Pistol Grip is Sloppy

[motocam25 0]

I just converted a new s-12 and used a Hogue grip. I cannot get that thing tight enough to quit moving around. I cut a square hole in the bottom of the receiver and used a genuine ak grip nut and welded my trigger guard, but the grip still moves around. Is it just the grip design? Would a different grip fix the issue?

 

It fits perfectly against the triggerguard, everything is right where it should be.

 

Other than that the gun is solid.

[datrowl 111]

Sounds like the bolt that holds the grip on is too long, though, thats just a guess from someone who's pretty new to the conversion game. Seems I remember hearing that is a fairly common problem and can be fixed by whacking a bit off the end of the grip retaining bolt.

 

Before you take MY word for it... I'd get reafirmation from someone with a little more first hand knowledge.

 

Waylon

[spaniel 7]

Did you look up through the grip with a flashlight and verify that the hole in the grip and the hole in the nut line up well?

 

I used a CSS bolt-on TG, but an issue I encountered was that the provided grip screa was a good 1/4" or more too long. I carefully cut it off to the correct length with a dremel cut-off wheel, making darn sure I didn't knick the threads on the portion I planned to use. Then I also ground an appropriately-sized washer flat on both sides so it fit up in the grip and gave the screw more area to bite inside the grip, as I needed to remove quite a bit of material on the forward edge of the hole to get the holes to line up and I didn't want the screw head to pull through. You could use an extra washer or two as spacers to make up for your screw being a little too long as well.

 

As long as the backside of your trigger guard is perpendicular to the bottom of the receiver, the grip should sit into that 90deg angle and be solid if your screw is the proper length.

[Paulyski 2,227]

You're using an AK PG nut, so the threads can pass through & it's shorter than the Tapco version, so that's not a factor.

 

I'd say you bought a long PG screw & used a short grip.

 

There's 2 lengths of factory AK PG screws. Short, for the old wood grips & Long for the Bakelite grips.

 

Some after-market PGs use the short style & some like the MD-arms grip use the long.

I'd just get an MD grip due to their tremendous strength compared to any other grip out there & you already have the PG screw for it.... But if you like the Houge & it's just a touch sloppy, get the shorter bolt.

 

Some other grips such as the Tapco SAW use a very short screw.

If your houge is hanging 3" below the receiver, you would need to get a smaller screw then too.

Look for an M-6 threaded screw in the correct length.

Flathead is better because you can use odd tools in the field rather than look for an Allen key.

[kindapointless 22]

My grip screw was too long so I just threaded a nut on and lopped it off using the nut to clean up the threads. Is your grip nut nice and tight in the hole? I have an AK that the hole was too big for the nut and gave it some slop. I just put some jb weld on the nut and ground it to fit the hole nice and tight.

[Paulyski 2,227]

The issue of the threaded section being too long is common on DIY units being as the bolt doesn't pass through the reciever & can bottom out if the bolt's too long for the grip.

 

However it's my understanding that he's using a standard AK PG nut, so the end of the bolt can pass through on those.

He'd be running out of threads if anything unless the screw was just WAY_LONG & was reaching internals in the firearm to bottom out on.

 

From how I read his post, unless he runs an M-6 die up the bolt & adds threads then cuts some of the bolt off to shorten it, he'll need the shorter PG bolt.

 

I'm not personally a fan of the houge, so I'm not certain how it mounts.

I thought it used a really short bolt like the SAW, but IDK for certain. I haven't ever thought to utilize that grip.

[gpqueen 545]

The Hogue grips do not like any of the grip nuts. Remove a little plastic inside the grip where the grip nut touches it of file down the bottom of the grip nut to make it shorter.

Either way it will then sit flush.

[Paulyski 2,227]

The Hogue grips do not like any of the grip nuts. Remove a little plastic inside the grip where the grip nut touches it of file down the bottom of the grip nut to make it shorter.

Either way it will then sit flush.

So the houge actually has plastic that bottoms out on grip nuts?

Bummer.

I guess you learn something new every day.

 

I just recently had to shorten the threaded area of an Allen-cap PG bolt & turn down the head on a grinder to get it to work with a Tapco original AK grip clone & fit right.

[WhiskeyMinion 300]

The Hogue grips do not like any of the grip nuts. Remove a little plastic inside the grip where the grip nut touches it of file down the bottom of the grip nut to make it shorter.

Either way it will then sit flush.

 

I have Hogue grips on 5 of my AK varients and one on my converted .410 and have never had to trim for a standard grip nut.

 

The only time I had to modify one was for a DIY trggergaurd on the 12 gauge

[motocam25 0]

The Hogue grips do not like any of the grip nuts. Remove a little plastic inside the grip where the grip nut touches it of file down the bottom of the grip nut to make it shorter.

Either way it will then sit flush.

 

I have plenty of screw and area beyond the screw. If it was a bolt and I tightened it with an impact wrench it would still be loose. I will investigate the custom fitting of the plastic. I really like the Hogue and would like to use it, but I might have to look for another grip.

 

I welded the gun up. Holes, backplate, trigger guard, etc....

 

Grip is the weak link.

 

Thanks for the info!

[WhiskeyMinion 300]

Are you using the small screw that came with the Hogue grip?

 

Did you over tighten the grip screw and crack the plastic inside the grip?

[spaniel 7]

 

Did you over tighten the grip screw and crack the plastic inside the grip?

 

 

I'm guessing this, or the grip is not sitting tight up against the receiver (fit with the nut issue). You can tell this without even putting the screw in. If the grip is sitting as it should when fit in place, it will sit quarely on the receiver and there will be no play.

