Do they make a lighter recoil spring for the Bodyguard 380 ? Our pastor got one and him and his wife both complaining about it being hard to rack the slide back . I suggested some grip tape might help also .
Bad idea. That gun (and all semi-autos) are balanced to work with a spring heavy enough to function the action and also to protect the frame and parts from battering and light enough to be manageable. Too light and the gun gets battered into oblivion from the slide going rearward too fast in real short order, and if too light, it may not have enough power to chamber a round, especially if the gun is dirty. Too heavy and it is difficult for the action to work as the spring is too powerful for the ammo, has a tendency to slam the slide forward after ejection so violently that the pick up rail flies over the top round in the magazine before the round can be pushed up in time to be stripped by the pick up rail, and also, the owner cannot work the slide. In addition, other stuff gets battered when the heavy spring slams the slide forward after extracting and ejecting the spent round.
If the owner is unable, after being shown the usual techniques, to operate a slide, then the problem is not really the pistol. Also, don't overlook the fact that it might be hand strength and the inability to get a hard enough grip on the slide to move the slide back against the spring to chamber a round or to unload the pistol.
When this happens, and the person still wants a semi-auto pistol, the only solution is the Beretta with the tip-up barrel, in which no slide racking is required to load or unload the pistol.
That solution still leaves the loading of the magazine as a potential problem area.
The Ruger "light rack" is easier to operate, but it is only a 22 LR, if that matters.
A revolver might seem like the way to go, but remember, due to geometry, the small frame revolver is often MORE difficult to operate than the slide of the auto pistol. Of course, I am not referring to the opening and closing of the cylinder. I am referring to the double action pull, which is often MUCH heavier in the J Frame that in the larger K Frame. Again, lightening the trigger pull introduces all sorts of other issues such as the failure to fire issues we see all the time with people who insist on replacing perfectly good springs with lighter springs from some after-market company.
There is no easy answer for a person with weak grip, weak hands and arms, etc.
An often-overlooked option is the single action auto, carried in Condition One, cocked and locked. That single action pull is easier to manage, but Condition One makes some people nervous. Weak hand or arm strength does not, however, indicate weak brain strength. A physically weak person with a fully functioning brain may still be able to understand how a single action works enough so that they have confidence in the pistol.
Often, however, we default to the position that helping someone with an issue such as described indicates an untrained or not-very-well trained person to whom you might not feel comfortable recommending a single action auto in Condition One.
Good luck!
