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History

  1. 1982

    Virgil Tripp started building custom 1911 pistols. Skillful shooters used these pistols to win and place highly in local, national and world competitions.

  2. 1987

    Virgil designed and manufactured the industry’s first 1911 EDM hammers and sears. Now, gunsmiths could build great predictable trigger jobs without the grief of starting with substandard parts. The polymer titanium trigger that is still sold today was Virgil’s next design. More parts were considered and things began to escalate. A company was born, Tripp Research, Inc.

  3. 1991

    Shooters’ demands for competition pistols began to evolve. Red dot optics, higher round capacity, and lighter weight pistols were in demand. Tripp Research began work on what is now the STI 2011 modular frame. Virgil was already known for his exceptional part designs, and went to work on a pistol, but wanted the design as backward compatible with the 1911 as possible. Realizing he needed someone with more complex computer skills to finish the design work, Virgil began looking for the help he needed to get the new project off the ground.

  4. 1993

    An engineer named Sandy Strayer joined Tripp Research. With Virgil’s pistol knowledge and design expertise combined with Sandy’s exceptional computer skills, Tripp and Strayer revolutionized the 1911 market by designing a modular hi-capacity 1911 frame for IPSC shooters. Virgil gives Sandy Strayer equal stake in the company, co-patent rights, and the company’s name changed to Strayer-Tripp International (STI).

  5. May 1994

    Final patent for the 2011 modular grip was published.

  6. June 1994

    Sandy Strayer left STI and joined forces with Michael Voigt to create SVI. STI changed the “STI” acronym from “Strayer Tripp International” to mean “Science, Technology, Ingenuity.”

  7. 1997

    Dave Skinner purchases STI from Virgil. Virgil moves out to West Texas and starts up Tripp Research again, this time mastering hard chrome pistol re-finishing — finding a reliable finish had always been a challenge during his pistol-smithing days.

  8. 1998

    Virgil begins work on a 1911-style magazine, recognizing it as a weak point in the design and function of the 1911. Tripp Research “Gen I” CobraMags are soon released. The follower, basepad, and tube design addressed the problems shooters had with 8-round magazines, increased reliability across all 1911s, and raised the bar for magazine manufacturers.

  9. 2008

    Virgil Tripp releases the “Gen II” CobraMags, perfecting the design and improving overall product quality and function. Other products came and went over the years — Virgil loves to design new products and push the boundaries of what can be done.

  10. 2016

    Shooters’ demands for a competition platform continue to grow and evolve. The STI patent on the modular grip has expired and other companies rush to copy the still-popular platform. Virgil takes a fresh look at his original design from decades ago, recognizes that shooters’ demands have changed, and decides it’s time to make it better. Using current demands for improved grip geometry, raised grip height, increased round count, popular modern calibers, and increasingly sophisticated aftermarket parts, Virgil gets to work on the new Gen II Modular pistol.