easiest to rack

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Doc Holliday 1950

New member
All of my revolvers are 357 mag wheels. For the first time in years I'm looking to get a semi automatic that is easy to rack. Three reasons.
1- I have bad arthritis.
2- I want my wife to be able to rack & use it.
3- I want more fire power than my Rugers have.
As aways, I'd appreciate "ALL" suggestions from the Forum.
 
Doc, WVsig gives a good link and good advice. Good technique will make a huge difference. With that said, a full sized 9mm will be easier to rack than a smaller gun. The way a pistol fits your hand and its weight will also effect your ability to handle it well. The only reliable way of knowing is for you and your wife to go and see what works best for you. I am a fan of the Ruger SR series. Good luck.
 
Every full size 5-inch 9mm-chambered 1911 pistol is extremely easy to rack and I find the Walther PK-380 to be maybe one of the absolute easiest to rack crnter fire semi-auto pistols ever marketed.
 
All of my revolvers are 357 mag wheels. For the first time in years I'm looking to get a semi automatic that is easy to rack. Three reasons.
1- I have bad arthritis.
2- I want my wife to be able to rack & use it.
3- I want more fire power than my Rugers have.
As aways, I'd appreciate "ALL" suggestions from the Forum.
Click to expand...

The easiest I am familiar with is the gen 3 Glock 19. (The gen 4 Glocks have a completely different recoil assembly. I've never tried it.)
 
I'd suggest a H&K VP9, it is very easy to rack and has, I don't know what youd call them, ears or something on the slide that makes it easy to grip. You can remove them if you want. With the "ears" you could rack it under your arm or between your knees if you were in dire straights.
 
www.corneredcat.com has techniques for both you and your wife on how to rack a semi; also some good general info for women and their spouses. I will assume by "having more firepower" you mean a higher round count because more firepower than a 357 would be in the 10mm category.
 
I seem to recall we had this contest, but it has been long enough to where I do not remember when it was an active thread.

I do remember going through all my semi's at the time and found my Norinco 213 and my Beretta 92FS Inox won in my rack (& slide).

I do have a Beretta Tomcat Model 3032 Inox with the tip up barrel which steals the contest trophy.
 
rack 'rm up

I beleive hammer fired semi autos are easier to rack.

My wife loves her Walther PK380.

Go to a LGS and try a few different models and makes.
 
Some are far easier than others to rack without a doubt. Spring tension and slide height are only a couple of factors that lead one to being harder or easier than the other.

The HK P-30 is a very easy gun to rack and that's even with the hammer on the slide. Cock the hammer first and it's even easier.
 
The Beretta PX4 is pretty easy to rack. If you can find a Ruger P95, those are also easy to rack.

Other than that, I'd recommend going to a gun store or gun show and trying a bunch of guns.
 
One thing you might look at is whether there is an external hammer. Cocking the hammer before racking the slide means that you are not providing the energy to cock as well as cycle the action.
 
So far I've looked at Glock 19 gen4, Glock 17 gen4 and Walther PPQ .
Going out today to check out the Walther PPQ.
Since I have no bloody idea what I'm doing, this should be interesting.
FITASC, yes to your question.
 
Here's an excellent video on how to rack a pistol with weak hands to go with the previous recommendation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbayNc6D9HY
If you need even more oomph, use some upper arm, shoulder and chest muscles to shove the frame of the pistol forward, too.
Any pistol will respond to the technique.
Even the weakest person can easily over power the relatively puny little springs in a handgun with good technique.
 
My STI Trojan 9mm 1911 with a 9lb recoil spring is easy to rack, with very little recoil, a 9mm 1911 is ideal for a person with arthritis.
 
My 3 easiest guns to rack are:

1) Browning Hi-Power (C-Series)
2) Desert Eagle 44 Magnum
3) Boberg XR9-s
 
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