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Does anyone know a gunsmith in the Houston or Texas area that does polymer frame modifications? Specifically I'm interested in taking a G19 or a M&P9 and chopping the grip down to the subcompact grip size to accept the subcompact magazines.

Rob Pincus of I.C.E. and PDN fame does his own grip chop with a dremel on camera. He doesn't do a great job. Later he then sends it off to Business End Customs to fix it up for him. They used epoxy to fix the portions he overcut and then gave the whole grip frame the bark/stipple treatment. They are located in Massachusetts. Bowie Tactical and Dan Burwell also do this kind of work. All of those guys are out of state. I'd love to give the work to somebody in Texas or specifically Houston. If not, I guess I'll need to find an FFL to do the mailing work in the Friendswood/Clear Lake Area.

Here are some links to articles on frame chops if you are not familiar. First is Rob Pincus' hack job:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ5NiZh37V ... Q5NiZh37VE

http://www.guns.com/2012/10/25/rob-pinc ... glock-26l/

The frame chop on the full size M&P is a little trickier because of the adjustable backstraps and the frame tool that holds them in place.

To sum up quickly, the rationale is that the longer barrel and slide give better site radius, more mass, more velocity, while the shorter grip gives better concealment. It is the rude equivalent of a 1911 CCO for Polymer framed handguns.

Try Dale Hunnicut http://www.gripreductions.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; He is in northwest Houston and his work is really good.

Agree with the previous post.....NO ONE does it better than Dale H.

Garry Newton

Another vote for Dale, great guy. He has done work on 3 of my pistols, always excellent. Also does sights, Duracoat, and light smithing.

+1 for Dale. Great guy, Great work. And, for what it's worth, a friend of mine had Dale do pretty much exactly what you're talking about to a Glock 17 once upon a time. Specifically, he modded the G17 grip to accept the G19 magazine. When Dale was done with it, you would have sworn it was a factory setup, except for the fact that my friend also had him do his "carry texture" to the gun--it's grippy--less so than the "RTF" glock work, so that it doesn't grab clothes and such.

Wouldn't it just be much easier to buy the subcompact?

The Annoyed Man wrote:Wouldn't it just be much easier to buy the subcompact?

It would be easier, but I want the longer barrel/slide for the sight radius, mass (recoil), and velocity. The full sized grips are difficult for me to conceal, but it is no big deal to have a longer barrel IWB. I recognize that I am in a small minority looking for this. I look at it more like a project gun. I'd rather spend money on this (polymer gun + grip chop), than on a CCO 1911 (dan wesson is what i would get) with less capacity that weighs a lot more.

ETA : I consider 1911s to be project guns also

Another +1 for Dale Honnicut.

He refinished a heavily worn 1911 with his ceracoat treatment and it looks better than brand new, and his price was more than fair.

I highly recommend his services.