Teach me the need for beaver tails? How does slide bite happen?

[Rosco Benson]

Jeff Cooper disdained beavertails on 1911's. He derisively called them "duckbills". To his point, most of the early ones angled downward and forced one to take a lower grip.

IPSC ace Ross Seyfried liked beavertails, to avoid discomfort to the web of his hand by the GI-style tang. Reportedly, Cooper suggested that Seyfried "toughen up" his hand by shooting more. To which Seyfried replied "I'm shooting XXX,000 rounds a year. Just how much MORE shooting should I be doing?"

I had a Bud Price built 5" Govt Model that Price had fitted a downward angled beavertail to. I had a love/hate relationship with it. It made the pistol more comfortable to shoot, but forced my grip a bit lower than I preferred. Ed Brown finally cracked the code with his high-sweep beavertail, featuring the now common recess for the hammer to fit into. Got one, loved it, and never looked back. Pretty much all of the parts makers offer a high-sweep beavertail now, as well as it being standard equipment on lots of 1911 pistols.

Most newer pistol designs have a beavertail style tang integral with the frame. There are the GFA's for the older Glock pistols as well. That isn't just "fashion". Even if slide-bite isn't a problem for a given shooter's hands, having the pistol designed so he can take the highest grip possible AND spread the recoil forces over a larger area of his hand is an excellent feature. Nothing is gained by NOT having a beavertail.

Rosco

[19852+]

My well used and loved Colt .38 super still has the original grip safety, tuned to disengage at 1/2 depression. My hands are largish [I am 6'5"] but lean, not fleshy. I've never gotten slide bite from any pistol.
Every hand is different, what one shooter finds absolutely necessary another may find a waste of money or even a hindrance.

The only shooting comfort modifications I've made to my Colt is a modest removal of sharp edges and a mild hammer bob, again to remove the sharp edge that could snag on my shirt or dig into my side.

What my bony hands don't like are are some of the super high beavertails. There's just not enough flesh on my hand to disengage the safety reliably .

[JTQ]

My well used and loved Colt .38 super still has the original grip safety, ... I've never gotten slide bite from any pistol.

For clarity, that is a GI grip safety on your Colt .38 Super, correct?

[19852+]

For clarity, that is a GI grip safety on your Colt .38 Super, correct?

Yes, GI pattern or A1 pattern grip safety.

[sheepdog]

I see a PX4 in your avatar. How do you fare with the PX4?

I have absolutely NO ergonomic issues with my PX4 Storm. In fact, it is one of the best I've owned. My hand wraps around that thing perfectly and there is no issues. The same thing is mostly true with the M&P's, however, I do prefer the beavertail, especially when firing left handed. I currently no longer have any 1.0's with the old beavertail, so it doesn't feel quite as good as the PX4 Storm Compact, but they still feel great.

I also have a Ruger LCP II, no problems. It's a great gun.

As I mentioned, SIG P229's need a beavertail for me. Glocks as well. I can't shoot Walters for long. Like the SIG, it's not going to give me slide bite, but the tang area of a PPQ, P299, etc... will slam my thumb knuckle. I don't know about the Q4.