Racking the Slide

I've worked with a couple students recently who had a lot of trouble racking the slide.  Racking the slide is less about strength than leverage.  You can do it, it just takes practice.

First, make sure you are in your workspace, close to the body, upper mid chest.  Think of where you would hold a jar with a tight lid to open it, that is where you are strongest.  Hold the gun in your strong hand, come up and over the top of the slide with your weak had, grasp the rear of the slide firmly and pull back while pushing forward with your strong hand.  When it is a far back as it will go...let it fly!  Yep, let go.  The slide is designed to do that.

You can do it, it just takes practice.  It can be harder on the smaller guns, the "pocket pistols", mostly because there is less to get a hold of, but with practice, and patience, you can do it. 

Racking the Slide - Yes You Can!!

How many times have you been told that women don’t have the strength to rack a slide on a semi-automatic?  There are some guys out there who have trouble with it.  If you are a new shooter, and find wracking the slide a challenge, that’s ok. Don’t give up!  There are a couple things you can do.

First, position is key.  Have a firm grip on the pistol with your strong hand (the one you write with).  This should be similar to your shooting grip.  You can pull the gun in closer to your body.  With the weak hand, cup the top rear of the slide, it is often ridged for an easier grasp, being careful to ensure that your hand does not extend over the ejection port, and pull straight back while pushing forward with your strong hand.  Pull the slide straight to the rear, and then let it go.  Yes, let it fly, if you hold the slide as it is returning to position you can create several issues such as a mis-feed, failure of the gun to return to battery (ready to fire).  This takes practice.  It is also harder on tiny gun, you may need to adjust the position, but…you can do it!

If you need to strengthen your hands, there are products available for that purpose.  My personal favorite is the GripMaster , available in multiple resistance levels at Amazon.com.  It can be used to work the fingers individually.  The other advantage to this exercise is that is helps with your trigger control.  Some triggers are harder to pull than others.  Ironically, the triggers on revolvers, which do not have a slide and are often recommended to women, have a harder pull than many semi-automatics.

Lastly, a good instructor can help you to adjust your hand positions so that you can be effective.  Don’t hesitate to ask for help.  If you are at a range that has NRA Certified Range Safety Officers, they are all instructors, and therefore can offer you some advice or assistance if you need.

Safe Shooting!