r/SmolArms

In short; The Hamre grips for this gun are awesome to clip and draw but awful to grip and shoot. I really don't like them, and wouldn't want them installed if I had to defend myself.

In long;

Fit and Finish:

One thing I really like about these is how well they fit out of the box. Aftermarket grips always tend to fit loose or differently, needing to be shimmed to fit as sturdy as I like. These are built to be slightly smaller than the frame of the NAA, so they need to be pressed hard to expand over the frame. This, plus the well designed internal cutouts and raised shapes, means you get the perfect fit first time. My only complaint is the gap between the pieces, but my frame is from 2002, and may be on the wider side.

Hardware is set securely and well on both sides, and everything feels well done. No shade here.

Clip and Draw:

The primary focus for these grips is the ability to clip to a wide range of pockets and clothes, concealed, and easily retrieved. They nailed it.

Concealment is very good, even with my very long and gun shaped Black Widow. The grip itself is wide and envelops the frame in such a way to make more room below for the gun and disguise it's shape somewhat. Even in jeggings, the form wasn't obvious.

Clipping to clothes is fantastic. The awesome clip they sell does a lot of the work here, but so does the mount point and angle. Everything hangs balanced and securely, even with my longer/heavier gun than they picture. I actually lament not having an "LLR" model NAA with the Hamre LR grips, because that would be flawless for size and weight with this grip. Baggy sweatpants/shorts, skirts, etc, or the mythical ~pockets~ are the realm of this clip grip. But the gun must be able to hang freely or it gets all weird.

But in the right place, it draws great. I'm actually shocked at how well this draws when appendix carried. It feels like pulling a firearm from a good holster, every time.

Handling and Use:

Unfortunately, everything goes downhill fast when you draw it for use. The grip is just not well designed at all IMO and I actually think it would be unsafe to try to use in close quarters due to how much it works in the favor of whoever wants to grab your gun.

The filled in part of the grip behind the trigger spur doesn't come down far enough, and it has a scoop upwards. In other grips, this is a single curve down and away from the spur. In this, there is a small dip above the trigger that drives your finger/knuckle right up against the back of the trigger. This is painful, puts constant force on the back of the trigger, and makes the hammer harder to cock. Did anyone actually use this grip during the design process? My fingers are long and slender, but I think that any fatter fingers or glove wearing would be worse here. Shaped like this it's worse than not filling that part in at all.

Texture of the grip is like plaster, or light sandpaper, except it isn't grippy how you want it. It's grippy enough to feel weird and tear up your hands, but not grippy enough to stay put how you need it to. I'm sure if your hand is wet/sweaty, it will be much better than a smooth surface, but I think a well shaped grip would be better still.

The shape is vague, and not in a good way. It never feels "right" in your hand. You can pick it up from a table or pocket and have to regrip it where it's balanced. It feels most secure when held at waist level. The shortness is fine, and I love how they encourage a higher grip with the high backstrap, but it just doesn't commit to anything. It fits the hand because humans can grip all sorts of shapes, not because it's designed for human hands.

Cocking the hammer or operating the gun one handed feels clumsy and strenuous. The raised sides over the hammer allow for a higher grip and more concealment, but block the hammer from certain angles during part of it's motion. Even two handed, it's designed for you to come down on the hammer directly from the top, push until it clicks, where the side bumpers allow your thumb to slide off. In practice, it's more natural to come up on the hammer from a low diagonal and flick it back for each shot. One handed, you will have to loosen your grip every single time you want to reset the hammer. If you carry this, you should train a lot with the way it wants to be operated.

CQB Problems:

Simply put, this grip is shaped to force you to release the gun to whoever wants it. I have very strong hands that are long enough to fully wrap and grip the gun. My wife has small and weak hands. She can disarm me, one handed, no problem. Even more, the grip is shaped such that the hammer spur or clip act as pressure point kubatons that are extremely painful the more you try to keep hold. It won't come to that, because a quick twist and tug or downward pull will drag this from any grip immediately. Your gun becomes their gun, as long as they get within reach.

I have other grips that don't have these problems, though none clip and draw nearly as well. Hamre, I'm not angry, just disappointed.