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The last two times I been to the range, the web between thumb and finger has ended up with a gash in it after 50-100 rounds.

This has not happened in the past with the same gun. I'm shooting a Kimber TLE2, and the ammo I've been using is Golden Saber +P.

I wonder if I've gotten in to a bad hold habit or if its the +P ammo that I can't handle. Any thoughts? Anyone experienced a similar occurrence?

Is the TLE2 the same as the Custom TLE II? I was going to suggest seeing if a 1911 with a beavertail causes the same issues, but I think your gun already has one.

I've never heard of a 1911 with a beavertail biting its owner. That's what a beavertail is for.

I suspect that your grip technique is allowing the web of your hand to ride up over the back of the beavertail during the heavier recoil with +P ammo on some shots.

Try consciously sliding your hand as high up as possible on the grip, and using more grip pressure. I think your problem will go away.

Excaliber wrote:I suspect that your grip technique is allowing the web of your hand to ride up over the back of the beavertail during the heavier recoil with +P ammo on some shots.

+1 The only time I've ever been 'bitten' (and I've got 2 Colts, 2 Kimbers, a Taurus PT1911, and a Compact Crusader -- all with beaver tails) was with my Crimson Carry, and it happened exactly as Excal suggests: the 'web' between thumb and fore-finger was wrapped slightly over the beaver tail and it lacerated with the slide action. Correct your grip and you'll have no more issues.

Would someone please post a pic of how it is possible to have the web on your hand over the "top" of a beavertail? I don't think that's possible, and still hold a 1911 in a firing position. I'm confused

G26ster wrote:Would someone please post a pic of how it is possible to have the web on your hand over the "top" of a beavertail? I don't think that's possible, and still hold a 1911 in a firing position. I'm confused

I don't think that they are talking about going over the top [the pointed end] of the beavertail. A loose grip will cause the grip to smack against the thin flesh between the thumb and index finger.

G26ster wrote:Would someone please post a pic of how it is possible to have the web on your hand over the "top" of a beavertail? I don't think that's possible, and still hold a 1911 in a firing position. I'm confused

Sorry for the confusion. I should have said "some portion of the beavertail".

Without seeing how the gun was being held or what the injury looked like, I can't draw a valid conclusion on where the overhang occurred. However, I can reason that some part of the hand very likely overrode some part of the beavertail because an injury was produced by either the hammer or the slide during the cycling of the gun, and the injury occurred to the part of the hand that should have been protected by the grip safety.

I can't picture any other reasonable way for this to happen.

Excaliber wrote:I can't picture any other reasonable way for this to happen.

Neither can I. BUT.... I have heard people refer to the GI style grip safety as a "beavertail" before too. So when I see something like this, I first question whether we are having a confusion of terms before trying to answer the question definitively.

What does occur to me is that some people will wrap their off-hand thumb over the top of their shooting hand thumb, and even with a beavertail, this can put the off-hand thumb in position to get bitten by the slide under recoil.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Excaliber wrote:I can't picture any other reasonable way for this to happen.

Neither can I. BUT.... I have heard people refer to the GI style grip safety as a "beavertail" before too. So when I see something like this, I first question whether we are having a confusion of terms before trying to answer the question definitively.

What does occur to me is that some people will wrap their off-hand thumb over the top of their shooting hand thumb, and even with a beavertail, this can put the off-hand thumb in position to get bitten by the slide under recoil.

This type of hold usually results in a "railroad track" double laceration on the thumb between the base and the first joint.

The OP described the injury as occurring between the thumb and forefinger.

The mystery continues.

The hammer can pound the web too. Doesn't have to be a slide bite.

I wonder if it could be the grip safety itself, possibly pivoting slightly during cycling and pinching a thin patch of skin in the small gap between the top edge of the “tail” and the frame. The way most Kimber grip safeties are constructed it’s extremely difficult to get the web of the dominant hand anywhere near the path of the hammer or slide.

TLE2, is the injury happening on the thumb-side or index-finger-side of the web of the hand?

About the only other type of slide-bite I’ve seen in a 1911 with a good beavertail in place is a friction burn along the inside of the thumb. This can result from—properly—riding the safety with the thumb, but instead of applying downward pressure on the safety, allowing the thumb to really squeeze inward, against the slide.

fulano wrote:The hammer can pound the web too. Doesn't have to be a slide bite.

Hammer / web contact is the most common issue when a GI type grip safety is used. I've never seen it with a true beavertail safety as the OP indicated he has.

With the grip TAM and I were discussing, the support hand thumb is placed perpendicular to the slide and over the web area of the strong hand. In that case the thumb, being higher, takes the beating.

I had the same issue with the P-64, 9x18. I could never figure out what it was, but it tore up the webbing about 2cm away from my thumb joint. I wound up selling the pistol as it was not fun to shoot...I tried gripping it several different ways to no avail.