Most folks can't justify the expense of a $2,000-plus firearm for personal defense. Mortgages, car payments, college tuition, health care and child care expenses can get in the way of buying a top-quality custom combat handgun. Reviewers of such guns will say "It's your life; what is it worth?" as if this justifies buying a $2,700 custom 1911 that will shoot one ragged hole at 25 yards. Truth is, while an expensive gun is certainly nice to have, it is not essential for personal defense. Fights are won with the mind. The tool used certainly makes it easier to prevail, but the fact of the matter is that a reliable $300 gun will work just as well as more expensive model--if it fits you.

Bowie Tactical Concepts removed the rim from around the inside of the magazine well and installed side cut-outs to facilitate magazine removal. Note the enlarged magazine-release button--another custom touch.

The late Jeff Cooper established the standard for combat handguns: They need to be totally reliable and have a good trigger and highly visible sights. I would add to this that the gun needs to fit the shooter's hand.

Regardless of where you stand on the "point shooting versus sighted fire" debate, each of us has the ability to point a handgun toward a target with great accuracy. But if you think you can just thrust your gun toward a target, chase down the front sight and get a fast and accurate shot, you are kidding yourself. The gun must be directed toward the threat with upper-body movement (hands, arms and upper torso) with the front sight confirming what the upper body has accomplished. If thought of in this fashion, it can be said that everybody point-shoots. However, if the gun does not fit your hand properly, it will not point naturally.

Almost all of the new pistols hitting the market have interchangeable back straps that help to fit a given gun to a wide variety of hands, but they are not the same as having a gun modified to fit your individual hand. A true custom combat handgun should be modified to meet the needs of the individual shooter, not an expensive package gun with features that are nice to have but not essential. You should consider what is essential for optimum performance and what is fluff.

Grip stippling provides superior security, and the grip reduction eliminates the problem some people have with the Glock shooting high.

David Bowie is a custom pistolsmith and the lone employee of Bowie Tactical Concepts (www.bowietacticalconcepts.com, 937/ 544-4606). David specializes in the modification of polymer-frame pistols for personal defense, military and law enforcement operations. BTC was founded by accident on the ranges of the Tactical Defense Institute (www.tdiohio.com) in Southern Ohio, where David works as an instructor. Like all of the major shootings schools, TDI sees a large number of Glocks come through.

However, no gun is perfect, and David kept hearing complaints regarding how slick the Glock grip became when it was wet with either sweat or rainwater. Rubber grip wraps, which shift with time, and stick-on grip panels that can peel off were not viable long-term solutions, so David created a method of hand-stippling the polymer grip frame. This modification became so popular with students that David started to set aside time each week from his job as a sheriff's deputy to work on guns.

Word spread, and orders for the grip stippling began to roll in. Slick polymer grips are a universal problem, and as it turned out, people were willing to pay cash for a solid solution. Along with the grip modification, customers began to ask David to slick up their triggers or replace stock sights. David expanded his services accordingly, and BTC was born.