TargetTalk

When referring to grip sizes in competitive pistols, does small, medium and large refer to the circumference of the grip or the length (or both)?

I wear a XL glove but prefer thin slabs on a 1911 and the "medium" grip (circumference) with the "full size" length on the Sig Sauer polymer pistols.

As I peruse the WTS ads, I'm not sure which I should be considering.

Thanks,
Jim

Shooterer wrote:When referring to grip sizes in competitive pistols, does small, medium and large refer to the circumference of the grip or the length (or both)?

I wear a XL glove but prefer thin slabs on a 1911 and the "medium" grip (circumference) with the "full size" length on the Sig Saur polymer pistols.

As I peruse the WTS ads, I'm not sure which I should be considering.

Thanks,
Jim

Both. Different manufacturers have different sizes (i.e. a Pardini medium might not be the same size as a Morini medium or a Steyr medium). Also, if you go for Rink grips, they tend to run small.

The measurements quoted by the vast majority of grip vendors are neither length nor circumference. They are the width of the hand across the knuckles at the base of the fingers:



Here is a spreadsheet that compares the sizing from all the vendors I could pin down:

I have small, medium and large grips for my Walther LP400 air pistol. I've found that the grip size is more length of finger than width of palm. The adjustable heel plate allows some variability of palm width, but the circumference of the grip is what your finger length determines.

Although I take a large size glove, I like the medium Walther grips with the heel plate adjusted to my palm width.

As always, YMMV.