1911 FAQ

If your 1911 has a safety on the right (ejection port) side of the gun your grips will likely need an Ambi Safety cut of some kind. For most standard 1911’s or 1911 clones with an ambidextrous safety a Standard Ambi cut will work. If your 1911 is made by Rock Island Armory and has an ambidextrous safety you will need a Rock Island Ambi cut. If your 1911 is made by STI or Taurus and has an ambidextrous safety you will need an Extended Ambi cut. If you have the Dan Wesson Specialist, you'll need the DW Specialst Ambi. If your gun is made by Kimber and has an ambidextrous safety you will not need any special cuts unless the gun has aftermarket modifications to the safety.

Full size 1911 grips fit Mil-Spec Government and Commander models while compact grips fit Officer models. If you're not sure which model you have you can measure the distance between the screw holes. On a full size 1911 the holes will be 3 1/16" (78mm) apart from center to center. On a compact they will be 2 ⅝" (67mm) apart. For Non-1911 grips check the FAQ on the product page for that grip.

Unless you are switching thicknesses no, you will not need new hardware as your stock screws and bushings should work fine with your new grips. If you are transitioning to a Slim-line grip from a Standard Thickness or vice versa you will need to purchase and install both our Universal Bushings and any set of our screws (as they are all universal) to accommodate for the difference in thickness. For thickness measurements and examples please click the link below.

Standard grips have the classic look that leaves the mainspring housing pin exposed.

Beveled grips are the same as a standard, but with a 45° bevel across the bottom.

Magwell grips are flat across the bottom without a cut-out for the mainspring housing pin; designed to fit flush against a magwell.

Magwell (Internal Magwell Cut) grips are the the same as the standard Magwell Profile, but with a relief cut on the back to accomodate the hooks of an Internal Magwell.

Round Bottom grips are for guns with round bottom frames only.

Bobtail grips are for guns with bobtailed frames only.

In general, there are two styles of 1911 magwell. The first style either attaches to, or is part of the main spring housing. This type of Magwell does not require any special cut to the grip, but we recommend the standard magwell grip profile for best the best appearance. The second style, which we call an "Internal Magwell" attaches with hooks that go over the grip bushings. This style of magwell requires a relief cut on the back of your grip. If your gun has an internal magwell, or you plan to buy one, we recommend ordering your grip with an internal magwell cut.