I ordered a .190h x .135w front sight from Dawson. I like the SFX/Rival guns with irons.

StuartV wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:25 pm

Georgef wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:58 am Super interested in picking one up but I won’t pay above MSRP. I see Classic Firearms has marked up the Dark version $50. I guess it’s all about supply and demand, but that’s still a bit shady.

I saw i t on CF for $899. That IS MSRP....

I stand corrected! Thanks for clearing that up.

Took my steel frame to the range for a quick sight in and test fire. It definitely recoils less but its a little hard to compare fully because to me the grips are as slick as a used car salesman. I'm in the process of 46/70 gritting them right now and will probably do grip tape on the left side of the frame above the grip panel. Not sure about how to approach the front strap yet. With a proper grip surface, I can see this thing being nice!

Grip work completed. Feels a ton better now! I haven’t test fired it yet but this is a great improvement until someone comes out with a metal grip panel with aggressive texture.

I also tried the heat gun on the holster and it appears to have been almost miraculous in making this gun go in and out of my polymer Rival holster! Still more to come on that as I fully test it, but early returns are extremely promising! Thanks for that tip!

That looks great!

FiveDigit wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 9:35 pm Took my steel frame to the range for a quick sight in and test fire. It definitely recoils less but its a little hard to compare fully because to me the grips are as slick as a used car salesman. I'm in the process of 46/70 gritting them right now and will probably do grip tape on the left side of the frame above the grip panel. Not sure about how to approach the front strap yet. With a proper grip surface, I can see this thing being nice!

Just got back from the range and you're right, the frame is so damn slick!

FiveDigit wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 2:05 pm Grip work completed. Feels a ton better now! I haven’t test fired it yet but this is a great improvement until someone comes out with a metal grip panel with aggressive texture.

I also tried the heat gun on the holster and it appears to have been almost miraculous in making this gun go in and out of my polymer Rival holster! Still more to come on that as I fully test it, but early returns are extremely promising! Thanks for that tip!

3766E7C6-F43C-4CFD-8824-6D7413421FCA.jpeg

Well, I guess that answers that question....

Now if MY Rival-S would just show up....

I've been using Talon granulate grips on my Rival (and TP9 SFx). I expect I will do the same with my Rival-S. They really work great. At $20 a pop, I have not qualms at all about buying a new set every however often. My current ones are all in great shape, so maybe new ones every 2 or 3 (or more?) years? I'm totally fine with that.

Would a good stiple job be worthwhile on the grips? Which grip module do you prefer?

I’m using the large size. I’m sure stippling would be fine, or the Talon grips. Whichever you prefer. These grips are super convenient to epoxy/grit and I have trouble with the Talon grips sliding around on me in the past. Mostly due to the Texas heat and my super human grip strength.

Copy on the heat, Florida panhandle! I know what you mean about Talons and slippage. ProGrip works good and I'll find which grip module works for me then go from there. I can't wait for the LOK grips/Palm Swell Bogies! Gun arrives this week.

There's a guy on the Enos channel that changed everything on his steel Rival and is not happy with his results saying he now prefers the poly gun to the steel gun. I wrote my process of how to make the gun "yours". I prefer guns in the 41-43oz range. Fun ride!

WxGuy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:54 am Copy on the heat, Florida panhandle! I know what you mean about Talons and slippage. ProGrip works good and I'll find which grip module works for me then go from there. I can't wait for the LOK grips/Palm Swell Bogies! Gun arrives this week.

There's a guy on the Enos channel that changed everything on his steel Rival and is not happy with his results saying he now prefers the poly gun to the steel gun. I wrote my process of how to make the gun "yours". I prefer guns in the 41-43oz range. Fun ride!

I don’t mean my hands slip on the Talons, I mean the Talons slip on the gun when it gets warm out. The glue gets melty.

I saw that thread. I can understand it. I’ve put probably 300 rounds thru the steel so far. There have been moments where I was super happy about its stability and return for tough shots and other times where I’m thinking it’s not worth the extra heft. Will have to let you guys that know your stuff get your hands on it and see what mods and combos work. Also shooting an actual match will be a huge tell tale sign. As of right now it still feels a bit foreign to me while the polymer gun feels like a favorite shirt, ya know? But that’s to be expected with anything new.

Yeah, that Talon glue could be better. I put a little SkinTac on the frame where it is going to go, let it almost dry, then apply the grip tape. It helps for a while but not for long.

I test sailboat sails and going from poly to steel is like changing sailcloth. Same shape, same manufacturer, different setup and tuning. The trick is keeping detailed notes!

Are the stainless ones hitting stores yet? Might sell my Whiteout after I get mine

Will there be a threaded barrel for the Rival-S?

Will TP9 SFx mags work in the Rival-S?

The mags should fit.

TacticalSpeed wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:48 pm Will TP9 SFx mags work in the Rival-S?

Yes. Mags are identical.

One other little thing I have noticed. With the same spring setup: 14lb recoil,29N striker, I have had a good number of failure to chamber situations on unloaded starts. Manually racking the slide, it sometimes doesn't have the oomph to close all the way or sometimes even fully strip the round off the mag. Never had this problem with the polymer. I talked to another guy running the same setup with the Rival-S and he reported similar things happening. Haven't any problem when the gun is cycling itself, but when I need to, it's happened a few times. Not exactly sure what would cause this, but worth monitoring.

So far the only thing on the slide I have noticed being different is the extractor spring seems like it is at least double the strength of the polymer Rival and SFX. Not sure why that change was made.

Picked up my Rival Steel Dark Side yesterday. Darth Vader's 9mm gun.