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Old 02-22-2017, 05:25 PM
Whitwabit Whitwabit is offline
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pcgunners blog and poll "One In The Chamber" got me thinking and not wanting to hijack his blog ..

Some of the comments and videos showed that you might be fighting an attacker off with your off hand not able to rack the slide in that situation if you carried Condition 3 ..

My question is how many practice racking the slide using only one hand ?? Imagine you have a misfire and your off hand and arm are disabled for some reason .. or your fighting someone off with your off arm unable to get any distance between you and the assailant and you have a mis-fire .. you would have to try to rack the slide against your body maybe your gun belt .. your shoe, the side of your leg, a table or other hard edge if close enough ..

If you do carry condition 3 do you practice a one arm slide racking drill ??

Carrying Condition 1 Do you practice a miss fire drill where your off arm was not usable .. using an object to help rack the slide ?? what do you use if you do practice ?? or how do you do it or would you do it ??

Have you ever practiced that drill ?? or one similar where you only use one arm ??

I realized that in the many years of owning a pistol for self defense at home and then CCing for the last few years I had only practiced a drill like that a handful of times and not at any rate that it would actually help as I hadn't done it enough to retain any kind of muscle memory .. or where it would be my first reaction ..

I started with a drill last night and will continue on much more regular basis now and into the future .. Besure that your weapon is unloaded at least 3 times before any type of practice !! I have a room where ammo is not allowed .. either is my loaded carry pistol .. it is left on a high shelf just out side the room .. Safety is number 1 !! it is where all my dry fire and other practice is done .. where I dry fire toward a brick chimney ..

So how many of you practice a one arm slide racking drill ?? and what do you use to help ??
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:29 PM
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That's why I carry a revolver or two. Just draw and pull the trigger. No safety or nuttin' else.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:53 PM
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Try pressing the top of the slide at the ejection port against your thigh and push to rack the slide that way... it works for me and my friends.
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:59 PM
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That's why I carry a revolver or two. Just draw and pull the trigger. No safety or nuttin' else.
I agree, but I have a few semis that will eventually get worked into the rotation.

I believe that, in the heat of the moment, with adrenaline pumping, I'd find a way to rack a pistol with a gimpy arm. No, I don't practice it.
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Old 02-23-2017, 12:29 AM
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It's an excellent question and one that isn't discussed enough. The answer is yes, I practice one hand slide manipulation.

I upgraded my rear sight to this for just that purpose:


The ledge on the 10-8 rear sight makes it easy to rack one handed. You can also use the ejection port.

Just place that surface, sight or ejection port, on the edge of your holster, the heel of your shoe, the edge of a table, the corner of a wall, and push. It's easy, but it can take some practice.

For a lefty, using the ejection port is easy. For a right hander you need to twist the gun around. This is challenging, but can be done.
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Old 02-23-2017, 12:54 AM
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On the belt, holster, or bottom of my shoe.
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Old 02-23-2017, 04:03 AM
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Here's a video demonstration


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Old 02-24-2017, 07:15 PM
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not looking for a video .. I am well aware how to one hand rack my auto's .. was wondering if you practice a drill doing it and where do you practice .. belt, shoe .. or something/somewhere else ..

do you practice with both strong and off hand/arm ??

Last edited by Whitwabit; 02-24-2017 at 07:16 PM.
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Old 02-24-2017, 07:28 PM
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When I carry a 1911, it is cocked and locked bullet in the chamber. Cannot imagine otherwise. When I carry a revolver, I don't have to worry about it. Drills are a good thing for FTF, FTE, and wounds; however, the best thing you can do is learn to put two bullets center of mass in a target 30 feet away as fast as possible. It gets easier the closer you get. When you get to a second or less from a concealed draw you are about as good as it will ever get. Hard to maintain without practice. Using quality carry ammo is essential.
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Old 02-24-2017, 07:29 PM
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not looking for a video .. I am well aware how to one hand rack my auto's
You aren't the only person who is going to see this thread.

I rack on my holster
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Old 02-24-2017, 08:51 PM
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...do you practice with both strong and off hand/arm ??
Practicing with the support hand is most important.

We are always going to use our regular shooting hand unless forced to do otherwise. This is only the right thing to do because we are better with that hand. So, the only time we'll use our support hand is when our shooting hand is injured or occupied in such a way we HAVE to use our support hand. This means that we are more likely to need to rack with one hand when using our support hand.

