We still have not been able to spare the time to work on the sights/POI issue, but we are certain that it can be overcome with a front sight mod. The trick is just to find a couple of spare hours to do it.
We did add something new to the P11 that I like for CCW.
Adam from
TALON grips sent over a couple sets of their rubberized grips for us to try out and they're
working out great.
The grips took less than 5 minutes to install. They come as basically a sticker or decal that is die-cut for an exact fit for whatever firearm you are putting them on. You peel off the backing, lightly put it into place, wrapping it around the pistol grip and making sure it's aligned. Once it is aligned to your satisfaction, you warm it up with a hair dryer or heat gun and press down on it more firmly to stick it in place.
TALON makes "skateboard tape" type grips and rubberized grips. Since the P11 is usually carried IWB, Adam sent over the rubber ones, which are less likely to cause skin irritations than the sandpaper-like granulate grips.
The P11 grip cover, like the pistol itself, is fairly simple and without complicated contours, unlike those for a Glock or XD, which has logos on the grip, finger grooves, palm swells, and other such physical features. The P11 cover has only the contour of the pistol grip, cuts to allow it to stay flat when it is wrapped around, cutouts for the
magazine release button, and a small stylized "T" for TALON.
With the grip installed, the P11 is more comfortable to carry than it was with the factory-checkered grip (which I had previously covered with a section of bicycle inner tube) exposed.
With sweaty or wet hands, the pistol handled better than it did with the inner tube and
far better than the "naked" pistol. The P11 is a small, light pistol and it can be snappy after shooting a box or two of range ammo and can move around on recoil, more so with defensive loads. The inner tube helped with that, but it was still smooth and not really built for that purpose. The TALON grips, on the other hand, are not only made of material specifically designed to stick in your hand, but are also relatively aggressively textured. As such, the P11 stayed exactly where we put it through a couple boxes of ammo at our 90F+, humid range day, which provided ample opportunity to shoot it with sweaty mitts.
We weren't sure if it was just because it allowed a better grip on the pistol while shooting, or if it was the slight "give" in the rubber material, but it also seemed to have less perceived recoil.
If you're interested in trying them out on your P11 or other pistol, there are grips for a variety of pistols on their website at talongungrips.com. At under $20, the TALON grips are a great solution if you need some extra hang-on for your pistol or if the factory checkering irritates your skin when you carry.