A new friend of mine's father/father in law is in his 80's and has difficulty pulling back the slide of his Glock. I don't know what model or caliber Glock and I know next to nothing about Glocks. I do know in other firearms you can have serations milled into the slide to allow for better purchase and in some cases lighten the recoil springs but that can afffect feed reliabiity etc. He will NOT give up the Glock for another firearm. I have not met him yet so have not had a chance to evaluate any of his pistol handing skills.

So what can I suggest he do? His issue is grip strength. That's about all I know at this point. Any suggestions are apreciated.

While I have no experience with the product, there are aftermarket slide rackers that replace the OEM slide back plate. You have to be careful messing with recoil springs. If you go too far, the striker spring will need to be adjusted. That can be done, but can cause issues... light strikes, etc.

Google link

I just saw this item yesterday. It reminds me of the 'ears' that HK uses on one of their platforms.

https://www.amazon.com/Recover...Assist/dp/B07GCRXHJV

Depending on the Glock he's got, it may be too slick; teflon finish Glocks have notoriously slick slides, which can make it hard to get purchase for racking the slide. If that's t he case, or if he's struggling in general with gripping the slide, then something like the Vickers Slide Racker might help.

https://tangodown.com/vickers-...slide-racker-gsr-03/

It's an end plate that has extensions either side of the rear of the slide, which gives the hand something more to grab, and helps prevent slipping off. At twenty bucks, it's cheaper than having more serrations milled.Another possibility is grip tape on the slide, though that's going to remove skin if he gets too close.

If the issue is strength, racking with the hand gripping the slide from the rear will be the weakest way to rack the slide. If one uses an overhand technique, gripping the the slide from above with the grip hand web of the thumb/forefinger facing the shooting hand's shoulder, then there's more leverage. In that case, one pushes the shooting hand into the racking hand, while driving the racking hand back toward the shoulder. The effort of the racking hand is reduced by half. It's a bit like starting a chain saw, where one uses (in this case) the inertia of the shooting hand, and pistol, against the racking hand; half the distance traveled, half the grip.

There are guide rods that allow uncaptured spring use, and varying weights of spring, but there will quickly come a point at which a lighter load needs to be used to match the light spring, and if not careful, function may be impaired.

Another possibility that may help is the installation of an optic. Milling the slide for an optic does put a lot more to bear on with the racking hand, and while the optic isn't a lever, it may be useful in helping move the slide, and may be a benefit to 80 year old eyes, too.

I ordered the Recover Tactical Slide Rack Assist for my wife's Glock 26. We'll see how it works.

IMHO he is much more likely to be helped by exercising the proper technique than by any changes to his pistol. My wife also had trouble with the slide on her P232 until I showed the "left hand over slide, thumb to rear" and "push hands together, not pull them apart," once she hit it right a few times, no trouble thereafter, even with some much stiffer pistols. Other than that, make sure the slide rails and other metal-on-metal contact points are properly lubricated.

Another vote for the Vickers slide racker as sns3guppy suggested.

If it doesn't fit with his needs, some can sights would also help if he were to press the rear sight against something (tabletop, doorframe, etc...) and push the frame forward.

Hand Wrist and Forearm exercises. I don't care if he is 80 or 20. I don't care if you're a muscle bound stud or a petite woman trying to use a firearm and has issues with her grip strength. We ALL need to incorporate this into our exercise program. Biceps are nice, don't neglect your fingers hands and wrists.

There are tons of expert advice on a google search as well as on Youtube. Ignore the bozos making a video just because they can, those fools can cause you problems.

I believe this is especially important to us seniors, we need this.

Additionally I think that your new friend should talk to his doctor, he may be able to get a physical therapist, especially one oriented toward seniors, to help him.

He probably should start with just one pound of weight as well as a slower start of repitions. Start very easy and build up.

And yes you can get finger exercises from doc or therapist. He can squeeze a soft foamy type ball.

I like this guy because he is an orthopedic surgeon.

The 1st part of the vide is flexibility/warm up motions.

The 2nd part is the actual exercises.

I think this will help him, and he can do this from the comfort of his kitchen table, easy chair, etc and at virtually no cost.

