HogueHandAll Beavertail Rubber Grip Sleeve for S&W Shield 9/40, Ruger LC9 / EC9, Black - 18400

Totally love this thing on my ec9s. Makes a huge difference to how it fits in my hand. Has a good feel to it now that the grip is a little wider and made of rubber. Doesn’t look half bad either so that’s a plus. They should really just throw something lite this in when you buy a gun this small for guys like myself with larger hands. A little force needed to get it on but you know it’s on there good. I didn’t need anything to lube it up, just used my hands and a little patience. Shouldn’t have to say it but please make sure your gun isn’t loaded before you put this on it.Anyway, I totally recommend this for anyone with a similar edc.

Hogue grips are excellent, there’s no question to how well they are made or about their functionality. I want to provide some insight on my experience with placing this on my Bodyguard 2.0. I’m not sure if I like it or not for the BG2.0 because without the grip, the handle is smooth so to speak on the front under the trigger guard, and the guard itself has a good cut out (or indentation) for your middle finger. I can get three fingers on the handle and I have large hands, though my pinky is not fully seated up on the handle, it’s seated enough I consider it a full grip. When I put the hogue on the handle, all of this changed, primarily because there is a bump out on the grip, separating the middle finger from the ring finger. This essentially pushes the ring finger down and therefore pushes my pinky down, causing my pinky to no longer be able to fully grip the handle. Now it has to sit underneath the mag, or I can place it on the handle and obtain about a 50% grip as the bottom of the handle now rests about half way into the width of my finger. Again I don’t know if I like it because while the hogue adds texture, a wider grip, and ultimately a better placement of the middle and ring fingers, pushing my pinky off the grip makes me feel like I’m holding an LCP, one of the exact reasons as to why I went out and spent $400 on the BG2.0. Aside from this, it took me less than five minutes to slip it on without any sort of magical techniques that people seem to go on about, and I’m still giving it 5 stars because Hogue makes a terrific aftermarket grip, regardless of my experience with this particular model.

Installation is very very difficult. It would be impossible to just do it with your bare hands. Unless you've got some jaws of life type hands. Took me about 15 minutes. After watching a few videos I did my best to stretch out the grip with my fingers and mash it together to soften it. Then I washed it with soap and water and left the inside of it wet when I'll initially tried installing. I tried that for about 5 minutes with no luck. It just wouldn't stretch the opposite side. Note: always start with the beavertail side first. It would be impossible to do it the other way around. After my first fail, I ran the grip under hot water in my sink for about a minute, put some more soap on the inside and tried again. This time, I'm assuming because of the heat, it stretched a bit further and then I just muscled it down until the top portion of the grip was on. I was able to muscle it a bit more but after about 10 minutes, I found myself at a plateau where my hands would keep slipping and I couldn't get it any further. I grabbed a rag for better grip and used it to pull the grip down the rest of the way. Worked perfectly.Now, it's almost as if it feels like a full sized pistol. The only thing that bugged me a bit was that it felt like my middle finger was squeezed in between the nodule of the grip and the trigger guard, but this makes for a better grip altogether. I definitely would feel more confident in my grip now If I ever found myself in the unthinkable situation where I had to fight for my weapon.Very happy with the purchase.

This aftermarket grip is insanely difficult to install. I cannot stress that enough. However, once it is on it is secure and it definitely adds to the ergonomics of the grip on my M&P 2.0 9MM ... especially if you have big hands as we do. (Note: As a long time shooter, both IPSC and IDPA and even a little SASS, and as a long time NRA instructor, this grip probably will prove too much, too large and stout of a grip for those with smaller hands.) Okay, so here is what we (my 21 year old gorilla son and I) learned when installing these grips on our pistols. First, forget the nonsense that the enclosed (with the grips) instructions tell you to do when it comes to slipping these grips onto the pistol. Forget about cutting the plastic shoehorns out of the packaging .... pretend as if you never saw that nonsense. Instead, heat and thus soften the aftermarket slip-on-grip with either a hair drier or boiling water and then work fast by using the Windex as a lube and a medium sized flat head screwdriver to pry it on - but be careful of two (2) things. Don't overpry and rip or tear the rubber grips while they are warm and DO NOT keep the hair drier on it long enough to melt the rubber. Also, did I mention "work fast?" WORK FAST! Because that rubber does not stay soft for long and you have to get it up there and then let it shrink and cool in order for it to seat properly on the exisiting frame. If the rubber is too hot to handle then use gloves because you want it warm and pliable when you begin. This thing fits tighter than a gnat's butt stretched over a #10 washtub so, at first, you are going to think there is no way possible this thing is going to ever slip on .... but it will. Just work hard and be patient and don't yell at your Son or tell him he's a dummy and to put some muscle into it, or anything like that in the process .... errrrr, not that I did that or anything ::::::bows head in shame:::::: - but this is a very frustrating process and the instructions are obviously in there in order to test your ability to reason logically and to test your curse word vocabulary of which you will use all of them and probably make up some new ones as you go. Soooooo, warm it up, use Windex for lube and pry it on there with a flat headed screwdriver. Once you've accomplished the mission you'll be a happy camper. In the meantime I can only imagine how many ugly words have been slung towards the Hogue folks while trying to get these grips on pistols. It is absolutely one of the most insanely awkward and difficultly frustrating things you might ever try to do when it comes to servicing your firearm. I am NEVER taking mine off! It is on there permanently.

Fits well and feels good, but I am a man with relatively strong hands, and getting this grip on (following the instructions) was not an easy task.