Racking a pistol with a disability

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cbh560

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Martensville, SK
Hello CGN,

My wife enjoys shooting pistols and we're looking at getting one for her to shoot. She is left handed and shoots pistols lefty, but has a disability in her right hand that makes racking the slide very difficult.

She is a petite woman and not particularly strong, but she has a bone growth condition in her right hand (support hand) that has essentially immobilized her index and middle finger. Basically those two fingers are locked straight. Her ring and pinky finger have a better range of mobility, but not full. This limited mobility makes it near impossible for her to cup her hand over the slide to get a good grip on it. Additionally, she's one of those people that has very flexible thumbs (both hands). If she were to press her thumb on a table top it nearly folds over backwards. This makes it hard for her to get a "pincer" type grip to pull the slide back from the rear.

Are there any particular pistols (preferably 9mm), techniques, modifications that might make this easier for her? I've considered different recoil springs, but that only goes so far before messing with proper functioning. I've also thought of some sort of external handle that attaches to give better leverage to pull back on, perhaps even attached to the mounting point for a red dot.

Any other ideas?
 
Have you considered a Revolver? No slide to rack, and it sounds like she's got enough function in her off hand to deal with ejection? Alfa Proj makes a 9mm one that's like $600-700.

Racking one handed is common in the tactical crowd, but most of those options are going to be frowned upon in a static range setting.

Handles sticking off the side are not uncommon on race guns either, so that would be something to consider as well.

099_standard-cocking-dl-gold-2.jpg
 
A slide mounted red dot would work if she wants to shoot a pistol with an optic on it.

Or if she wants to shoot irons, there's racking handles with integrated rear sights available, though probably not for every model of pistol. The Shooting Center has this guy for Glocks.

17610_a_.jpg
 
I have lost full function in my support hand due to injury and I think the idea of a handle for actuating the slide is the wisest way to go. As a range safety officer, I would lose my shyte if someone racked the slide with a boot heel, disability or not.
 
Suther said:
Have you considered a Revolver? No slide to rack, and it sounds like she's got enough function in her off hand to deal with ejection? Alfa Proj makes a 9mm one that's like $600-700.

Racking one handed is common in the tactical crowd, but most of those options are going to be frowned upon in a static range setting.

Handles sticking off the side are not uncommon on race guns either, so that would be something to consider as well.

099_standard-cocking-dl-gold-2.jpg
Click to expand...
We've definitely considered the revolver route but she's wanting a semi auto. The handle in that photo would be all she'd need, just something that doesn't force her to squeeze the slide.
 
cbh560 said:
Hello CGN,

My wife enjoys shooting pistols and we're looking at getting one for her to shoot. She is left handed and shoots pistols lefty, but has a disability in her right hand that makes racking the slide very difficult.

She is a petite woman and not particularly strong, but she has a bone growth condition in her right hand (support hand) that has essentially immobilized her index and middle finger. Basically those two fingers are locked straight. Her ring and pinky finger have a better range of mobility, but not full. This limited mobility makes it near impossible for her to cup her hand over the slide to get a good grip on it. Additionally, she's one of those people that has very flexible thumbs (both hands). If she were to press her thumb on a table top it nearly folds over backwards. This makes it hard for her to get a "pincer" type grip to pull the slide back from the rear.

Are there any particular pistols (preferably 9mm), techniques, modifications that might make this easier for her? I've considered different recoil springs, but that only goes so far before messing with proper functioning. I've also thought of some sort of external handle that attaches to give better leverage to pull back on, perhaps even attached to the mounting point for a red dot.

Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

This is what I came up with after getting sick of using the Red Dot.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...Custom-Slide-Pull-Modification-for-anyHandgun


View attachment 485261
 
Phat Eagle said:
Sounds like a revolver is what she needs.
Click to expand...

Part of getting through a disability is learning your limitations and abilities, putting something down without exploring all possibilities of achieving a certain goal is an injustice to one's self progression. There will be many telling you what they believe you can’t and can do, only you can make this decision. If I had listened to self defeating humans after my loss of limb I would have never achieved riding a mtb, snowmobile, or using a firearm.
 
My shadow 2 with a 10lbs recoil spring is pretty darn easy to rack. 1911s are also easy to swap recoil springs to a sub 12lbs spring, and any semi auto 22lr will have a super light slide spring.
 
1ABNDT said:
Part of getting through a disability is learning your limitations and abilities, putting something down without exploring all possibilities of achieving a certain goal is an injustice to one's self progression. There will be many telling you what they believe you can’t and can do, only you can make this decision. If I had listened to self defeating humans after my loss of limb I would have never achieved riding a mtb, snowmobile, or using a firearm.
Click to expand...

well said.
 
FarmerDanz said:
My shadow 2 with a 10lbs recoil spring is pretty darn easy to rack. 1911s are also easy to swap recoil springs to a sub 12lbs spring, and any semi auto 22lr will have a super light slide spring.
Click to expand...
I've only shot a shadow 2 once at the range. Another gentleman there had one and was kind enough to let me fire it. I really enjoyed it, but didn't really get the opportunity to really look it over. Maybe something that remains fully reliable and operation even with reduced spring weights would be a good avenue to pursue as well.
 
1ABNDT said:
Part of getting through a disability is learning your limitations and abilities, putting something down without exploring all possibilities of achieving a certain goal is an injustice to one's self progression. There will be many telling you what they believe you can’t and can do, only you can make this decision. If I had listened to self defeating humans after my loss of limb I would have never achieved riding a mtb, snowmobile, or using a firearm.
Click to expand...

This is the mentality of resilience, an all too fading trait in this day and age. Very well put.

OP, there are several options that you and your wife could try to over come this disadvantage, knowing what pistol she is using would help narrow down the perspective options.
One suggestion I am make is that when working the slide she grip the pistol with her weak hand and push the frame forward while pulling the slide to the rear with a firm grasp and then switching back to the strong hand. Additionally if she is trying to lock the slide back and is having trouble manipulating the slide lock she can just insert a empty mag, rack the slide, then remove the mag.
Best of luck, I hope your wife finds a solution that allows her to continue to enjoy shooting autos.
 
pirate604 said:
This is the mentality of resilience, an all too fading trait in this day and age. Very well put.

OP, there are several options that you and your wife could try to over come this disadvantage, knowing what pistol she is using would help narrow down the perspective options.
One suggestion I am make is that when working the slide she grip the pistol with her weak hand and push the frame forward while pulling the slide to the rear with a firm grasp and then switching back to the strong hand. Additionally if she is trying to lock the slide back and is having trouble manipulating the slide lock she can just insert a empty mag, rack the slide, then remove the mag.
Best of luck, I hope your wife finds a solution that allows her to continue to enjoy shooting autos.
Click to expand...

She has been shooting my P320 lately. She doesn't have a pistol for herself yet, so potential for modifications is going to be part of the decision on which pistol to buy her. There seems to be a fair number of mods that replace the rear slide plate on the Glocks, and a G48 is on the list for her to handle due to its slim size and her small hands.
 
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