Hard to rack the slide on a 1911

Ever since the 1980's, it's been difficult for me to rack the slide on a 1911. I'm not very big, and as I posted a week or two ago, I could probably win the first prize in the "98 pound weakling" lookalike contest from Charles Atlas.


I recently tried advice from forums, from books, and from YouTube. They all helped, but it was still a struggle.

The only reason I'm posting this new thread, is because Joe Means, a top shooter at the Broward Pistol and Rifle Club, gave me a suggestion yesterday that made all the difference in the world. It's easier to do, than to describe:

1. Hold the 1911 in the right hand, and stretch your arm out in front of you, with your arm pointing out, and down maybe at a 30 or 40 degree angle. Then twist your wrist, so the gun is now mostly horizontal, the top of the gun to the left, and the right side of the gun on top. Your trigger finger can wrapped around the stock along with your other fingers.
   
2. With the left hand, reach out and grip the slide, with the palm of your hand over the serrations on the rear of the slide, and the rest of the fingers clamping the gun from below.
   
3. Now, PUSH with your right arm, while you PULL with your left.

Yesterday after racking the slide the usual way, after doing it five or six times, it felt like a gremlin had welded the slide in place. Doing it this new way, I can do it over and over again continually.

JTQ said:

Cock the hammer first......

Click to expand...

As I see it, for safety reasons, that is out. There's already a YouTube video showing how to do just that - and then explaining why nobody should do it.

As to the examples in that link, how many have you actually tried? ...and have you ever tried it the way Joe suggested? You might be surprised at the results.

If I was 17, not 71, I doubt I'd be entering this thread.
I'd like to see you try this on a Wilson 1911 - let alone a Les Baer.

Actually, I'm finding all those videos to be worthless for the original question. If I were 81 or 91, I could probably still rack the slide on every one of the guns they use for an example. I think a six-year-old could probably do it.

I would love to walk up to any one of the people doing the demonstrations, show them a new Les Baer 1911, and watch them try to rack the slide.

To me, watching these demonstrations is like someone trying to teach a person how to properly hammer on a nail so it goes straight into a piece of wood, but using a block of foam to do the demonstration. It's not realistic.

It's also interesting to me that not a single one of these demonstrations on the videos or web pages shows anyone doing what Joe showed me....

I did make one mistake though when I typed up what he showed me - the right arm is extended a lot, but not literally all the way. The right hand is "'pushed out" as the left hand "pulls in". ....and the ejection port is not covered by the left hand, at least with my hands.

9mmepiphany said:

.......I'm at a lost to comprehene your apprehension of cocking the hammer before retracting a slide on an unloaded 1911. Perhaps you can specifically point out your "safety reason"...it isn't at all apparent to most of us, as there is no danger of a negligent discharge when charging a 1911 using this technique

Click to expand...

I am absolutely NOT saying the following video is accurate, or from someone qualified to discuss this - it's simply the very first link that shows up on my page when I do a Google Search for "rack the slide on a tight 1911".


Fast forward to one minute into the video


If this fellow is wrong, then I'm obviously wrong - it's just the first link I found, and while I wondered about it, I never sorted things out in my mind. Until I found out otherwise, I figured I'd follow that advice. His reason has something to do with not knowing if there's a round in the chamber, and that fits along with "every gun is always loaded until you verify otherwise".

Again - I am NOT saying I agree (or disagree) with the guy, just that it seemed prudent to follow that advice, and find another way.

Note: I've got two 1911's, both fresh from the factory. My Colt Combat Commander is just a hair tighter than I can comfortably rack the slide on, but I've been doing it anyway... but after five or six times, my arms were too tired - and the following morning they were sore.

On the Les Baer, the ONLY way I get the slide to budge is to put the front of the gun against something solid, press just a little to break the lock-up, after which I can eventually rack the slide. I think that gun re-defines the word "lock-up". It's locked.


One after another, I went through all the videos (none of which have someone racking the slide on a tight gun), and tried to do what people suggested. The method Joe suggested solved the problem completely (on the Colt). Right hand pushing out and down, and left hand pulling the slide back, gripped the way Joe told me to do it. I can rack the slide for dry firing once a minute, for 20 minutes, and feel fine when I'm done. The best I ever did with any other way is half of that. ....the gun needs to be rotated so that the right side of the gun is close to pointing up - when your left hand gets the best grip on the slide, you've got the gun oriented the right amount.

I'll be gone to NYC until Monday. When I return, I'll find a way to set up a video camera on a tripod and film what Joe suggested.

Logically, it makes perfect sense to me.

• Make two fists, hold your arms out in front of you, and with the right hand push left, and the left hand push right, and see how much force you can apply.
• Now stand in front of something big/heavy, and with your right hand, push it away from you, with the object a foot or so away in front of you.
• Last, tie a rope or belt or anything to the same heavy thing, and with your left hand, PULL it towards you.
• Finally, to show how much weaker the first method is, instead of either of your hands pushing against the other, have someone stand in front of you who will push back. See how hard you can push. Because you're now pushing sideways, with your arm maybe a foot in front of you, the leverage works against you. Or, for an exaggerated example, stand and face something sort of heavy, one foot away from you, hold out your right hand, and try to push it to your left. (Instead of the object moving to your left, your body will probably twist to the right.....

I've decided that you guys are correct, and cocking the hammer on an unloaded gun, to make it easier to rack the slide, is safe.


I tried doing it that way while dry-firing three days ago, before I ever got to the range to shoot with the gun.
Remember that comment at the beginning of this thread that led to the "Charles Atlas" ad?
By the 10th time I tried to pull back the hammer, my thumb was screaming at me. My body is much more used to dealing with keyboards than machinery.

My thumb has no complaints with a revolver, but on the Colt, it feels like one or two more attempts are going to lead to a bandaid.

Right now, with the Colt, doing it Joe's way solved the problem for me. Next week (weak??) I'll find out how things go with the Les Baer.

Interesting - anyone here actually tried one of these?

I should add one more bit of information to this thread. Either I've been eating a lot of spinach without knowing it, or the Colt is breaking in. I've now shot it just under 300 rounds since I got it back from Colt two weeks ago. It is now MUCH easier to rack the slide than before, and I can even do it using either hand. It's not "the" answer to the original thread, but it's nice to know that over time, and with good lubrication, the gun gets better all by itself. It's still not "easy", but neither does it feel like the parts are held together with superglue....