Disclosure: TALON Grips provided Action Gunner with the TALON Grips PRO for this review. Our editorial assessment remains independent and uninfluenced.
I was looking to add more bite to my Echelon grip when TALON Grips reached out. I’d been eyeing the epoxy and silicon carbide route, but I’ve seen too many horror stories of botched DIY grip jobs—and I know my skill level well enough to predict I’d be one of them. When TALON offered to send their Talon Grips PRO texture grips for testing, I jumped on it.
Timing worked out perfectly. I had a Tactical Games Regional Event in Iowa coming up, which meant I could torture-test these grips through mud, rain, and grip-fatiguing workouts over two days of competition. I also wanted to verify their claim about clean removal with no residue—because if it damages the frame, it’s not really “semi-permanent.”
Here’s what I found after running them hard.
TALON Grips makes stick-on textured grips for pistols, rifles, and shotguns across dozens of platforms. For this review, I tested their Springfield Armory Full-Size Echelon PRO Grips with an $24.99 MSRP.
The concept is straightforward: adhesive-backed grip panels that add texture without permanent modification. Here’s what TALON claims:
The PRO texture I tested uses a granulated surface—think 80-grit sandpaper. It’s designed specifically for competition shooters who need maximum purchase under fatigue. The standard rubber texture is less aggressive and better suited for concealed carry or shooters who want grip improvement without the bite.
I’ll admit I was skeptical about the installation. I’ve botched vinyl decals before, and grip panels seem like they’d be unforgiving. I was wrong.
The process took about 15 minutes:
The adhesive allows repositioning before you apply heat, which saved me. I stuck and removed the panels three times before I got the alignment right. Once I was happy with the placement, I used a heat gun on medium setting and pressed the panels down, working from the center outward to avoid bubbles.
After installation, the panels sat flush with the frame edges. The 0.5mm thickness claim checks out—there’s no noticeable bulk added to the grip circumference. If you’re already maxing out your hand size on the Echelon’s grip, these won’t push you over the edge.
The TALON Grips PRO texture feels like 80-grit sandpaper. When I say aggressive, I mean it—this texture bites hard. The first time I gripped the Echelon after installation, I could feel exactly where my hand would lock in.
For context, the factory Echelon grip texture is adequate for recreational shooting but lacks bite when your hands are wet or fatigued. The TALON Grips PRO texture is the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s grippier than factory Glock RTF2 texture and comparable to aggressive stippling jobs I’ve felt on custom guns.
This level of texture isn’t for everyone. If you’re running concealed carry, it’ll tear up your cover garments and potentially your skin during draws. But for competition where your gun lives in a Kydex holster, it’s a perfect test.
Before Iowa, I ran grip-focused drills to establish baseline performance and identify any issues.
Bill Drill baseline (6 rounds, 7 yards, USPSA A-zone):
The time improvement was marginal—likely within normal variance. But the accuracy improvement was consistent across multiple runs. With the factory grip, my groups would open up on the 5th and 6th shots as recoil management degraded. With the TALON grips, I maintained consistent A-zone hits through all six rounds.
Grip fatigue test: I combined grip-intensive exercises with shooting strings to simulate Tactical Games conditions:
With factory grip texture, I’d start losing hits on the third round after farmer carries—my fatigued grip couldn’t maintain control. With TALON Grips PRO, I stayed connected through all three strings with only one miss across 30 rounds.
The trade-off I noticed immediately: During farmer carries, my holstered pistol’s grip made contact with my forearm. The aggressive texture bit into my skin hard enough to leave marks. I run my holster at 3-4 o’clock position to specifically avoid optic damage during burpees (learned that lesson the hard way). With the TALON Grips PRO texture, that holster position means my forearm contacts the grip during certain movements. Not a dealbreaker, but worth noting if you run a similar setup.
Iowa was brutal. We drove through severe thunderstorms—literally passed storm chasers heading to the same area. The event went ahead despite a tornado warning, and the range was a muddy mess from two days of rain.
Perfect torture test conditions.
Event overview:
Stage examples:
The TALON Grips PRO stayed locked to the frame. Zero shifting, zero peeling at the edges, zero adhesive failure. I deliberately didn’t baby them—I grabbed my pistol with muddy hands, let mud cake onto the grip texture, and never cleaned them during the competition.
