The Unofficial P64 Resource Forum

Hi all,

I bought one of these little gems at a gun show about seven years ago for $150. It's a 1968 vintage and was either new, or only very slightly used. I got a Wolff spring set, replaced the original recoil spring with a 20# and the hammer spring with an 18#. I polished the feed ramp, smoothed out the "cat's eye's" in the safety and have worked it enough so it finally moves smoothly. It shoots Winchester 95gr. FMJ, Brown Bear 94gr. FMJ, Silver Bear 94gr. JHP and FMJ and Corbon PowrBall 70gr without any problems. I think it's a fantastic carry piece, but I have one small issue.

I understand the recoil is just part of the package and have gotten used to it. The only thing I have yet to work out is the abuse to the web between my thumb and trigger finger. After about two dozen rounds, I have two small parallel cuts there. I finally had a "Duh!" moment and figured out that they're caused by the back edges of the frame. Has anybody smoothed out those edges? Did it work? Is it a bad idea or a good idea? Is there any other modification or should I just wait until the web of my hand develops calluses?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forums.

Some owners have added rubber grip sleeves to help recoil.

Or you can order larger wood grips made by Marschals.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4468&p=43276&hilit= ... e72#p43276

Hey Curly1,

Thanks for the welcome. I put an Uncle Mike's rubber sleeve on, but that didn't really address the issue. I just saw the Marschals grips yesterday and am thinking about them, but the real problem is the geometry of the frame. It does look like the short beavertail grips might solve the problem though. I've got some nice rosewood, ebony, walnut and ash and a friend who's got a full woodworking shop and a high skill level so I might just take a crack at having him do the necessary inside work and I'll get after the exterior. Sure would be nice if Pachmayr had some. I imagine the Walther PPK grips with backstrap don't work or everybody would be using them.

You are right the PPK/S grips don't work I have a pair and it's the first thing I tried when I got the P64.

Welcome aboard. I bought a sleeve at Cabela's for around $10-$12 called a Limbsaver. slides right over the handle, stays put pretty nicely and helps with the recoil a little. It also has a lip that extends up to below the hammer to help protect the webbing between your thumb and index finger. I really like it, and think it was worth the few bucks I paid for it.

I had a small Hogue that's designed to fit a Glock and tried it last night, but the geometry is off. Then I took a piece of butyl rubber sheet, the kind used for water protection in construction, cut a piece about 1.5" long x 1" wide, trimmed it to fit around the offending edges and stuck it on, then replaced my previous Uncle Mike's sleeve with a piece of inner tube. While this isn't too cosmetic, it will do until I get out to the range and try it.

I don't want to spend close to 2/3 the cost of the pistol to get custom grips that may or may not solve the problem and am sure I can work this out myself. If padding the edges works, I may try forming a small piece from Jett Sett, which is a reusable thermoplastic, painting it black and fastening it to the frame with adhesive.
http://www.contenti.com/products/stone- ... 0-620.html

My next alternative would be to take some exotic wood I have to a friend's wood shop, have him do the necessary routing to form a beavertail grip and then I'd do the external work and finishing. I'm really not trying to make this into a career change, just want to stop tearing up my hand with the sharp edges at the back of the frame.

Let us know how it works out.

2old2run,
Are the cuts in the web of your hand? Could it possibly be from the slide and not the frame? I have noticed that sometimes my grip can get a bit high and it places the web of my hand awfully close to the bottom of the slide, which will slice the hell out of you when cycling during firing. I used to have a PPK/S that would slice me there if I was not careful. If that is the case, I found that a grip that is bigger around will cause you to grip a bit lower, keeping the web of your hand unsliced and much happier.

Slide bite can happen if you have large hands and a high grip.

It could very well be, but I have small hands and hold on pretty tight. Will have my wife watch the next time we go out and give her an opportunity to critique my technique (Let's keep it clean, gents). If that turns out to be the case, problem solved without screwing around with any mods to the pistol.

Thanks guys!

You could also see if the marks on your hand line up with the bottom of the slide.

Try holding the pistol as if your are shooting, then bring it up so eye level is at the bottom of the slide so you can see if the web of your hand sticks up high enough to get nailed by the slide.

I have small hands, but a high grip. So the slide cut me and it took a magazine or two to realise it. I wish Marshcall had the beavertail grips back when I ordered mine.

The first three times I shot mine I was cussing and ready to throw it in the trash can!!! My shooting buddy yelled -stop gripping it like you are trying to choke a chicken to death.
That helped a lot. Then I read somewhere about using a "low hold'. He said to use your bottom two fingers to press the pistol into the bottom of your hand and avoid using you middle finger to press the pistol into the web of thumb. This helped me a lot.
Sometimes I forget all that, but am quickly reminded!!!!

fully machined, that is the method I use. I use my ring and pinky to really sink the heel of the gun into the lower palm of my hand. That way when the gun recoils, it keeps it from coming back on the web so hard. Glad you had a shooting buddy there to give you some advice.