Difficulty racking the slide

First of all, this is a question for my girlfriend, not me. I'm 6'2" and 215lbs so an itty bitty spring isn't stopping me ;) She, on the other hand, is 5'4" (and a half, she claims) and of fairly small build. Secondly, I'm reasonably certain I put this in the correct forum, but feel free to move it, slap me around a bit, and call me Shirley if I was mistaken!

I took her shooting a few weeks ago, as she had never shot a handgun, and was blown away (drum riff) at how well she controlled both my XD9 and Kimber, putting darn near every round just where I directed her to put it. The only concern is, she can't quite rack the slide all the way yet.

As she is very interested in getting her CHL (yep, she's a keeper!) and has already claimed my next purchase (Kahr PM9) I've got her practicing racking the slide of my XD whenever she is here. If, for some reason, she is unable to reliably rack the slide on a particular firearm, what are our options? I recall the slide on my father's PM9 being a bit stiffer than most, and as tight a gun as that is, I would hesitate to replace any of the springs for fear of fouling up the near perfection that Kahr seems to have with this particular firearm.

In short, other than practice, practice, practice, what are her options?

what technique is she using? (overhand, slingshot, etc.)

One thing that may help is to have her use the overhand method but to "punch" the gun out instead of trying to draw the slide back...What I mean is, have both hands near the chest, grab the slide in an overhand grip, and then push the gun out with the strong hand.
This method seems to work well for people with less hand/arm strength.

You're probably going to get a bunch of posts telling you to buy her a revolver, but I think the answer is to just work on it with her until she can do it...it can be done.

It's not so much strength as it is technique. My wife could not rack a slide on a KelTec, a Kimber, or a Glock. I had to help her learn to grasp and then 'push with both hands' smoothly...once she got that, no problem.
I had her put her elbows out and then push with both hands...one hand on the grip...the other hand on the slide. Once she got the technique, it really became much easier for her...she just had to learn to feel it.

Good luck with the teaching...:hand10:

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Originally Posted by KenpoTex

what technique is she using? (overhand, slingshot, etc.)

One thing that may help is to have her use the overhand method but to "punch" the gun out instead of trying to draw the slide back...What I mean is, have both hands near the chest, grab the slide in an overhand grip, and then push the gun out with the strong hand.
This method seems to work well for people with less hand/arm strength.

You're probably going to get a bunch of posts telling you to buy her a revolver, but I think the answer is to just work on it with her until she can do it...it can be done.

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She tried both at the range, but was unable to rack it either way fully. She was able to release the slide from lock with the slingshot method 90% of the time however. I'll have her try the "punching" tomorrow evening.

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Originally Posted by retsupt99

It's not so much strength as it is technique. My wife could not rack a slide on a KelTec, a Kimber, or a Glock. I had to help her learn to grasp and then 'push with both hands' smoothly...once she got that, no problem.
I had her put her elbows out and then push with both hands...one hand on the grip...the other hand on the slide. Once she got the technique, it really became much easier for her...she just had to learn to feel it.

Good luck with the teaching...:hand10:

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I think she is only really using the strength of one arm when trying to rack the slide. The method both of you describe sound like it would use the strength in both arms very well. She's almost there as it is, so that little bit extra may be enough to get by for now. Of course I'll have her keep practicing to develop those muscles that are probably not used very often in other activities.

I've thought about loaning her my 637 for home defense, but given the anti-second-amendment slant of her current apartment complex, I'm wary to put her in any sort of situation that may cause her trouble that she just doesn't need right now.

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Originally Posted by KenpoTex

what technique is she using? (overhand, slingshot, etc.)

One thing that may help is to have her use the overhand method but to "punch" the gun out instead of trying to draw the slide back...What I mean is, have both hands near the chest, grab the slide in an overhand grip, and then push the gun out with the strong hand.
This method seems to work well for people with less hand/arm strength.

You're probably going to get a bunch of posts telling you to buy her a revolver, but I think the answer is to just work on it with her until she can do it...it can be done.

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+1. Tell her to imagine ripping the slide off of the frame as she punches the gun towards the target. These two forceful opposite movements should make it easier for her. Also after time she will develop the muscles involved in the movement.

Overhand left hand technique, and equal, quick pushing with both hands. My girlfriend suffers from arthritis, and I got her using a G19 with the proper movements. If she's trying the "pinch" technique from the rear of the slide like I see so often, it'll never work.

Agreed.....push and pull---technique.

I always recommend the article on the Cornered Cat: "Rack the Slide". The rest of the site is also a good one for her to explore as it gives an excellent overview...in pink! :)

I agree with CJ. Have her review the link on cornered cat on proper techniques for racking the slide. It is more about technique than strength. Also, cornered cat is a great resource for female shooters.

I would have her get some hand grip strengtheners and work on her grip and maybe some upper body/arm it shouldn't take too much work before she builds her strength up enough to rack the slide easily,After I broke my neck I couldn't hardly twist the cap off a tube of toothpaste ,but can rack the slide on all my firearms today no problem

While she's trying this watch her and make sure she's keeping her finger off the trigger. For some people when they struggle to rack the slide they want to get a death grip and end up with their booger hook on the bang stick. They concentrate so much on racking the slide they forget all else.

Another recommendation for the "Cornered Cat" website. They can convince your wife or girlfriend to do things you could never accomplish. There's just something about that website that works. Women shooters helping other women, WITHOUT the man-hater feeling of so many other womens' sites.

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Originally Posted by spooter66

While she's trying this watch her and make sure she's keeping her finger off the trigger. For some people when they struggle to rack the slide they want to get a death grip and end up with their booger hook on the bang stick. They concentrate so much on racking the slide they forget all else.

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This is good advice. I have recently been teaching my mom how to shoot handguns and she has had this very problem. Racking the slide is very difficult for her, and while trying to get a good grip with her strong hand she reflexively puts her finger on the trigger :ahhhhh:

Hold the grip in the weak hand and pull the slide back with the strong hand. I remember doing this when I was a small child.

Overhand grip and give it a little time. With just a little practice those muscles will build up enough to work the slide, and practice will take care of the rest.