Racking the slide---a psychological thing???

By that I mean it is harder to rack a slide if you grip it and then start slowing building rearward pressure through you hand than it is if you grip and make a sharp, firm snap back and release.
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There are many ways to do it, depending on the gun in question, hand size, grip strength, etc. What works for some people on some guns will not work well on others, or for other people.

Sure, in the beginning, SOME of it may be psychological, but ONLY in the beginning of a shooting career.

Sometimes, it is simply a matter of hand strength, gripping area of the gun, and the gun's resistance (the combined resistance of action, recoil spring tension and hammer spring -hammer down).

points the pistol forward about 45 degrees down, arm stiff, and jerks the rack back with the off hand. I call that the bow and arrow, 'Robin Hood Rack'.
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This works for people with enough grip and strength. A "real" archer will also tell you the better method is to HOLD the string, and PUSH the bow.

This works for many people who cannot pull back the slide. Don't. Hold the slide, and push the frame forward.

Also remember different guns are different. A Ruger .22 is pretty easy. An Ortgies .25 is NOT, because it is stiff, and the area of the slide to hold on to is very small.

I know many full grown men, manly men, who cannot "rack the slide" of my Auto Mags. It is one of the most difficult I've ever found, and even though I've been practicing it for over 30 years now, its not "easy" even for me. Try a Desert Eagle (which takes more strength than any service type auto) and then make the area of the slide you can grip a lot smaller, and you're getting close to what it takes to rack an Auto Mag. :D

If the gun has a hammer, cock it, then rack the slide. MUCH easier.

Looks easy in the movies, but movie guns, if they actually fire at all, are made/modified to fire blanks. They don't lock shut the way a live fire gun does, and they have VERY light springs.

I know fewer and fewer people get this experience, but, ever drive a truck that does NOT have power steering? it LOOKS easy to steer, but it isn't.
 
Been teaching my five year old how to shoot. We have a full size 1911 replica air soft pistol that has to be cycled every time to load another BB. He's getting his form down and just recently figured out how to rack it. It's nowhere as stiff as a firearm but it's familiarity that is going to help him.

Teach 'em young, keep 'em safe.
 
I think it is more a result of people going to the gym to simulate working instead of actually working. In my experience, even if they have the muscles, many people have no idea how to use them.
There is also a related problem with people working major muscle groups 4 days a week on the cliche machines and never giving any attention to the smaller muscles. Racking a slide involves very little peck/bicep and a whole lot of small muscles.

Have them feed ad water the livestock, dig 100 foot trench, and drop a few trees, and I guarantee you they will be able to rack a slide. I am positive you can find someone outside the city limits more than willing to let them do these things for a small fee of $30 a month. Cross train with a swim in the pond and hose them off afterwards too.
 
I will atest to what was said in an earlier post, dominant hand on grip, weak hand on slide, now push grip hand away from your body rather than pulling slide to your body. HUGE difference.
 
I often think I'm all manly and so on until I reach into the Grizzly in an attempt to 'rack the slide' on Round One. I usually hurt myself the first time as my fingers slam shut on one another with the slide left right where it was.

In addition to 'having done it' and 'knowing you can do it', there's also the 'do you remember how much it hurt the last time you didn't do it?'

Definitely a matter of "do" or "don't do", and not one of "I'll try to do".
 
Pax's Cornered Cat shows the easiest method - close to the body and utilizing a push-pull method with both hands. Very easy to do.
 
It just takes exposure to the proper techniques...and some practice..and most new shooters will be fine ( men or women )...

Among new shooters, I don't find women more timid than men these days.
 
the average girn or young woman isn't used to violent activities with their hands that make a lot of noise, take a lot of energy, use a lot of force and arm strength. They've never pounded a nail, split wood, used a chain saw, etc, and the average guy relishes these things. I've gone for entire days sawing up trees and splitting firewood, driving it home and stacking it, heavy work, explosive work, and exhausting.

My 30 year old daughter is still so timid that she won't fire anything bigger than my .22 rifle. she'd have a hard time grabbing a big, heavy, hard, stress inducing .45 and racking it. She'd be unwilling to risk being hurt by that big, heavy pull.
 
I rack the slide like I am pissed off at it. That works a lot better than trying to be smooth, casual or polite. My method is the mid chest push pull.
 
Can't say that I've ever had an issue racking any slide...
all the way up to Desert Eagle .50AE...

Hand strength helps...being able to tear a phone book in half is a skill ;)
Find an Eagle Catcher exerciser at any of the Martial Arts stores online...
or ebay/amazon...really doesn't take long to build up hand strength,
even helps older folks regain lost strength!
 
she'd have a hard time grabbing a big, heavy, hard, stress inducing .45 and racking it. She'd be unwilling to risk being hurt by that big, heavy pull.
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I've found that with those unfamiliar (which includes most women), its a matter of attitude and knowing the right technique, but not always, some guns are much worse than others.

My mother, at 4'10" (and a half!) slightly less than 100lbs at "fighting weight" who wore a size 3.5 ring, could rack the slide on a Colt Government model. She had to cock the hammer, first, but she could do it.'

She could not rack the slide on an Ortgies .25acp Dad picked up, thinking she might use it...

The spring was too strong, and the gripping area too small for her hand strength. Tiny does not automatically mean easy, sometimes just the opposite. That .25 got traded off, good riddance.

She was extremely happy with the Ruger Super Bearcat that Dad got her next, no slide issues (SA revolver) and she was deadly accurate with it.

For most people with most semi autos, racking the slide is a learned skill. Low desire to learn, poor skill. Strong desire to learn, strong skills.
 
Quite a few of my friends can not rack my old 44 Desert Eagle. Stiff springs on her. If one racks the slide back whilst pushing the lower forward it helps. Still a bugger however.:)
 
How many times have we seen someone walk into a firearm store, ask to see a handgun that will protect them, or something like that.
And a store employee hands them, say a Glock22, they look at it then say i will take it, paper work is filled out BG check done.
Store employee asks you want Ammo. right, handgun with Ammo. is boxed up stuffed in a bag, and out the door the guy and his new handgun gos.
I have seen this very thing happen many times.
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I worked in a gun shop for 6 years and never saw that happen.

I have seen people come in and ask for a specific firearm but it wasn't their first one
 
I prefer that all of my handguns are set-up so that I can rack the slide both ways, I have 2 guns that it is very hard to rack the slide by the "stretch" method. On both of those 2 guns, the culprit is the mainspring and not the recoil spring.
 
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