my girl friend is really wanting to get a semi auto but even with the lighter recoil spring of the 9mm she has a hard time racking the slide. she has tried my sr9 c and a px4c at gander. what are some ways that the ingo ladies exercise them slide racking muscles without actually racking a slide. and before you guys say just get a revolver, there is no changing this ladies mind once she decides what she wants.
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racking the slide
- Thread starter furbymac
- Start date
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^^^^ What she said, plus have the GF read all the useful information on cornered cat's website.
LEGENw84itDARY
Plinker
Racking Slide with Weak Hands
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbayNc6D9HY]YouTube - Racking a Slide With Weak Hands[/ame]
found this a while back, shes got a lot of interesting videos
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbayNc6D9HY]YouTube - Racking a Slide With Weak Hands[/ame]
found this a while back, shes got a lot of interesting videos
Don't forget to "let go" of the slide when it reaches the rear of its travel. Not letting go (aka "riding the slide") can cause jams or an "out-of-battery" experience.
As the slide reaches the end of its travel just let your non-shooting hand slip off the rear of the slide.
Let the recoil spring do the job it was designed to do.
As the slide reaches the end of its travel just let your non-shooting hand slip off the rear of the slide.
Let the recoil spring do the job it was designed to do.
04DarkShadowGT
Master
The SR9c is a pretty hard slide to rack anyway, my wife struggled on the one I had. She can do her G19 with no issues. Just have her check out other guns until she finds one she is comfortable with.
Exactly what I have my wife do.
The Cornered Cat is a good site. A person can buy the book as well. I read it and to be honest it was one of the better written gun books that I have read. My wife is reading it slowly, but mainly because she wants to keep it for the plane ride later in the month. Yes it is for women, but lots of good stuff in there for everyone. I recommend getting a copy at Amazon.com.
Others have already mentioned the push method. But also keep in mind that some of the smaller autos can be hard to chamber. Not a lot to grab onto and not a lot of grip to give a person leverage. As crazy as it might sound she might have and easier time with a larger (i.e. medium sized) gun. Maybe a regular SR9 or Glock 19?
Great carry gun if racking is an issue
I've seen this problem with people I sold Ruger LCP's< Kel-Tec P-3AT's and Taurus TCP's; women and some guys having an issue racking that first bullet. I am now carrying a Sig 238 and it is so easy to rack anyone can do it. Price is in the low to mid $400's. Check one out at your local gun store and see what I mean. A Rohrbaugh in a 9mm is also very comfortable to rack but you are talking some bucks. If you can live with a 380 check out the Sig238 and you will not be sorry in your choice.
I've seen this problem with people I sold Ruger LCP's< Kel-Tec P-3AT's and Taurus TCP's; women and some guys having an issue racking that first bullet. I am now carrying a Sig 238 and it is so easy to rack anyone can do it. Price is in the low to mid $400's. Check one out at your local gun store and see what I mean. A Rohrbaugh in a 9mm is also very comfortable to rack but you are talking some bucks. If you can live with a 380 check out the Sig238 and you will not be sorry in your choice.
As you have found, there are some pistols that are harder to rack than others. Usually a large frame pistol will have a slide that has enough surface area to grab, and a lighter spring as the slide weight absorbs some recoil.
From experience, a small pistol like the Kahr PM9 takes two hands and a foot to rack the slide. A pistol with a slide that fits inside the frame, like the Beretta 9000 has hardly any area to grasp. I have a heck of a time pulling back the slide on my 9000 as there is so little area to grab.
A larger pistol like a 1911, Beretta 92FS, Ruger P95 have a bigger area to grab, and because of the heft, a lighter recoil spring making it slightly easier to rack.
She might have to try several 9mm pistols to find one she is comfortable with and can rack it easily. The techniques shown above are good ideas and she should try them, but a majority of time finding a pistol that has a good sized area to grab is important.
