Oregon Shooter

Getting a grip on my AK.

Posted: January 26, 2009 | Last Updated: June 06, 2009

I’ve found the AK grip to be more than annoying ergonomics wise.  The standard grip is solid and designed to fit any hand, but is not exactly comfortable for larger hands like my own. 

Looking for something a little more “filling”, I first replaced my stock grip with the popular TAPCO “SAW” grip,

which fills the hand quite well but I soon found it too slick for me.  Not an issue if you are willing to do a little stippling via soldiering iron as shown above.  I used this grip for a year before deciding recently that I would like something a little closer in profile to my Coharie CA94 (MP5 clone) that I have been using as a pistol caliber carbine in 3Gun competition when the AK caliber is not needed.

The goal is to have them both setup similarly so that transitioning back and forth is less noticeable than as in their default configurations.  The “Navy” lower for the clone is very thin in profile and the difference between it and the SAW grip is huge so I was looking for a slimmer AK grip but with better ergonomics than the default AK grip.

The ERGO Grip seemed like a natural alternative that would fit the thinner profile that I was looking for and also have the “sticky” grip that I was looking for.  I wanted the “RIGID” version even though I had not seen either models first hand, I figured the stronger the better.

Then I found a pair of “classic” AK grips on a forum sales section for $25.00 delivered.  That’s more than 1/2 the going price for one grip so I had to jump on the deal.

What I got looks like an early version of the ERGO AK Classic “Rigid” version but without the compartment.

After mounting the grip though, I found a bit of side-to-side play as there is nothing that indexed the grip to the receiver like the SAW grips front edge did to the trigger guard.

The profile is awkward to me and the backstrap very uncomfortable, but a little belt sanding and the fit was much improved.

A small indexing bar was easily made from 2"x.5"x.25" aluminium a 5/16” drill can be used to open the center slot then using a file you can finish fit the inner cut to the grip nut’s square and a grinder to remove material to clear the trigger guard screw.

After installing the bar the grip became rock solid and has no side play at all.  It’s a keeper.

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