Getting a grip on guns; TALON Grips

While you’ll hear the boom of firearms in area hills this hunting season, business at one local company is booming for products that help hunters grip their guns.

Steamboat Springs-based TALON Grips targets everyone from hunters to law enforcement officers and other gun users desiring enhanced grip for their firearms. And sales are quickly gaining the traction of its products. “We never could have imagined it would grow so quickly,” says company president Mike Morris.

The company got its start when a boat sheriff on Lake Powell noted that sweaty hands made for slippery firearms. So he decided to improve his gun’s traction by covering it with the grip tape often used on skateboards. The single-piece wraparound adhesive design has now blossomed into a business offering 126 different gun model grips in two textures, with 75 U.S. retailers, and three international distributors.

TALON Grips ships their products all over the world, with customers, many of them hunters, able to install the grips themselves in just minutes. “Hunters are our core customers,” says Talon marketing director Adam Spector. “They know the benefits of a positive grip on a firearm. When hunting, especially out here in the Rocky Mountains, you’re exposed to adverse conditions, which is where our grips really shine.”

As well as providing grips for hunters, the company also provides gun grips for law enforcement and the military, as well as competitive and recreational shooters. Morris, who spent six years in the U.S. Army Reserves while finishing school, says he owes it all to his employees, a wide-ranging consultant team and the perfect locaiton to base such a business.

“Northwest Colorado is our home,” says Morris. “We’d much rather live in the mountains than anywhere else. The mountain lifestyle, opportunities to raise a family, and friends and community are hard to beat.”