Rink grips

Before getting into Bullseye I bought an older Walther GSP 32SWL and it came with a Rink medium anatomical grip. It seemed to fit my hand pretty good. I sold that gun on (with the standard grip), but kept that first Rink as an "example". I moved on to Pardini's and immediately started buying Rink's - I tried the 7deg offset, wrong turn! Then ordered some "upright" medium grips direct from Rink in Germany. Good.

As I progressed with Bullseye and gradually learned more about my grip and stuff I started to identify adjustments. First realisation was that whilst my fingers are short - hence a Medium grip - the width of my hand is closer to large. Rink made me a couple of MRB0U (Medium, Right, Convex, Normal palm, Upright) grips with a longer main body (to fill the gap between palm shelf and body when I wind the shelf down close to the lowest position). Better. But then I went on to add a thumb rest and "cut and putty" various areas trying to get it perfect.

In August 2023 I had an opportunity to visit Germany and made an appointment for a "custom" fitting at Rink. I got my time zones & dates screwed up and actually rolled up a day early, but Thomas very kindly revised his work day and accommodated me. I took along the last iteration of my modified grip and we discussed my needs and objectives. Thomas then very efficiently proceeded to "cut and putty" my old grip to get it right. Very illuminating to watch Thomas work - he has done this before!!

A normal custom fitting would involve putting your hand on a test grip of silicone which then molds itself to your grip - I did not need that.

Thomas identified that grips for me should start out as their "Large" size, so that I have a full range of palm shelf adjustment available - good. He is able to produce "Bullseye" grips with both a thumb rest and the upswept palm shelf. Once the fitting was done we agreed that he should make one Bullseye and one ISSF grip from the pattern and ship those to me. There were summer holidays and the German Championships about to commence so delivery was forecast to be before the end of September. I received them on 22Sep23 - excellent!

I have not tried them yet, but they feel great. No more excuses for poor scores with the Pardini  

Here are two photos of the evolution of my grips. The middle grip is the one that Thomas worked on during the fitting, note white marker lines used for digitizing the grip. Right side is one of my modified grips and on the left is the new "full custom" Rink. Yay!

The valley behind the finger ridgeline looks a little deeper than on standard Rink grips. While all of the LRB7s I order have shallow valleys there is enough material to make the valley deeper. I like the 7 degree grips so I can remove material rather than add a little to the standard shape grip. I like the Rink grips a lot as the cost is reasonable, the shape is close to my hand, frame fit is very good, and the wood is easy to work with and refinish.

I recently bought a Steyr Free Pistol that has an aftermarket Morini grip and the Morini grip is perfect for my hand. I had experienced happy hand in the past handling a friends Morini CM84E. Now that I have a perfect fit I know where to go with my other grips as far as carving shapes and details.

It is tough in the US to realize what a good anatomical grip should feel like as examples to try for size are rare and only a few people in the US know how to fit a grip.

RoyDean wrote:I have not tried them yet, but they feel great. No more excuses for poor scores with the Pardini  

I seem to recall seeing you put up some fairly killer scores with your Pardini, if those were poor we are in trouble hahaha

Glad to hear the trip went well! Really like the woodgrain of your new grip.

Sounds like a great experience! I have been looking for an opportunity to get over there and get some grips fit.

Some Rink videos. Click on CC for subtitles.

Did you have to bring your own pistols or do they have some there? 

How long did it take for the grip measurements? 

I was looking to get my .22, Air and Free pistol done if I could squeeze it in a trip.

Rink had a Pardini frame. I did not ask about other guns. Most serious air pistols should not be a problem. Free Pistols are a whole different story, you would have to carefully explain beforehand. English is not a problem.

I do know that guns with electronic triggers present some constrains due to space needed for batteries, etc.

A full session takes less than an hour, but I only wanted a Pardini SP/HP fitting. There is an online reservation tab on the Rink website. Typically have to book several months in advance.

Thank you!

Planing to get Rink grips for my Volquartsen Mamba TF. According to Volquartsen it has an original Ruger Mark IV target frame. Thanks for this info Tripscape! Does anybody know more about if that grip-frame combi is possible? Thanks in advance.