Easy Rack Pistols

[seabeesbob]

Need help, I am 83 years old, I have arthritis in both my hands. I want to buy one of these, it needs to be compact and accurate and 9mm. Thanks for your help, for all you, wise gentlemen.

 

[SweetMK]

My wife suffers from hand weakness.
Except for a couple target pistols, the trigger is too stiff to pull accurately if you can not easily rack the gun.

Stick with a revolver,, in my opinion.

 

[much ado]

Easy Rack Pistol(s)

I bought a P365 for my wife after first buying a Shield 9mm. She can rack "that" slide. I`m not particularly a 9mm fan but lots to be said about 12 or so rounds vs 5 or 6.

 

[Pisgah]

My Equalizer goes well with my arthritic fingers. Comes with 3 mags that allow me to carry up to 16 rounds in the gun.

 

[hardluk1]

S&W has the M&P Shield EZ that is easy to rack and easy to control , You can also buy this with or with out a thumb safety too ,

A lady up the hill side from us as dealing with age and arthritis and has the EZ 380 while her husband has a 9mm version .Stop by a gun shop and see if they have one to handle and maybe rent at an indoor range .

Theres also the Ruger Security 380 Lite and 9mm that are easy to rack .

For me the effort to rack most pistols is still hard to figure as I still carry a 4.25" full size 45 & 40sw guy .

There are Slide rack Assist to help even more for many handgun models , link below . Try to find a friendly well stocked gun shop to help you check a few out .

Remember also the down side of a lite shorter compact even if it is accurate is it will be harder to rack and shot quickly when compared to a larger model .

I see a small revolver was mentioned and the triggers tend to be heavy in stock condition compared to most any pistol . Trigger kits help greatly but most dollars added .

handgun slide add ons to help with tracking the slide - Search Images

 

[murphydog]

If you have a rental range nearby that would be a good place to start.

Arthritis comes in varying degrees and proper physical technique to cycle the slide might help. Any medium to large .22 or a blowback .380 would be relatively easy and a Shield 9 EZ would be the one I would suggest trying first.

 

[AlHunt]

I had a very early Sig P250 that was quite easy to rack. Full size, it's one I regret letting go. I never heard of the early guns having the drop fire problems of the recent P320s.

 

[Rammer Jammer]

It's not 9mm but I'd highly recommend the Ruger Security-380

 

[LVSteve]

I had a very early Sig P250 that was quite easy to rack. Full size, it's one I regret letting go. I never heard of the early guns having the drop fire problems of the recent P320s.

P250s are easy to rack as they rely on a heavy slide to absorb recoil. This coupled with the true DAO trigger and high bore axis makes them unpopular with many shooters today. We have two P250s in 380 and they are extremely easy to rack. They come up on the secondary market from time to time.

My wife found the S&W EZ9 easy to rack, but the Ruger Security 9 Compact a little tough to operate. We haven't tried the 380 Ruger model yet.

 

[retnavyshooter]

I have arthritis and a contracture of my right pinky. Owned an EZ9 but traded it out for an Equilizer when they came out. I liked the 3 mags and the option for optics. Very happy with this one.

 

[noonster]

The gun maunfacturers don’t seem to give a dang about older guys. You’d think they’d get working on something for those of us who’ve spent the better part of our lives using a semi-auto, but they (flat out) don’t. I get the “get a revolver” all the time. If I’d have wanted one, I’d have gotten one (to carry) already, goofballs. My suggestion(s): find a machinist or gunsmith to drill and tap the receiver of what you have then install a machine screw on one side, the other or both. That’d give you some purchase on the slide or you can shove the screw on a table or whatever to rack it. Better: widen both sides of the slide (rear wards) to give better purchase. OR: grab the gun normal; shove the rear sight against a table (whatever) to rack it. It’ll need a beefy rear sight. I’m working on an idea to attach a loop to the rear of the slide - much easier for a “weakened” hand to grab a loop and pull than try to squeeze-grab a slide. On a 1911, I’m working out how to extend that barrel bushing enough so I can shove the gun onto a table/wall/whatever to work the slide. That needs to be fairly long - the extended barrel bushing with the compensator isn’t long enough (already tried it). Don’t worry about wrecking the gun. I don’t mind making my heirs mad - I’ll be “up there” when they inherit the stuff.

 

[noonster]

On a different tack, try the PMC30. Might be an easier solution in that one AND you get enough rounds of 22mag to bore you silly after half a magazine. I suspect there are some straightforward solutions to getting some sort of “grabber” for the slide. Might be able to stick somethingon that pickintinny (?) rail on top to privide purchase for “tired” fingers. I bought one just so I can start working on that very problem. My hands won’t last forever, and the gunmakers are no help.

 

[MikeNV]

Here is another round of opinions from a 78 year old also with arthritis.