From experience, a small pistol like the Kahr PM9 takes two hands and a foot to rack the slide. A pistol with a slide that fits inside the frame, like the Beretta 9000 has hardly any area to grasp. I have a heck of a time pulling back the slide on my 9000 as there is so little area to grab.
A larger pistol like a 1911, Beretta 92FS, Ruger P95 have a bigger area to grab, and because of the heft, a lighter recoil spring making it slightly easier to rack.
She might have to try several 9mm pistols to find one she is comfortable with and can rack it easily. The techniques shown above are good ideas and she should try them, but a majority of time finding a pistol that has a good sized area to grab is important.
The push/pull is key, but also positioning the gun. For right handers, the actual right side face of the pistol needs to be parallel with the ground - meaning, the operator is looking down at the left side of the pistol, rather than at the top of the slide, and the right side is facing down at the ground.
The issue with that is keeping the muzzle pointed down range while manipulating the slide. In order to do that safely, one must "turn into your gun." If we (right handers) start from a ready position (two hand grip, pistol muzzel pointed down apprx. 45-degrees, shoulders parallel with the firing line), then re-position the feet so that the left foot is over the firing line, right foot is behind it, and our body is at a right angle with the line, all the while keeping the muzzle pointed down range, we will end up with the pistol at waist level and in a safe position to manipulate the slide for loading and unloading. The pistol will actiually be right over top of the firing line. And obviously, we don't allow our support hand to EVER go in front of the muzzle.
Once we're finished manipulating the pistol, we sweep the left foot back behind the line, face down range and continue on with shooting, holstering, etc...
We can use an "imaginary" line at home, once we determine a "safe direction" to aim our pistol for loading and unloading. But the point is that we work around the direction the muzzle is safely pointed, we don't point the gun all over the place because we're struggling.
The issue with that is keeping the muzzle pointed down range while manipulating the slide. In order to do that safely, one must "turn into your gun." If we (right handers) start from a ready position (two hand grip, pistol muzzel pointed down apprx. 45-degrees, shoulders parallel with the firing line), then re-position the feet so that the left foot is over the firing line, right foot is behind it, and our body is at a right angle with the line, all the while keeping the muzzle pointed down range, we will end up with the pistol at waist level and in a safe position to manipulate the slide for loading and unloading. The pistol will actiually be right over top of the firing line. And obviously, we don't allow our support hand to EVER go in front of the muzzle.
Once we're finished manipulating the pistol, we sweep the left foot back behind the line, face down range and continue on with shooting, holstering, etc...
We can use an "imaginary" line at home, once we determine a "safe direction" to aim our pistol for loading and unloading. But the point is that we work around the direction the muzzle is safely pointed, we don't point the gun all over the place because we're struggling.
She can do this by methods mentioned above. My 14 yr old daughter that is small frame 100 lbs can rack any auto I have. She shoots my 40 Smith 99 all the time and has no problems cycling the gun. I think she holds the slide and pushes the frame through but to be honest I have not really watched how she does it.
She'll probably go through some more on your list as well. 
I started out with a S&W 40SE but hated the trigger pull. I found a Glock 26 which had an awesome trigger pull. So I traded the 40 in on the Glock. I then bought a Keltec -PF9 which actually fit my hand but hated shooting it. Scutter has and XD9 though and that is ok for me to shoot but it still doesn't fit my hand well. All of the above, I was able to rack (there are few I can't anymore) but it's also what's comfortable to shoot and reliable as well.
I started out with a S&W 40SE but hated the trigger pull. I found a Glock 26 which had an awesome trigger pull. So I traded the 40 in on the Glock. I then bought a Keltec -PF9 which actually fit my hand but hated shooting it. Scutter has and XD9 though and that is ok for me to shoot but it still doesn't fit my hand well. All of the above, I was able to rack (there are few I can't anymore) but it's also what's comfortable to shoot and reliable as well. Site Supporter
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