I generally practice this once in a while. I'm not trying to become an expert at it. Just looking for familiarity. This way, when the unlikely event happens, that's not when I learn it.

I also practice different places to rack it. You never know what or when something will be available. If you've never tried on your boot heel, try it. That one takes a little extra thought to not ram the muzzle into the ground.
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Old 02-24-2017, 09:09 PM
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...with a 1911...you cock the hammer with your thumb...then hook the rear sight against your belt or clothing to rack the slide which moves much easier with the hammer already cocked...
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Old 02-24-2017, 09:28 PM
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Condition 1only.

I'm a 1911 guy.

No question

Cocked and locked.

Anything else Is dumb
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Old 02-24-2017, 11:43 PM
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Condition 1only.

I'm a 1911 guy.

No question

Cocked and locked.

Anything else Is dumb
What if you have to do a Tap, Rack, Roll and you have a wounded hand?
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Old 02-25-2017, 03:58 PM
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I agree, but I have a few semis that will eventually get worked into the rotation.

I believe that, in the heat of the moment, with adrenaline pumping, I'd find a way to rack a pistol with a gimpy arm. No, I don't practice it.
Remember the sneering refrain of John Cassavetes in "The Dirty Dozen": If you think that, you don't know Victor Franco."

Just a thought. . . . But not very helpful.

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Old 02-25-2017, 04:37 PM
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...with a 1911...you cock the hammer with your thumb...then hook the rear sight against your belt or clothing to rack the slide which moves much easier with the hammer already cocked...
Very good suggestion .. some wouldn't think to do that in the heat of a self defense scenario ..
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Old 02-25-2017, 04:44 PM
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What if you have to do a Tap, Rack, Roll and you have a wounded hand?
I think the first thing you would need to do is to try to find cover .. to limit your exposure till you got your pistol running again .. or you may never get it running if your shot multiple times ..

or to drop your weapon and bring your Bug into play .. if you carry one .. this blog has also made me look at where I carry my Bug .. so that it would be available to my off hand also .. which where I had carried it before would have been difficult to get to .. my right front pocket ..
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Old 02-25-2017, 04:54 PM
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You aren't the only person who is going to see this thread.

I rack on my holster
There are many videos and its very easy for someone to look for one .. I was asking if you did train and how you did it .. not for a training video ..

What if you just got out of bed no holster ?? do you train using other places also ??

The drill I have started using uses multiple places both on and off body .. really only your imagination is the limit on what you could use or what is available for you to use .. one item might be much easier then another .. and by training your able to find what is best for you .. I think each of us will be different in where we choose or what we will use for an aid ..
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Old 02-25-2017, 10:01 PM
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...with a 1911...you cock the hammer with your thumb...then hook the rear sight against your belt or clothing to rack the slide which moves much easier with the hammer already cocked...
Yes, it would be easier with the hammer cocked already. However, it's not necessary. If you're doing it with the force necessary, you probably won't notice the extra effort necessary. The same goes for the 92FS, Sig, H&K and a host of other hammer fired guns.
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Old 02-25-2017, 10:12 PM
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Practice this with snap caps p!ease. That insures you are consistently manipulating the slide enough to actually chamber a round without shooting yourself.
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Old 02-26-2017, 06:29 AM
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Quote:
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...with a 1911...you cock the hammer with your thumb...then hook the rear sight against your belt or clothing to rack the slide which moves much easier with the hammer already cocked...
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Very good suggestion .. some wouldn't think to do that in the heat of a self defense scenario ..
I wouldn't do it, mostly because it's an incredibly awkward movement. Manually cocking the hammer on a 1911 with a full-power (23#) mainspring is difficult even with two hands. Doing it with one--and I experimented on my match gun for some rules-avoidance purposes--is at best unreliable.

If one of your hands is damaged to the point where you can't grip the slide, the situation is quite dire. Use your clothing. Use an edge. Use jam it into the heel of the palm on your busted-up hand. Tuck it between your upper arm and your ribs. Drag the slide on some rough concrete if you have to.

It doesn't take a lot to rack the slide against the hammer.
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Old 02-26-2017, 06:50 AM
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I wouldn't do it, mostly because it's an incredibly awkward movement. Manually cocking the hammer on a 1911 with a full-power (23#) mainspring is difficult even with two hands. Doing it with one--and I experimented on my match gun for some rules-avoidance purposes--is at best unreliable.

