Re: What's your favorite 1911 grip?
The firearm in question had been converted to shoot .38spl.
The ammunition was handloaded, and had apparently not been handloaded to accommodate the unsupported part of the chamber that the 1911 design provides. A cartridge ruptured, and appeared to have also set off the top two rounds in the magazine.
The slide was bulged and blown clear, the sideplates on the grips were also somewhat bulged. He credits the survival of his shooting hand to the Pachmayrs and gifted me my first set.
I did not witness the event, but have zero reason to doubt his account.
My friend said one second he was squeezing off a round, the next he was holding just the pistol frame. His hand was mildly lacerated and abraded, and he received a nasty laceration on his eyebrow from a piece of the slide.
Greg