anyone tried NP3 by Robar to reduce friction, or ....

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socalbeachbum

socalbeachbum

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any other friction reducing treatments to their slide, frame, moving parts?

anyone tried dry film lube?

my arthritis is getting progressively worse, racking the slide on my Shield and PX4 are becoming more difficult, and I've reverted to using my trusty old Ruger P85 as it is so smooth and easy to operate.

I was thinking of trying Robar's NP3 on a Glock 19. or Sig P226. or any other auto that may be an easy to operate right out of the box. I'm eager for suggestions here.
 
Note, Robar NP3 on the slide of your Glock would make the slide itself slicker, and may require more effort to grasp it without it slipping out of your grasp.

I've found striker fired guns, at least the standard size versions, not the little subcompacts, to be about as easy to rack as anything. You may get a little advantage with a hammer fired gun if you cock the hammer before racking the slide, but otherwise I find the striker fired guns are easier.

As a data point, the Shield is a very little gun that doesn't give you a lot of grasping area, and the PX4 generally has a fairly slick slide which is also not that easy to grasp.
 
JTQ, you are very correct, the smaller frame pistols with the exception of the Sig P238 can be tougher to rack than larger pistols. And the PX4 is slippery. And very good point about

NP3 making a surface tougher to grasp. My Ruger P85 is about as dull and flat a finish as you can get, making me think a sandblasted Parkerized finish would be nice.

So striker fired standard sized may be my way to go.
 
i own a glock 20 with nibx...now np3 should be much slicker and all, but i see no reduction in normal glock racking feel with it. im gonna say it feels the same as my standard glocks. i doubt it would make much difference with arthritis......
 
Slick finishes aren't going to make any difference compared to oil for slide racking.
 
If you are considering different platforms, consider the Beretta 92 family. My 96 (.40) is the easiliest slide I've ever racked. Much of it has to do with the barrel not having to tilt down to unlock
 
I had a 92A1, and it was easy to rack, partly because you can get a good grip on it. Not as easy as my P85 though. I do find shooting the snot out of them, really letting them wear in,

and keeping them really clean helps a lot. I use Hornady One Shot but always looking for the next slippery lube to come along.
 
in that regard the hk vp's have those little ears and it makes racking and gripping to rack so easy. far easier than the 92 which i own as well. plus the vp veing a striker has less resistance than making the hammer go down. now if ya cock the hammer and then rack much easier and less painful for sure.
 
G29: NP3 to barrel, slide, and internals.
G29-5.jpg

Slicker, easier to clean, and minimal "bling" investment.
Much envied by Special Forces operators everywhere. :thumbup:

:cool:
 
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I will second the recommendation for the HK VP9. I own one, my brother owns one, and my best range partner owns one. It has quickly become one of my favorite handguns. As advertised the charging supports make running the slide manually much easier, the need to grasp hard is pretty much gone. Just cup your hand over the slide up against those ears and let her rip! As long as your wrists aren't weakened you should be able to run the VP9 slide much easier than a more traditional slide. Being striker fired also helps.

As an added bonus the grip is extremely comfortable, and extremely adjustable with the 3 sets of included side panels and back straps. The pistol comes with real sights, and if you get an LE model they will be night sights, and the gun will include 3 of HK's excellent magazines that can actually be fully loaded without a tool (although a tool is included anyway). As an aside HK actually bothers to zero the pistols before they ship, and mine showed up shooting to the top of the front sight out to at least 50 yards.

The trigger is also easy to get along with, making good shooting easier. I managed to be the top pistol shooter with my VP9 in a Pat McNamara TAPS (tactical application practical shooting) class. It's nice to have a pistol that works all the time, and makes it easy to get the best out of it.
 
well, my arthritis is getting much worse and I'm really in need to find something I can easily rack and operate. everyone seems to push me towards the Sig 238. I'm wondering about something like a Browning Buckmark. I find tiny pocket pistols a bit difficult to operate when I'm having one of my 'clumsy' days. Arthritis can cause you to be clumsy, have a weak grip, etc. Some of the Buckmarks have 'ears' on the rear sides or the slide to get a good grip.
 
The easiest smoothest slide I've ever racked was a 1960s Browning Challenger (not a challenger II or III). Have you considered a beretta tomcat or maybe a browning/beretta .380 with tilting barrel so you don't have to rack the slide at all? (barring malfunctions)
 
yes, I just sold a small til barrel Beretta as it was just a bit too small and a bit too hard to manipulate. you end up racking the slide to clear misfires, etc. I'll have to look at the old Challenger
 
socalbeachbum said:
a small til barrel Beretta as it was just a bit too small and a bit too hard to manipulate. you end up racking the slide to clear misfires, etc
Click to expand...
You're tilt barrel Beretta had an extractor?

I've shot ones chambered in .22lr and .25ACP and just cleared them by flipping the barrel up
 
I've got my Wilson Combat CQB finished in Robar NP3 and found it to make no difference from the standard Wilson Combat Armor Tuff finish (a sprayed on polymer based finish that is not totally dissimilar from NP3).

For the price of having a handgun finished in NP3 (around $400), it's just as well worth looking at some other handguns on the market.
 
For most autos I think it makes no difference. However, a NP3 coated Beretta 92 with light grease on the rails and block was is the easiest auto I have ever racked, and was a pretty nice shooter.
 
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