Review: Gavinfuzzy Retaliator Pump Grip

Probably the biggest flaw holding back the Retaliator is its awkward top slide prime. Not only is it relatively uncomfortable (compared to most preferred priming mechanisms), but it's also a relatively awkward motion and gets in the way of aiming. The solution to this problem is, naturally, to convert the Retaliator to a pump action, and the included barrel piece is a perfect mounting platform. Gavinfuzzy Customs provides one such pump grip.

Installation is relatively straightforward and should be quite intuitive. Gavinfuzzy has a full album on installation here.

Pump installed on my blue Retal. The orange is very close to Nerf orange, not perfect but almost indistinguishable at a glance.

Close up of the pump assembly. I'm not a fan of these shiny chromed metal bars, as I personally don't like the shine, but they do their job well.

The bars connect to the Retal boltsled through these 3D printed parts. They slot onto the metal bars and house the metal connectors that sit in the boltsled holes. The print quality on these parts was a little rough compared to the pump itself, especially at the open end, at which mine had quite rough edges. They're certainly fairly solid, just don't look quite as clean as the pump does.
I did manage to break one of mine, however only through excessively violent actions from frustration with my Retal. Some superglue and JB Weld have fixed it up, though I wouldn't mind slightly longer, thicker endcaps just for insurance.

The pump is a single, large 3D printed piece of plastic. It slides along the bottom tac rail of the Retal barrel smoothly, and no modification is required on the barrel rail. The pump is very solid and quite well printed. Size wise it's decent, I personally wouldn't mind a little more width, but certainly nothing in particular that isn't down to personal preference.

The pump is quite long, certainly long enough to fit all fingers on easily, and the majority of my palm.

My preferred grip has my forefinger on the front of the pump, and this is one of the reasons I like the Gavinfuzzy pump a lot. Most other pumps I've seen (e.g. EAT pump, F10555 shotgun pump) are thin form-fitting/wrap-around grips, and so have no place on the front for fingers. The Gavinfuzzy pump is much more bulky, so has that space, and for me it allows a much more comfortable grip, and a much easier application of backward force.

I have one significant issue with the Gavinfuzzy pump, and that is this back edge. It is sharp and uncomfortable, and in particular digs into my palm. A few minutes with sandpaper solves the sharpness, though I still find it a little uncomfortable.

When primed, there's still a decent distance between the front of the Retal magwell and the back of the grip. This ensures that it causes no issues when using drums, except maybe the huge 35 drum.

Gavinfuzzy sells his Retal pump grips via his Facebook page for 42SGD. Postage to Australia cost me a further 15SGD. Of all the Retal pumps I've tried, this one is definitely my favourite. I don't like vertical pump grips, and I'm not a fan of the angled foregrips that a lot of Melbourne guys use. For me, the Gavinfuzzy pump was the most comfortable of the lot (after sanding down the back edge), and for me is an almost perfect grip. While I'm not a fan of the shiny metal bars, and I think the endcaps could be improved slightly, I'd definitely recommend giving Gavinfuzzy's pump a look if you're in the market for flat shotgun style pumps.