 

If there is no play when loose-fitted, there should be no play with the screw in. If there is you either cracked the plastic or it's not tighting up for some reason (long screw with a non-pass-thru nut or guard).

 

If there is play when it is loose-fitted, the fit is wrong and no amount of tightening will fix that.

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

I have fitted just about every type of PG to every type of grip nut, as well as all the DIY TG systems. All AK grips are not created equal. All traditional AK grip nuts are not equal either. And there are certainly some differences in the various bolt on DIY TGs with integral grip nuts. Depending on which combination is used, fitting is very often required, it's common. Most often the problem is between the width and depth of the nut or bushing where it goes into the top of the grip, and the width and depth of the milled area in the top of the grip. The grip itself needs to be able to wedge itself up in a corner between the receiver and the back of the TG, for an optimum stable mount, without anything else bottoming out.

[motocam25 0]

 

Did you over tighten the grip screw and crack the plastic inside the grip?

 

 

I'm guessing this, or the grip is not sitting tight up against the receiver (fit with the nut issue). You can tell this without even putting the screw in. If the grip is sitting as it should when fit in place, it will sit quarely on the receiver and there will be no play.

 

If there is no play when loose-fitted, there should be no play with the screw in. If there is you either cracked the plastic or it's not tighting up for some reason (long screw with a non-pass-thru nut or guard).

 

If there is play when it is loose-fitted, the fit is wrong and no amount of tightening will fix that.

 

The grip sits flat on the bottom of the receiver. I'm starting to think that I might need to cut out a piece of plate the same size as the inside of the grip to get more pressure across the entire bottom side of the grip???????

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Or you can buy one that's made for that. We sell PG reinforcement plates....

[spaniel 7]

Did you over tighten the grip screw and crack the plastic inside the grip?

 

 

I'm guessing this, or the grip is not sitting tight up against the receiver (fit with the nut issue). You can tell this without even putting the screw in. If the grip is sitting as it should when fit in place, it will sit quarely on the receiver and there will be no play.

 

If there is no play when loose-fitted, there should be no play with the screw in. If there is you either cracked the plastic or it's not tighting up for some reason (long screw with a non-pass-thru nut or guard).

 

If there is play when it is loose-fitted, the fit is wrong and no amount of tightening will fix that.

 

The grip sits flat on the bottom of the receiver. I'm starting to think that I might need to cut out a piece of plate the same size as the inside of the grip to get more pressure across the entire bottom side of the grip???????

 

Try either a washer as I described, or what Cobra recommended. I went straight to the washer vs even trying without anything, and I have zero grip movement.

 

You said you welded the gun up...did you weld the nut in? Are you absolutely sure it's not contributing to the movement by to sitting firmly in the hole?

Edited April 28, 2011 by spaniel

[Chowderhead72 13]

I had the same problem as the OP. My situation stemmed from trying to use the hogue(ak47) grip with the E-Tac trigger guard. Apparently the E-tac is made to work only with the Tapco (SAW) grip but there was no way I was sending my super comfy Hogue back to use a Tapco product. I had to re-form the inside of the Hogue with a soldering iron (hours of trial and error) coating the grip nut area with remington dri-lube, threaded a piece of m6 threaded rod into the grip nut and filled the empty void with JB weld and trim the JB weld as necessary before it was fully cured. Install m6 threaded nut on to the threaded rod and I was done. Now my pistol grip is permanently attached to my trigger guard and rock solid.

 

In retrospect I would imagine you could make almost any grip work using this method.

 

Edited April 28, 2011 by Chowderhead72

[Paulyski 2,227]

I was just looking at a Saw grip on a gun & I'm really not a fan of the design of having the plastic plate that the grip screw goes through so close to the receiver whether it has an "" extra compartment or not.

 

When the screw is on the inside of the grip close to the receiver you have substantially more leverage against the joint than the grips that use the long screws.

 

I bet cash I could break it off with my bare hands.

 

I would definitely suggest reinforcement of some sort. True, the mount will still be weaker than the traditional mount, or Mike's Motlot which is ridiculously strong, but just a screw in this SAW without anything so much as a washer, let alone a reinforcement plate to distribute force over an even larger area looks weak as all hell for a weapon's accessory.

The thing looks cool, but it needs reinforcement badly.

[k_ritala 2]

I think your nut is bottoming out on the grip. You can grind about an eigth of an inch off the bottom of the nut, or put a spacer/backing plate in the receiver. I have the houge on my saiga 12 and Maadi and had to grind the tapco nut down to get the grip to fit tight on both guns.

Edited April 29, 2011 by k_ritala

[timy 1,185]

The Hogue grips do not like any of the grip nuts. Remove a little plastic inside the grip where the grip nut touches it of file down the bottom of the grip nut to make it shorter.

Either way it will then sit flush.

 

 

I think your nut is bottoming out on the grip. You can grind about an eigth of an inch off the bottom of the nut, or put a spacer/backing plate in the receiver. I have the houge on my saiga 12 and Maadi and had to grind the tapco nut down to get the grip to fit tight on both guns.

 

This fixed mine. Nice and tight and easily done. From what I can gather, this is simply a case of the PG nut and grip meeting before the grip snugs down on the receiver. I spent two minutes on the grinder, if that.

 

As to individual grip preference, the Hogue is my favorite, hands down. I like the rubberized surface for maintaining a firm grasp and it's like they used my hand to mold the grip. It fits me perfectly.

[motocam25 0]

Well I finally got it to tighten up. I welded the grip nut to the receiver, and custom made a plate for the inside of the grip. It is now rock solid!

 

Thanks for all the info!