Current production beavertail grip safeties can be divided into three main groups: those with a .250" frame radius, those with the Wilson pattern compound radius and the S&A's. The first group was originally made popular by the Ed Brown Memory Groove beavertail. This first group includes the Ed Brown, the STI Competition and the Chip McCormick. They are all similar in appearance to the Ed Brown. Also using a .250" frame radius is the Smith & Alexander (S&A), but is not included in the first group because it does not share the same external contours. Because of their unique characteristics, I'll treat the S&A's as a third group.
Group 1 beavertails all share the common trait of raising your hand appreciably higher on the frame of the pistol than most other grip safeties. Because these safeties all raise the firing hand so high, there are some peculiarities associated with their installation on certain pistols. The Group 1 beavertails all require a good bit more external metal removal than the other two groups. Because Group 1 beavertails all use a .250" radius, the initial installation can be done on a mill with special tooling and then hand filed to fit. Type 1 beavertails present their own installation challenge. Because the sides of the frame tangs need to be shaped in an arc that matches up to the "tail" part of the grip safety, the lower side of the "shield" part of the thumb safety must be raised to match, otherwise it will overhang the frame's edge (when it's in the "disengaged or down" position). When the shield is reshaped to not overhang, a small portion of the hole in the frame that is beneath the shield may be exposed to view when the safety is raised to the "engaged or up" position. If you have an objection to the hole being exposed, you'd be well advised to select a Group 3 safety, that doesn't raise the hand quite so high. In practice, this is rarely a problem.
Group 2 beavertails all use the compound frame radius developed by Wilson Combat. This group includes the Wilson #298, the Caspian, Clark and Springfield Armory. The Group 2 products take less work to blend the exterior to the frame than the Group 1 beavertails, but because the frame joint is a compound radius, it's initial installation to the frame tangs is not conducive to machine cutting. Group 2's are generally ground to rough shape, using a template, then filed to fit by hand. They all give you the advantage of raising your hand on the frame, but not quite as high as Group 1. Group 2 safeties are a little less likely to expose the hole than Group 1 safeties.
Group 3, the Smith and Alexander products, use either a .250" radius or a .220" radius. The smaller .220" radius was developed to solve a particular installation challenge found primarily on Springfield Armory frames (although it can be found on others). The S&A's need very little blending on the exterior, but in trade raise the hand little, if any. The Baer beavertail is very similar to the .250" S&A.
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