She can't rack the slide!

[pax]

Online, I keep hearing variants of "my wife/mother/gf/little sister can't rack the slide of a semi-auto, so would an airweight snubby be the best choice for her first gun?"

(The short answer to that question is, "Not really," but start another thread if you want to debate it. Please don't hijack this one!)

What's getting under my skin is the number of people who answer this type of question by quickly jumping to an equipment solution for what is, plain and simple, a training problem. I'd like to see more people willing and able to teach new shooters the easy way to rack a slide and lock it back.

Personal experience/credentials: I have been helping teach classes at a fairly busy firearms school for around four years. In that time, we have had women on the line who were young, old, skinny, fat, arthritic, smart, not-so-smart, healthy, not-so-healthy, with shoulder injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist or elbow injuries, no self-confidence, self-confidence oozing out their pores, and everything in between. We see all kinds, and I've personally worked with most kinds.

In all that time, I have never met a healthy woman (of whatever age) who could not be taught to rack the slide and lock it back. If I include women with some specific medical issues, I can count the number of failures on one hand, with fingers left over. We teach them how to load their own firearms, show them how to clear misfeeds and doublefeeds, and they never look back.

So the effect this question and its too-common responses have upon me is something like a pediatrician would feel if he hung out on a parenting board and the recurring question was, "My 12-month-old baby isn't walking yet. Which type of leg braces would you recommend for her?" -- followed by leg brace recommendations. Those might be the best leg braces in the world, but, honey, the baby can be taught to walk.

My favorite shooting school is a remarkable place, but surely we're not that remarkable. Teaching someone to rack the slide is really a basic and simple job, and more people should know how to do it.

For those uncertain how to rack the slide themselves, the long version, with pictures, can be found at http://www.corneredcat.com/RunGun/rack.htm

Here's the short version:

• Keep it pointed in a safe direction at all times.
• Keep your finger off the trigger.
• Punch the gun forward, fast and hard, while holding the slide still.
• To lock the slide back, push up on the slide lock lever and keep pushing it up while you punch the gun forward.

In-depth, specific problem solving to follow in the next post ...

pax

 

[pax]

Sometimes new shooters do have trouble racking the slide at first. Often, this is the result of some simple misunderstandings. Here are some common difficulties, and what can be done about them.

Essential first step! Whenever someone is having trouble with the slide, I first ask her what exactly she is having trouble with. I used to skip that step, but have found that the answers sometimes surprise me and often teach me something.

Some answers I've gotten indicate that common fears are that the gun will break from being handled roughly, or that the shooter will hurt herself unless she moves slowly. Common misunderstandings include being uncertain which button is the slide stop, being unsure of whether the button should be pressed up or down or in, and occasionally not even understanding that the slide stop has to have anything done to it in order to lock the slide back.

The solutions given below really depend on what the problem is, and should be tailored to the shooter's specific difficulty. Doesn't help to show her how to punch the gun forward if the problem is that she can't reach the slide stop lever. So listen first!

Basic groundwork and safety: make sure her hands are placed correctly on the gun, show her how to bring her hands toward centerline for maximum strength, and make sure she understands the function of the slide stop.

Don't get picky about overhand vs slingshot, but if she is doing it one way and having trouble with it, suggest she try the other method to see if it works better for her. Make sure her hand does not cover the ejection port while the gun is loaded.

Absolutely INSIST that she keeps the gun pointed directly downrange at all times -- have her move her body around the gun, rather than moving the gun around her stationary body, if she needs to change the angle she is holding the gun. Do not allow her to point the gun at her own non-dominant forearm or elbow, nor at any other body part.

And watch that trigger finger!

If she is being too gentle/too slow about it: Make sure she understands that racking the slide is a quick, explosive action, and that it is physically easier to punch the grip hand forward quickly than it is to pull the slide hand back slowly.

Some women do better if you tell them to anchor the grip hand elbow on the hip, and then thrust/twist the hip forward. Others do better if you simply tell them to punch the grip hand forward.

Riding the slide: I like to tell the student to punch the grip hand forward, and when the slide hits the rearmost point, to "just let the slide slip out of your hand -- then slap yourself on the shoulder." This usually keeps her from riding the slide forward.