The texture maintained full effectiveness when wet and muddy. I could brush out packed mud between stages, and the grip purchase was identical to dry conditions. This is where the aggressive texture proved its worth. Factory grip texture loses effectiveness when wet; the TALON Grips PRO maintained bite.
Accuracy under fatigue: Stages that combined heavy carries or high-rep exercises with pistol shooting showed the clearest benefit. When my grip strength was at 60-70% after farmers’ carries or wheelbarrow pushes, I could still maintain solid pistol control. My hit rate on 8″ plates at 10-15 yards stayed above 90% even when fatigued—compared to roughly 70-75% with factory grip texture in similar stages at previous events.
The forearm bite issue returned: During the wheelbarrow stage, the grip texture dug into my forearm hard enough that I had visible scraping afterward. This isn’t a TALON problem—it’s a consequence of aggressive texture plus my holster position. Shooters running appendix carry or higher positioning won’t have this issue.
Durability assessment: After two days of abuse, the grips looked nearly new. No visible wear on the texture, no edge lifting, no separation from the frame. If I hadn’t known they were new, I’d have guessed they had 2-3 months of normal use on them.
TALON claims clean removal with no residue. I was skeptical—adhesives that hold this well usually leave something behind.
I removed the TALON Grips PRO one week after Iowa. The process was simple: I started at one edge and pulled slowly. The panels came off in one piece with steady pressure—no heat gun needed for removal.
Residue findings: There was light adhesive residue left on the frame—it looked like dried contact cement. I wiped most of it away with my thumb, but some spots were stubborn. A cotton pad with rubbing alcohol removed the rest in about 2 minutes.
My Echelon frame returned to factory condition. No discoloration, no texture change, no permanent marks. The claim checks out—these are genuinely semi-permanent.
Buy them if:
Skip them if:
vs. Rubber TALON Grips: PRO texture is significantly more aggressive. If you’re unsure, buy rubber first—it’s $5 cheaper and adequate for most shooters. You can always upgrade to PRO.
vs. DIY Silicon Carbide/JB Weld: DIY methods allow you to build up thickness and create custom palm swells. But they’re permanent and easy to botch. TALON is forgiving and reversible—you can’t mess it up.
vs. Professional stippling: Stippling is permanent and expensive ($100-200+). TALON costs $25, and you can remove it if you hate it. But stippling offers more customization potential.
vs. Factory texture: Not even close. Factory Echelon texture is adequate for range use but lacks bite when wet or when grip strength is compromised. TALON PRO is leagues better.
I like to give a quick Pros and Cons list just in case some readers want to cut to the chase and not read the full review. Here is the list:
Pros:
Cons:
TALON Grips PRO deliver on their core promise: aggressive grip texture that’s easy to install, holds up under abuse, and removes cleanly. After running them through mud, rain, and two days of competition that left my grip fatigued, they stayed locked to the frame and maintained full effectiveness.
The $24.99 price makes them a low-risk experiment. If you hate them, you’re out $25 and 15 minutes—versus hundreds of dollars and permanent modification for stippling, or the risk of botching a DIY job.
The aggressive texture isn’t for everyone. It will bite your skin. It will tear up clothing. But if you’re competing and your factory grip texture isn’t cutting it when you’re fatigued or wet, TALON Grips PRO is the easiest fix available.
Thank you to TALON Grips for allowing Action Gunner and me the chance to review the TALON Grips PRO. Will you all be picking up a set of TALON Grip PRO? Or do you run some TALON Grips on your competition pistol? Let us know on our Social Media accounts.
TALON Grips PRO deliver on their core promise: aggressive grip texture that’s easy to install, holds up under abuse, and removes cleanly. After running them through mud, rain, and two days of competition that left my grip fatigued, they stayed locked to the frame and maintained full effectiveness.
The $24.99 price makes them a low-risk experiment. If you hate them, you’re out $25 and 15 minutes—versus hundreds of dollars and permanent modification for stippling, or the risk of botching a DIY job.
The aggressive texture isn’t for everyone. It will bite your skin. It will tear up clothing. But if you’re competing and your factory grip texture isn’t cutting it when you’re fatigued or wet, TALON Grips PRO is the easiest fix available.
I’m keeping them on my competition Echelon.
