right.

-Excellent customer service, but I am jonesing to get the new grips back on there.

Congrats Jgf, and welcome! 

[tracker]

Thanks for the heads-up. This is a great tip to go to the range when there is any configuration change.

[Douglas]

...go to the range when there is any configuration change.

Wisdom that should be carved in stone!

I kept getting one good trigger pull, after which the spring had slipped off. Shame on me if I had just swapped out and then gone on my merry way.

-But if you're on the forum here, it's a safe bet that you wouldn't be doing that anyway. 

[Richard S]

...go to the range when there is any configuration change.

Wisdom that should be carved in stone!

I kept getting one good trigger pull, after which the spring had slipped off. Shame on me if I had just swapped out and then gone on my merry way.

-But if you're on the forum here, it's a safe bet that you wouldn't be doing that anyway. 

Roger that!

One of the brilliant concepts that Karl Rohrbaugh had for enabling the R9 to be the smallest and lightest pistol designed for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge was to make the right-side grip an integral part of the trigger mechanism. That cavity in the grip panel for containing the sear trigger bar spring has to be milled to exact tolerances.

VZ grips is producing some of the most attractive and effective after-market grips on the market for the R9, and their customer service is right up there with Rohrbaugh's.

Those Black-Grays really set off your R9, Jgf.

[Douglas]

Got bad news on this from VZ today.

They've looked at the grips I sent back. They tried them on the set up that they have.  They are within spec.

Long story short: they've seen this before and say that on some R9s their grips just don't fit. There's nothing to be done and they are refunding the cost.   

I'm really disappointed because they were NICE grips. 

[Reinz]

Well that blows.

[Richard S]

Douglas:

I would order another set of the identical color if that is what you want. The odds are that the new grips would work perfectly. (My VZs certainly do.) However, if the new ones are also "out of spec" due to the cutout being too deep, I would try a bit of experimental craftmanship by placing a precisely cut insert of appropriate material and needed thickness in the cutout. Once the correct dimensions have been found and the grip holds the trigger bar sping in place, use an industrial-grade adhesive to make the insert permanent.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.




_{[Corrected typos]}

[Douglas]

You said it Reinz, it does blow.

Richard,

VZ seemed to feel that every set they might send was identical to the one I had sent back to them. They installed the ones I sent back to them on their R9/R9 model without issue, while I could not get them to function for love or money. They didn't even offer to send another set, as they said that they'd seen instances before where particular R9s simply could not wear their grips.

That being the case, I wouldn't be inclined to try gerry-rigging a solution to the trigger group on a fighting handgun. -My comfort level only, YMMV.

The factory set went back on fine, and the pistol functions normally. That of course is the most important thing and, it seems, what I will have to be satisfied with.

-Which as noted, blows because those checkered grips were sweet!

[Richard S]

Douglas:

I understand your thinking on the matter. I'm just a stubbornly incorrigible "tinkerer" in such matters. Anyway, I'm sorry the project didn't work out for you. Those VZs were beautiful.

[Reinz]

I remember when the VZ's first came out, the same thing happened to another member.  His grips were the Black Cherry.  So there was speculation among members at the time that the problem laid  with Black Cherrys. However, VZ held their ground the same as they do now.

[Douglas]

Mine were checkered black, G-10.

They were so aggressively textured that it felt as if the pistol was ratcheted into my hand. I know that they would have allowed me to shoot more quickly. No doubt about it.

I respect VZ for their straight talk; for not putting me through a series of postal-exchanges chasing something that worked when they knew that it never would, and for not simply laying the blame at my feet and saying that it was my ineptitude in the installation.

I liked the grips so much, I even gave fleeting thought to selling my R9 and buying one that could use the VZs.

BUT, my gun has been so absolutely reliable, so willing to feed, fire and eject whatever I load into the magazine that rolling the dice on another seemed crazy. I chose to live with the disappointment.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.