Locking the slide back: I try to make sure she's already gotten some feel for racking the slide quickly & decisively, before we move on to discuss locking it open. If she doesn't have the quick & decisive rack down yet, locking the slide back will be much more difficult for her than it needs to be.

When it seems to be just a general mechanical befuddlement, I will often show her how the empty magazine can be used to lock the slide back, as an intermediate step between racking the slide & learning to lock it open -- because it gives a pretty good feel for the sudden "doesn't move anymore" feeling you get when the stop goes into place. This is only an intermediate step; it is not the complete solution -- but it can be a useful intermediate step to help clear up mechanical misunderstandings.

Slide stop confusion: Here's my favorite trick when the problem is some variant of, "I don't know how this button works." I take the gun into my own hands and pull the slide back, holding it back while letting the student find the slide stop lever and push it up into place. Sometimes you can see the light bulb go on for that.

"Too weak to lock the slide back": have her push up on the slide stop during the entire time she is punching the gun forward. This one's kinda interesting because it deals with and really highlights all the "I can't reach this button" difficulties (have I ranted about gun fit today yet?).

Gun fit & slide stop manipulations: I like to have her move her grip hand around until she is able to comfortably reach & push up on the slide stop, then tell her to keep pushing up on it while punching the grip hand forward. If she ends up so contorted that she can't do both at once, then we work together to find a hand/grip position that allows her to reach the stop without rearranging her grip hand once the slide is back. It's surprising how often the trouble is simply that the student is trying to hold the slide back (a strength-intensive action), while simultaneously rearranging her entire grip hand to hunt for that darn elusive little lever. That's a recipe for failure, right there.

More slide stop confusion: another mechanical misunderstanding I've corrected more than a few times is that some women get frustrated because they try to engage the slide stop while the slide is completely back to its furthest limit, and of course the slide stop has to engage probably 1/4" before that final point. Sometimes all it takes is pointing out that the stop must slip into place before the slide is completely back.

The quick fix I use for this one is to take the gun into my own hands, retract the slide, and then show her exactly where the slide stop point is reached in relation to the mechanical limit of retracting the slide. Or I have her slip the slide stop into place after I've retracted the slide and shown her how much "wiggle space" there is between the rearmost point and the lock point.

All of the above sounds complex, but most are actually quick actions you can take even with a limited amount of time and words.

Go forth, and sin no more ...

pax

 

[BigO01]

While I haven't assisted as many folks as you have pax , I have run into this problem a couple of times with new shooters I have helped .

I have found that working on their hand strength makes a great improvement in helping to cure this problem , and have them workout by squeezing a rubber ball between their thumb and index finger as they would pinch the slide to get a good hold on it . Ranking a slide is a unique action and not something that doing housework or pumping weights will improve upon the needed strength in the right places . This also isn't a problem only for the ladies aging men lose strength in their hands if they don't work to keep their hands strong .

As CCW permits become more common place and accepted with the general public nationwide I think this is an issue that should be addressed by the gun and holster makers so that the slide has a more grip friendly surface , obviously doing this will require some sort of lining on the holster to assure fast access to the weapon .

While requiring the manufactures to make changes may seem drastic , as American workers have shifted from Blue to white collar their physical fitness has suffered especially in this area because as stated even those who are die hards for going to the gym aren't doing a thing to improve on the areas needed for this activity .

This is one of the reasons I personally like front cocking serrations on 1911's , it is much safe than having your hand around the rear sight where if the slide slips you can get a nasty cut from the sight real quick .

Just my opinion .

 

[1911 guy]

Hooray for Pax!

And Hooray again!

If proper instruction can get my (very) petite wife to operate a 1911 with a 23Lb mainspring and a 18.5Lb recoil spring, then proper instruction can solve a LOT of percieved problems. And it has. Our "house gun" is the aforementioned and she's fully capable.