Best wishes to him and thank you for helping him.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/CLjtSyuE11I

Might help to know if he carries this in a holster, if so,how or where, or
Is it just a headboard or glove box gun?

Getting a slide mounted RedDot is another idea. Older shooters - including myself - really benefit from that single point of focus - especially at night and early in the morning when we've lost our ability to focus on the front sight without glasses.

So many options available now. MOS pistols, replacement slides, getting your existing slide milled, etc. I know it's more expensive then the options listed so far -- but the RDS solution works. My mother can see the sight and she can grab it to rack the slide. Plus she shoots the reddot on a glock WAY better than she does an airweight revolver.

Unfortunately I think you're in an untenable situation. Lots of older folks (my dad included) suffer not only from loss of grip strength due to age, but also arthritis. Both of those things really impede the users ability to rack a slide. I would not recommend playing with recoil springs for obvious reasons. If he's dead set on keeping the Glock, then something like sns3guppy recommended might be worth trying. Short of that, the only solution I could find for a good neighbor friend suffering from the same problem was to downsize her into a S&W .380 that has a ridiculously light recoil spring weight. Good luck with your FIL. I hope you can help him find a solution that works.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
IMHO he is much more likely to be helped by exercising the proper technique than by any changes to his pistol. My wife also had trouble with the slide on her P232 until I showed the "left hand over slide, thumb to rear" and "push hands together, not pull them apart," once she hit it right a few times, no trouble thereafter, even with some much stiffer pistols. Other than that, make sure the slide rails and other metal-on-metal contact points are properly lubricated.

This. Bring the pistol into that “basketball-sized sphere of dexterity“ (Credit: jljones) sitting right in front of your chest, grip the slide over the top, and push together. Coordinated pushing with your arms and shoulders beats pulling with your arms.

One method is to bring the pistol back to a high compressed position, then grasp the slide with an overhand grip and hold it firmly.

Now push the pistol GRIP OUT with the weak hand holding the slide in place. It also can help to use an empty mag while using this technique. The pistol grip will move forward until the slide catch locks the slide to the rear.

Now it’s easy to insert a loaded mad and drop the slide.

I went through this same issue with a friend who has a grip strength issue and it worked well enough for him to use it.

Pay for one visit with someone who teaches handgun usage. The problem will then be clear. You cannot treat a condition without a proper diagnosis.

My sister couldn’t rack her slide. I said watch me. She was trying to pull the slide back with the gun straight up. I moved the gun 90* to the left and showed how to push, pull. Worked like a charm. I didn’t even realize that was how I racked the slide while showing her.

Also, this^
Any gizmo management tricks only raise the risk for failure or operator error.
He needs to learn this technique, practice the strength to make this work, or go to a revolver or pump shotgun, regardless of his wishes.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
IMHO he is much more likely to be helped by exercising the proper technique than by any changes to his pistol. My wife also had trouble with the slide on her P232 until I showed the "left hand over slide, thumb to rear" and "push hands together, not pull them apart," once she hit it right a few times, no trouble thereafter, even with some much stiffer pistols. Other than that, make sure the slide rails and other metal-on-metal contact points are properly lubricated.

This. Bring the pistol into that “basketball-sized sphere of dexterity“ (Credit: jljones) sitting right in front of your chest, grip the slide over the top, and push together. Coordinated pushing with your arms and shoulders beats pulling with your arms.

Yet another vote for the 'Bear Claw' technique, over the 'Slingshot' technique.

H&K-Guy

I have this available to assist when I'm having difficulty. It isn't something to rely on in a gunfight, but it's useful the other times when the overhand method is still not making it easy.

As for not being able to rack the slide in a gunfight, some people evidently believe that it's better to not have a gun at all then.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y...t_details&pldnSite=1

This is my good friend Cruz’s Glock. He has a lot of nerve damage from getting “blown up” overseas and this helped him with slide manipulation while rehabbing and adapting to overcome his issues. He’s a well-respected instructor all over- this abomination is actually pretty awesome in person. Looks like hell because it’s a function over form mod.
Takes pistolwhipping to a whole new level too.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sJFWYGtnl7k

A may be time for a revolver.