If one of your hands is damaged to the point where you can't grip the slide, the situation is quite dire. Use your clothing. Use an edge. Use jam it into the heel of the palm on your busted-up hand. Tuck it between your upper arm and your ribs. Drag the slide on some rough concrete if you have to.

It doesn't take a lot to rack the slide against the hammer.
...I own a Colt M1991a1...and I don't have any problem thumb cocking it...I don't think they would have bothered putting a spur on the hammer if thumb cocking wasn't supposed to be an option...
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Old 02-26-2017, 07:41 AM
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Nice Video,thanks for sharing.
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Old 02-26-2017, 09:44 AM
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I carry a revolver so I don't worry about that
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Old 02-26-2017, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Kanewpadle View Post
On the belt, holster, or bottom of my shoe.
That's how I learned it.

I took a training course where one handed manipulation (strong hand and other strong hand) was part of the course.

I mix it in with my dry fire every now and then. Not regularly.

(ETA - Just looked at Smoke's video - thanks for posting it. That's exactly how it was taught in the class I took.)

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Old 02-26-2017, 12:56 PM
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...I own a Colt M1991a1...and I don't have any problem thumb cocking it...I don't think they would have bothered putting a spur on the hammer if thumb cocking wasn't supposed to be an option...
With a reduced-power mainspring, it's not hard at all. Ditto with a very old, worn mainspring. I have a Springfield with a 19#, and it's fairly easy. But I would not want to use a reduced-power mainspring on a carry pistol.

The difference between the old 19# in the Springfield (that particular spring has a few thousand rounds on it), and the fresh 23# in my new BE gun is huge. The Springfield can be done one-handed, and the BE gun mostly can't be, even using two hands.

I just think it's easier to overcome the hammer using the slide.

Last edited by Wise_A; 02-26-2017 at 01:13 PM.
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Old 02-26-2017, 02:54 PM
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With a reduced-power mainspring, it's not hard at all. Ditto with a very old, worn mainspring. I have a Springfield with a 19#, and it's fairly easy. But I would not want to use a reduced-power mainspring on a carry pistol.

The difference between the old 19# in the Springfield (that particular spring has a few thousand rounds on it), and the fresh 23# in my new BE gun is huge. The Springfield can be done one-handed, and the BE gun mostly can't be, even using two hands.

I just think it's easier to overcome the hammer using the slide.
Not having a 1911 I tried 2 pistols that I have that have hammers .. one a Px4 Sub Compact the other a Sig P229 Legion ..

Both were measurably easier to rack against something with the trigger cocked then without .. I was able to cock the hammer using both my strong and weak hand .. A 1911 though might take a stronger force then other hammer fired pistols .. but over all it felt easier to rack against clothing with the trigger already cocked on both pistols .. against a hard surface like a shoe or table I didn't feel as much of a difference ..

Again emphasizing SAFETY .. please check your weapon 3 times to insure it is unloaded and that the magazine is also !! I also use Snap Caps .. during dry fire practice ..

Safety First !!!
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Old 02-26-2017, 08:37 PM
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Of course it's easier to pull back the slide with the hammer out of the way. The question is whether it would be worthwhile to do so, and whether it's something you would want to attempt in a stressful situation. Hence, it's dependent on the gun, your physical condition, the shape of the hammer, etc.

To be brutally honest--if the slide is that difficult for a shooter to operate (even one-handed), then I do not think that it's a very good choice. Most "decent" guns I see don't come close to being all that hard at all to manipulate. It's Tauruses, for the most part.

Oh, and I'd suggest exercising caution when attempting this with a 1911. The reason being that slipping and allowing the hammer to fall would result in the half-cock notch slamming into the sear, which is not super-great for the engagement surface (sear nose). The half-cock notch is a once-in-a-long-while-or-maybe-never safety feature, not something you want to ever want to use intentionally.

Last Edit, I swear: True story, I see idiots manually lowering the hammer on their 1911s all the time. Several times a month, a class blows in to qualify, and there's always two or three guys with 1911s. Sometimes even expensive brands (if not good ones, but that's another thread). And without fail, one of them decides to de-cock the gun for holstering by lowering it with his thumb without keeping the trigger depressed. For reasons known only to him.

So if one is determined to manually lower the hammer (pro-tip: dry-firing on the "hammer down" command ensures the chamber is empty, which is what we want), keep the trigger pinned against the frame until the hammer is all the way down. Otherwise you're just grinding the half-cock notch against the sear nose.

Last edited by Wise_A; 02-26-2017 at 08:54 PM.
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