Just the Tips: Racking a Slide With a Weak Grip

That’s how I feel at the end of a long day of shooting. Dunno about you.

Hey, not everybody can have a G.I. Joe Kung-Fu Grip…

Woop woop, Ninjas! Your pal D. Range Ducats is back with your Thursday morning Just the Tips, and today I’m gonna talk about a problem that lots of us clowns have, and that is a weak-ass grip. Hey, some of us have like arthritis, or injuries, or maybe we’re just getting tired and want to get it over with because it’s late and The Walking Dead is coming on soon and we forgot to program the DVR, right? So if you’re rocking a semi (auto) and having a hard time yanking that thing all the way back, settle in, crack open a Faygo and check out these tips—just to see how they feel.

Does your gun…go?

1- Try the Overhand Method
Some people like to call this “The Stranger,” but I don’t like it when my hands go to sleep so I just use my non-dominant hand and call it good. What you wanna do with this one is make the most of your strength by putting your non-dominant hand across the back of the slide (but well clear of the ejection port because otherwise things can get sticky). Then you put your fingertips and the bottom of your palm down into the slide serrations on either side. Next, you simultaneously push with your dominant hand while you pull with your non-dominant hand. This way, you get to use more of your core muscles—which really cuts down on that “OMG will you hurry up” muscle fatigue.

2- Use a Device
“Aw, but D. Range,” you might say, “that’s so cold and like soulless, like a day without the Insane Clown Posse.” Not at all, says I! Just because your hands are paining you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to enjoy working your piece just like everyone else does, and if that means you’ve gotta introduce a little artificial assistance then so be it. For me, if I’m getting friction burns on my fingers and sore forearms, I just turn to an awesome and not-expensive plastic device. It’s got a nice, tight little tunnel right down the middle and it works just fine to grip that slide: the Handi-Racker. (What did you think I was gonna say?) There are two sizes that fit 95% of the pieces out there—turns out that most of ‘em are all not that different from each other—and they cost $20. That’s cheaper than the tattoos I do in my basement!

So even if your grip ain’t all it could be or once was, you can still rack a slide with the best of ‘em. Just the Tip(s)!