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Hands On: Icarus Precision’s ACE 365 V2.0 Grip

WHAT IS IT

People have been sh*tting on anything close to plastic in firearms since the M16 and its Mattel-made polymer handguard arrived in Vietnam more than 50 years ago. At a gun-store counter somewhere, right now, someone is holding a Sig P365 and saying, “Dunno, man … this just feels cheap.” As much as we’d like that mental image to end with the guy behind the counter snatching the pistol from Bubba, buttstroking him with it, and then asking, “Feel cheap now?” we’ll do the grown-up thing and acknowledge people are going to want what they want. Some people just like the cold, unyielding feel and heft of metal. So, Icarus Precision made a billet 7075 aluminum grip module for what’s become one of the most popular carry pistols on the market. The ACE 365 XL V2.0 has a longer grip than the ACE 365 V2.0 and is otherwise identical.

WHAT GOT OUR ATTENTION

The ACE module offers a few distinctions from the factory polymer P365 grip modules aside from its aluminum construction. The most obvious is the Picatinny rail in place of Sig’s proprietary rail up front. The next change is the grip surface. Sig’s uniformly applied, granular stippling is replaced with machined pattern that feels like broad checkering. The sides of the frontstrap and the whole backstrap have a deeper checkering that produces a more aggressive grip in those critical areas. The pattern on the sides is shallower, but still offers plenty of grip without tearing up your hands. Icarus made a few changes to the P365’s ergos with a longer beavertail and a deeper middle-finger notch. Lastly, there’s a hint of a funneled magwell.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Like its big brother, the P365 is a chassis gun. Field-strip the pistol, drive out the rear grip pin, and the serialized fire control unit can be carefully pulled up and out of the grip module. Careful of the slide-stop lever, though. If its spring slips out, you’ll be left trying to fit it back into place without three hands or a specialized fixture. It’s a pain in the ass to get back in, but doable with patience.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK

With the ACE grip, the P365’s sights settled a hair faster between shots. We won’t attribute that to the use of metal in the grip, but instead to the subtle changes in the grip dimensions. The enhanced beavertail, the body mapped grip areas, and the more pronounced finger grooves culminate in a slightly more authoritative grip. The weight of the aluminum itself doesn’t settle or dampen the pistol’s recoil impulse, as a steel frame might, but the grip definitely gives us more control of the pistol under recoil. We tested the regular and XL versions of the grips with 10-, 12-, and 15-round Sig mags and had no trouble seating or running them.

WHAT WE LIKE

The grip shape and texture offer increased control of the pistol under recoil. We also appreciate the versatility of the added Picatinny rail. Replacing the proprietary rail interface with the industry standard Pic rail gives us the ability to easily mount a Mantis-X training device or a small pistol light. We hear the Olight PL-Mini 2 fits but can’t verify this claim.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE

In northern climes, IWB carriers might notice the cold metal of the ACE on the belly for a few seconds in the morning. That passes. We didn’t notice the pistol heating up on the range, but we spent all our evaluation time with the ACE on outdoor ranges in Vermont during late fall and winter. Some P365 holsters may not fit this combo precisely. Black Label Holsters makes a model especially for the ACE’ed P365. We used this combo, and it worked well.

DETAILS

ICARUS PRECISION LLC
ACE 365 V2.0 & ACE 365 XL V2.0 GRIP MODULE
MATERIAL: Billet 7075 Aluminum
FINISH: Cerakote
COLORS: Flat Dark Earth, Midnight Bronze, Raw, Sniper Gray, Sniper Green
WEIGHT: 3.4/3.9 ounces (Std./XL)
MSRP: $280/$325 (Std./XL)

BLACK LABEL HOLSTERS
AIWB Rig for ACE P365 Grip Module and IWB/Tuckable Magazine Carrier
MATERIAL: Kydex
COLORS: Many options, Custom order Kryptek shown
MSRP: $55/$30

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