Handi-Racker
If you have weak hand strength and the time to whip one out while in a gun fight, this may be for you. Of course, anyone should be able to rack most handgun slides.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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November 26th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
…unless a piece of shrapnel removed some muscle tissue from their forearm.
November 26th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
My previous neighbor was a WWII veteran. In his last years he was having difficulty with pulling the slide properly. This is actually very viable, and I wish I had thought of making something like this for him when he was still alive.
November 26th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
I think a revolver is a much better solution, though.
November 27th, 2012 at 1:35 am
Great idea for someone who wants a semiauto for home defence, but lacks the hand strength to reliably work the slide.
Sure, a revolver wouldn’t require them to have something like this — but a semiauto can be two or three times the ammo without reloading.
Heck, something like this bolted to a counter would allow someone with only one hand to load a pistol for home defence. Since reloading a revolver with one hand, in a hurry, under stress, is a heck of a lot harder than just pulling the trigger six or twelve more times on your Plastic Fantastic before it runs dry.
November 27th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Sure looks like that requires the slide pulling hand to be placed in front of the muzzle. Wouldn’t give me a warm and fuzzy to watch that being done by someone I cared about.
November 27th, 2012 at 3:11 pm
If you lack hand strength, probably best to either do what LBC says and get a revolver … or get one of those Beretta or Taurus guns with a tip-up barrel.
That’ll get you “only” up to .380 (as far as I can find), but with modern loads that’s not a big handicap.
November 28th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Bob R — no more than any conventional slide racking technique. Absolutely NO risk if you go so far as screw it to a counter or wall stud. Personally, I’d make my own out of wood and some thin rubber lining.
Sigivald — there are good reasons for wanting the capacity of a semiauto over a revolver, and good reasons for wanting a slightly snottier round than .380ACP (which, IIRC, the tip up versions STILL only hold a max of eight rounds or so).
Combine those two requirements, and this device is a solution. ESPECIALLY for someone who can only realistically conduct a reload when not under high stress. (Such as my hypothetical one armed defender — sure, you can reload a revolver one-handed, but it is both easier and faster with a semiautomatic, and a semiauto that holds a “box of bullets” in the grip sort of skips that whole reloading problem for quite a while. Even if you DO have to reload your semi, dropping the empty, sliding a new mag in, and dropping the slide are STILL faster and easier with one hand than reloading a revolver when short a wing. God help you if you have HKS speedloaders and try to do it under stress, all one handed. . . )
Note — I’m a BIG fan of revolvers, BTW. Until recently, my bedroom gun was ALWAYS a S&W K-frame, because I do not want a SA trigger (not even traditional SA/DA) if awoken at 3AM by rude strangers. (I’ve since replaced the nightstand revolver with a Beretta 96D — DAO, and 12 rounds ready to go before reloading. PLUS, I have a bolt on rail and a light. . . ) I couldn’t do that if I couldn’t get the slide racked – but once it’s loaded, it’s effectively TWO revolvers worth of ammo before I even have to consider reloading.
And yes, I switched when I found myself with only one working hand for a couple of months, due to shattering multiple bones in my left hand. This device beats the HELL out of what I had to do, which is lock the slide open by the rear sight on the edge of the counter, so I could use the slide release to ensure I didn’t accidentally ride the slide down and have to start all over.
November 28th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
I’m thinking that most users probably are not the best with trigger finger placement.
So I’m inclined to say good intentions bad idea. I just have visions of a score of weak individuals smoking a hole through their off hands.
December 3rd, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Used appropriately (especially if you had someone cut or screw a handgrip to it, or you hard mounted it somewhere — like the wall of your workbench), there is NO REASON to put your hands anywhere they wouldn’t be if you were running the slide WITHOUT this tool.
Beats the Hell out of the choices of:
A. a revolver with limited ammo, and no realistic possibility of reloading
or
B. no gun at all