P380 hard to rack for an old guy

[Geohar]

Just got my p380 and it's just almost impossible for me to rack It. Does anybody got a good recommendation for a rack assist. Thanks in advance

[berettabone]

When/If you have to use it for defensive purposes, are you going to get out your rack assist? Asking for a friend :p.............Companies like Talon make slide grips. You could have your slide cuts cut deeper. I don't think a recoil spring change would do much. You could get out the dumbbells. It was always easier for me to grab the slide from the rear with my thumb and index finger and slingshot it. A reason why I had to let go of an MK model. It just got too difficult to rack, and if you ever had to do a fast clear, it's tough.

[dao]

Welcome to the Board. Pull up a chair and set a spell. There're pickles in the barrel, and coffee on the stove. :)

ArachniGrips sold to Talon, and they make good grip assists. They now call them the Slide Spider. I have them on several of my Kahrs and they make a big difference.

https://talongungrips.com/slide-grips/kahr/slide-spider-kahr-380acp/


(https://talongungrips.com/slide-grips/kahr/slide-spider-kahr-380acp/)

[Geohar]

Thanks for the great recommendation.

[zamboni]

Proper technique is step one…
https://youtu.be/djb_rH9ZvF4?si=yMHbUs_3Yoeej0xg

[SlowBurn]

I'm an old guy too. Couple of things - First, I rarely rack the gun. I generally load the first round using the slide lock, as recommended. Second, get to the range and go through a few boxes. These guns need breaking in anyway. Once its broken in, it gets easier (until you have to replace the recoil springs - then you're back to square one). You can rack the slide then and should practice that in case you need to for some reason, but its almost never necessary.

[Whaleman]

I have shot my P380 thousands of times. I have never once tried to feed the first round by racking. I always carry a bullet in the chamber. I always lock back and use the slide lock like SlowBurn. Dan

[berettabone]

Until you have the/a stovepipe or misfeed of some type during a defensive situation. You're going to have to be able to clear it fast. I believe your odds are higher with the .380. of this problem happening..................

[dao]

Kahr actually states that the gun should be loaded by releasing the slide from it's locked rearward position. There is just so travel involved in these little beasties that it requires all of the forward movement it can get and if slingshotting it doesn't get the slide all the way back it may not feed properly. OP if you are concered about the need to re-cock the striker in the event of a fail to fire, it only takes about 1/4" of rearward motion to achieve that, so there would likely be no reason why you would have to fully cycle the slide in order to clear a cartridge in that situation. Nonetheless there will be times when the slide will have to be manually pulled back into the locked position, and for this the Talon tape will reduce the grip strength required to do that by about half.

[Bawanna]

Until you have the/a stovepipe or misfeed of some type during a defensive situation. You're going to have to be able to clear it fast. I believe your odds are higher with the .380. of this problem happening..................

In this scenario, adrenaline will be your friend. One might rip the slide right off the gun and not even give it a thought.

[Whaleman]

While I carry every day, at 72, my fear of getting into multiple magazine, multiple shot gun fights has gone down over the years. I am 99.9999999% sure my first shot will fire. I will need to make it count. Dan

[bugs]

soon to be 78 yr. old CM9 BUG shooter ;IMHO , dry fire,shoot as often as possible, preferably in a match, load via slingshot , squeeze grip ball 50 reps each hand daily; I recently installed a new recoil assm. , and it was stiff through 7 stages ( 130 round count) . next match ,effort was much reduced .

NRA LIFER

IDPA BELIEVER

[kenemoore]

A lot of folks swear by the new S&W EZ pistols. Lady that cuts my hair went from a LCP to an EZ in .380. She could not rack the slide on the LCP, but can on the EZ.
I have never seen one in person, but they do appear to be larger than most .380 pistols.

[berettabone]

A lot of folks swear by the new S&W EZ pistols. Lady that cuts my hair went from a LCP to an EZ in .380. She could not rack the slide on the LCP, but can on the EZ.
I have never seen one in person, but they do appear to be larger than most .380 pistols. 6.7" L x 5" H x 1" W....19.6 ozs. Big, bulky, heavy for a .380 IMHO.

[FreeMe]

A lot of folks swear by the new S&W EZ pistols. Lady that cuts my hair went from a LCP to an EZ in .380. She could not rack the slide on the LCP, but can on the EZ.
I have never seen one in person, but they do appear to be larger than most .380 pistols.

I had an EZ9, and I prefer to swear at it. If the shooter has hand issues, there is some likelihood that the grip safety may not disengage if not held perfectly. Not a good thing in a defensive pistol. I have zero issues with the grip safety on XDM pistols, but the EZ was a problem for me. If one is to get an EZ, I recommend getting the Performance Center version because it has a more prominent grip safety. I contacted S&W to see if I could get that version of grip safety to install in my EZ, and their answer was that all of the improved grip safeties were going into the PC models, and that part would not be available as an upgrade. Caveat Emptor.

[dao]

My wife had an EZ380 for awhile because of grip strength issues. They are very easy to rack. And being larger they are easier to shoot well for a lot of folks. But she's small and also a good shot even with smaller guns so it's been sold and she now has a Sig P238 and 938. They're both easily racked by her. Not as easy as the EZ, but much moreso than the P380, and the PM9 that she used to carry. And the EZ's do not lend themselves to concealability on a small person, as bb more or less said.

[Bawanna]

I tried the EZ with my wife, she couldn't rack it. I haven't found one yet that she can rack. And some that I thought were super easy. She's strong and tough, just can't do the rack thing. She'll be sticking with the Smith 638 unless I maybe find one of those Beretta's with the tip up barrel. Not sure they made those in 9 and I really don't want to go down to 380 but will if everything else works for her.

[TommyD]

MK9 is a bear to rack. I use a grip strengthener every day for just that purpose!

[Armybrat]

My CT380 was extremely difficult for me to rack with my old arthritic hands, so gifted the little gun to one of my sons.

[berettabone]

[QUOTE=TommyD;446981]MK9 is a bear to rack. I use a grip strengthener every day for just that purpose![/QUOTE................ I had to send my MK9 packing after 9 yrs. of carry. I wish I wouldn't have had to. I could operate it, but I was worried about a situation where I had to do a fast clear due to misfire, misfeed, jam, etc. I realize that when adrenaline is pumping, things are a bit easier, but it wasn't easy enough for me. Ah, to be 25 again..........................