Installing a Hogue Handall Grip Sleeve
Dr. John Woods 12.15.18
John J. Woods
Magnolia Outdoor Communications
INSTALLING A HOGUE HANDALL GRIP SLEEVE
One of the minor irritating features of most polymer framed pistols of today’s genre is how slick this material is in the hand. Regardless of how much palm pressure you can achieve on the pistol’s grip surface, upon firing, there can still be some movement. Even a slight grip pitch in the hand can be destructive of good shooting and accurate hits at any range. A sound, firm grip is critical for self-defense work.
To help resolve this issue, Hogue came out with a comprehensive product line of rubber, recoil absorbing beavertail grip sleeves. These are made to fit a specific handgun model or models as the case may be. You should order the one that is made to go on the exact pistol model you use.
Being a sleeve, the Handall grip cover is made to “slide” over the pistol’s regular grip surface. I put quotations around the slide part, because there is a bit more to it than simply slipping the sleeve over the pistol’s grip panels or molded polymer frame in the case of some pistols.
I chose the Glock 43 to add a Hogue Handall sleeve, because the polymer frame of the Glock’s can be a tad slippery for a firm grip. That and the small grip frame of the Model 43 is minimal as it is. With big paws like mine, I like a firmer grip that does not move or yaw as the gun fires and recycles another round.
The Hogue Handall is designed with proportioned finger grooves and palm swells that not only give your pistol a smart professional look, these features also contribute greatly to a better, more firm grasp of the pistol’s grip. The texture of the Hogue sleeve is a cobblestone pattern with a non-slip and non-irritating stippling feel. The sleeve material is rubber therefore virtually impervious to gun oils, solvents typically used for cleaning and lubricating firearms.
As the installation instructions say “Easy to install. Simply stretch over the stock grips.” Forget the simply part. Hogue does recommend heating the sleeve in hot water or blow dryer to make it more pliable, then using window cleaner to lubricate the sleeve to slide it over the grip frame. I used both of these suggestions to facilitate the “sliding” part.
Trust me it takes some finger and wrist strength to finally slide this sleeve over the frame grip. It took several tries. Be careful not to overly pull the edges as the rubber could tear. Read the instructions completely and follow them to the letter. The final fit feels good and affords a great grip on the pistol. Problem solved.