In the S&W line, the two easy rackers in 9mm would be the 9EZ and the Equalizer. Both rack with about the same ease, I can't tell any difference. Both have the same barrel length and are close to the same size and weight without a mag. The biggest difference is round capacity - the 9EZ is only an 8 rounder, the Equalizer is 10, 13 or 15. Obviously, with a 15 round mag, the Equalizer is heavier and bigger. The Equalizer has a slightly bigger grip to handle the dual stack mags and the slide is cut for an optic.

The 9EZ mags come with "easy to load" tabs on the sides, while the Equalizer comes with an Uplula. I prefer the Uplula and have found it works on the 9EZ mags too (fits over the tabs). My 9EZ came with a laser, but it is available with or without.

I know you said 9mm, but you might consider the 380EZ. I think it racks easier than the 9EZ. It would be a bit lighter than the others and a little more compact, having only an 8 round capacity. If your concern is stopping power, I've read good things about the effectiveness of 380 hollow points.

I agree with the suggestions to try them out at a range that rents guns to help with your decision. My opinion would lean toward the Equalizer unless the added weight from the higher capacity bothered you.

 

[lkabug]

I have a Shield 9EZ which my 77 years old arthritic hands can handle without difficulty.
My Shield Plus with a Red Dot racks easily for me also. Although not as easy as the 9EZ.

 

[Toby_H]

I echo the Shield EZ.

While healing from elbow surgery my wife had free time to shoot with me but couldn't rack the slide of her M&P 9C and the recoil was an issue.

We visited our friendly local gun shop and let her pull on the slides of a few. She was able to comfortably rack the Shield EZ. We then opted for the 380 for reduced recoil. It served our purpose well until she healed and moved back into her M&P 9C.

Her father heard about it and asked to try it out. He hadn't fired a firearm since he qualified in bootcamp. He is also 83. He shot the M&P22 and made fun of the pea shooter. Next, he shot the 380 Shield EZ and loved it. He couldn't even budge the slide on a well broke in M&P 9mm and declined to shoot it after I racked the slide for him.

It was a great day at the range for all of us.


I just noticed you're in Lexington SC.
The following is a State run outdoor range out your way that's worth checking out.

SCDNR - Shooting Ranges

If the link doesn't work for you, put this address in Google Maps and it'll take you to it. That should include pictures and a link to the site for it.
Indian Creek Rifle Range, US-176, Whitmire, SC 29178

 

[otis24]

Another “trick” is to hold the slide as if you are going to rack it, then push the frame forward rather than pulling the slide back.

 

[shawn mccarver]

It is hard for me to see how a revolver would be easy to use for a person with diminished hand strength. It might be easier to load and unload by opening and closing the cylinder, but the double action pull will be a nightmare. Cocking the revolver might also be a big problem.

One option is the Beretta with the tip up barrel. This pistol never requires the slide to be racked. That said, the double action pull and even cocking it before you need it might also be difficult or impossible.

A semi automatic pistol without a recoil spring guide rod such as the 1911 will have a thumb safety, a grip safety, and the slide can be racked one-handed by pushing down on a hard surface. Once a round is in the chamber, simply put on the thumb safety. Then, all that is necessary to fire the weapon is to click off the safety and pull the relatively light four to five pound trigger.

There are plenty of videos showing many ways to rack the slide of a semi auto with one hand when the pistol has a recoil spring guide by using the sights, the red dot, etc. where you do not have to depend upon the weak hand to pull the slide to the rear.

To me, racking the slide is not really the problem. The problem to overcome is to be able to fire the gun when it is needed, and a relatively light trigger pull, four to six pounds seems easier than a 10 pound double action pull on a revolver. I think a person with arthritis would also have difficulty manipulating the hammer to cock the revolver fast when needed.

The vast majority of service autos these days are striker fired with light trigger pulls making them easy to use when needed. And, with one of the modern striker fired autos, the trigger pull is pretty easy. And, they are “set and forget.” Once loaded with a round in the chamber, all you have to do is pick it up and pull the trigger.

 

[sigp220.45]

My wife’s gun is a little Glock 42. I have no idea if she can rack the slide or not.

She never goes to the range by herself, so I rack it for her.

She is highly unlikely to ever need to rack it in any other situation. She could reload it from lockback easily enough, but she doesn’t carry a spare mag so it doesn’t really matter.

 

[glenwolde]

I thought Taurus had a good idea. They briefly built the TCP with little fold-out wings to assist in racking the slide. But it didn't take off.

 

[Spajohn]

In the same vein as add on rings and accessories to make the slide pull easier, I'm surprised that nobody has come up with a push button self-racking semi auto.
If they can do it with out-the-front switchblades, why can't the same concept be applied to a semi auto?