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