I recently bought a used second gen p3at. I'm currently having magazine drop issues, which I'll be solving with a new mag release and spring from keltec. Once that is fixed I'd like to make the grip a better fit for my big hands. In gloves I usually wear an xxl or xxxl size. I was looking at the handall jr from houge, I was also looking at the agrip from brooks. Has anyone used epoxy to enlarge the grip? Or maybe kydex molded to the shape and held on with adhesive? What about all three together?
I have the Handall jr with a little bit of a rubber-like padding on the back strap of my P3at. I would just try that first, I'm pretty sure it fits better upside down and you'll have to trim it. I had to put a couple drops of super glue on the corners to keep it in place. There are some other grips that should work too, try a search or two. I would avoid adding any more than that, the more you add the more likely to have a problem. I'm normally not a fan of the add on grips but it works pretty well on the P3at. There is also a 9 round mag or the +1 extension that KT sells, that might help too. Or they make a nice little 9mm called the PF9. http://www.1bad69.com/keltec/handalljr.htm
I don't want a longer grip, that would make it less concealable. I want to increase LOP. Its an awkward trigger pull for me with my long fingers and big hands. That's why I was thinking about a few layers of kydex glued to the backstrap, then the handall grip over that. Or maybe I should just get out the epoxy and my sander.
I have tried a few things... A Pachmayr grip and 1/4" thick dense foam strips layered under the grip: Four layers of bike tube and split plastic tubing layered on the backstrap under the bike tube: A Hogue grip and three layers of split plastic tubing and two layers of bike tube under the grip: I tried foam strips first but the slip-on grip seemed to compress the foam over time and as a result the grip lost the added depth. I ended up with a combination of plastic tubing, bike tube, and slip-on grip. I used three layers of 5/8" O.D. x 7/16" I.D. flexible plastic tubing, cut into 1/2" wide strips a bit longer than the backstrap, glued the strips together with Goop adhesive and clamped it until dry. Then I aligned the glued tubing along the backstrap and put on two layers of bike tube then the slip-on grip on over that. Lastly, I trimmed the excess plastic tubing off at the bottom of the grip. Using strips of material under the slip-on and/or bike tube is kind of neat because you can experiment with different numbers of layers of material and at the same time you don't permanently alter the gun. My first attempt shows three strips of 1/4" thick foam with a Pachmayr grip over the foam. Notice how the foam has compressed (more at the top where grip and recoil cause more pressure, but quite a bit at the bottom also). The second attempt shows the gun with three layers of tubing and four layers of bike tube. The last photo shows my gun as it is now with three layers of plastic tubing, two layers of bike tube, and a Hogue slip-on (I like the finger grooves). You will notice that the overall length of the gun isn't any deeper than it was before the modification due to the depth of the beavertail on the grip. I got a couple of bike tubes free - went to a local bike shop and asked for any bad ones they were throwing away. The 20 x 1.75 - 2.125 worked best for me. Bobo
I used 5/8" O.D. x 7/16" I.D. clear, flexible plastic tubing, split the long way into 1/2" wide, curved strips a bit longer than the backstrap which you can purchase by the foot at Lowes, Home Depot, or most hardware stores. Each layer adds about 1/16". Layer as many strips as you wish, glue and clamp together until dry. Then apply the bike tube and/or slip-on grip over the tubing strips. Finally trim the excess strips that stick out from under the grip. Bobo