I made a post on another thread mentioning the "push the gun, not pull the slide" outlook and was thoroughly dismissed. How weak do some men think their wives are, yet they are expected to do the "womens work" of carrying around kids, laundry baskets and mop buckets all day? I also mentioned that I think we men get away with improper technique A LOT because we have the strenght to overcome it. Then we teach our bad technique to our loved ones and wonder why they struggle.

For the record, a lightweight snubbie is a gun for a pro and I do help out around the house.

 

[XD Fan]

Thanks, Pax!

My wife struggles with this issue. I am really looking forward to using this training method to help her learn the technique.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

I have always taught to "push the gun". But certain people will NEVER be able to chamber the slide on CERTAIN guns. They do not have the strength, or they have a malady such as arthritis which prevents them from being able to do it, regardless of the technique. A lighter recoil spring (or a system that uses a lighter recoil spring) is necessary. The 9mm 1911 Government sized model has less resistance than a Commander sized model, or a .45. The Walther P38 and P5 have smaller dual recoil springs that make it easier for someone so afflicted to chamber a round. The Taurus 24/7 in 9mm has a fairly light recoil spring. That is why it is important for her to PICK HER OWN GUN!!!

 

[Beatnik]

Thanks for all the info! My wife suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis and this info is definitely going to get used at home.

I think an important minor point in the article and your follow-up is that as a society, we're becoming less mechanically inclined. I never pieced that together before. I'm the kind of guy who welds for a good time. Part of my fascination with firearms is the mechanism of the thing, and I enjoy figuring them out.

Not everyone is like that. Not everyone is going to realize with perfect clarity all the little things that go on in a black L-shaped lump of steel. So I'm taking away the fact that in addition to teaching smarter racking, we should also try to explain why this stuff happens. It certainly helps when I teach people to drive a manual, so it probably will here too!

 

[pax]

Not everyone is like that. Not everyone is going to realize with perfect clarity all the little things that go on in a black L-shaped lump of steel. So I'm taking away the fact that in addition to teaching smarter racking, we should also try to explain why this stuff happens. It certainly helps when I teach people to drive a manual, so it probably will here too!

That bears repeating -- excellent point.

***

I do want to point out, again, that the instructions I posted pretty well assume the student is a healthy adult. As Phil said, there are people out there who really-and-truly can't, and others for whom it is simply not worthwhile to even try, and I certainly do not want to make any of those folks feel bad about it. If someone has arthritis or some other -itis, and knows she'll be swollen & in pain the next day if she runs a semi-auto the way it supposed to be run, then she really should not be running that semi-auto. I'm not talking about those folks at all.

But.

The people who can't or shouldn't try this are almost always people who have some specific physical ailment. If you hear an otherwise healthy adult person say she "just can't," the chances are overwhelming that she's simply never been shown how. And those are the people these posts are for.

pax

 

[Trebor]

Excellent post, Pax. Thanks.

 

[CalamityJane]

Thanks Pax. Your posts here and your web site have helped me very much. I would love to make a trip up to your school one of these days.

Good work.

 

[distra]

Good post Pax. My wife had trouble until I explained it was more a "push" with your strong hand and really just "fixing" the slide in your weak hand. She had trouble with thin slides (i.e. BHP) so we adjusted the recoil and hammer springs to make it easier for her to rack the slide and added an extended slide stop. In this case, cocking the hammer 1st really made it easy for her to rack the slide.

 

[RyanM]

The main problem I've seen people have (including big strong men with arms the size of hams) is grip strength. They usually just can't hold the slide firmly enough to get it back all the way, without some practice.

And one thing that sometimes helps if they're being too gentle about it, is to tell them to try their darndest to rip the slide off the back of the gun.

 

[Zoogster]

Remind them that a fired round throws back the slide with more force than they ever would by hand. That it is not a piece of delicate jewelry even if it is a sparkling work of art Maybe they are trying not to break it.

Also don't push someone to operate the gun better than they are ready to. Safety first. If they are unsure and hesitant about working the gun safely at the range maybe they just need some time dry firing and intimate handling of it when it is stripped, learning all its intricacies. Just like a lover sometimes a soft touch is desired, and sometimes they like ita little rough. Exploring it while it is naked, erm stripped or unloaded will help with understanding that.