Trigger Talk: A Helpful New Product
With the influx of new shooters into the handgun world, I often see people struggle to operate the slides on their semi-automatic pistols. This is especially true if the person is small, has low upperbody strength, or may have medical issues such as arthritis or other disorders.
Gone are the days when you only found young and middle age men in Concealed Pistol License courses. These days classes represent all ages and are typically 30 – 50% women.
Physical limitations should be considered in your firearm choice. Today there are many small pistols on the market specifically for concealed carry. Unfortunately when these guns are downsized, it often takes a very stout recoil spring to retain proper function.
Some people chose a revolver for this reason because it does not require the functioning of a slide to chamber a round. While this is true, a double action revolver may have a long firm trigger pull that can be very difficult if you have finger strength or joint pain issues. Some of the newest composite revolvers such as the Ruger LCR or Smith and Wesson Bodyguard have newly design trigger control groups to lessen the force required. If you are purchasing a new gun be sure to “Dry Fire” the trigger at the gun counter to check and make sure that you can smoothly pull the trigger through five or six pulls. If you cannot then a revolver is not a good choice for self defense.
Semi-Automatic pistol typically have a much lighter triggerpull than a double action revolver. Many of the striker fired polymer pistols such as Glock, Springfield XD also have some form of a “Safety Design” built into the trigger to help prevent inadvertent discharge of the gun without the trigger being pulled.
This still leaves the shooter having to function the slide to chamber a round. This can be especially difficult on the smaller guns because the recoil spring must be strong to function in the smaller lighter gun. Some techniques for making this chore easier can be practiced: such as holding the slide with your weak hand and pushing forward with your strong arm. This helps because your arm and shoulder muscles are stronger at pushing than they are at pulling. However sometimes the hand is just not strong enough to clamp on the slide.
I recently came across a new product that I think could be a tremendous help to people that struggle to function the slide on their pistol. It is called the “Slide Pull” and is made by a company called “Brass Stacker”. Attached to the back of your slide it provides a ring for you to place you finger through to pull when functioning the slide on your gun.
Installed with a simple allen wrench in minutes, it does not interfere with the function of the gun. The slight additional length of the gun should not be of any concern for a home defense gun. I simulated installing a Slide Pull on one of my carry guns (Glock 26) and I do not think it would interfere very much with concealability.
If you are interested: checkout their website www.brassstacker.com. They current produce“Slide Pulls” for Glocks and Springfield XD’s.Reasonably priced at only $42 it comes in blackor if you prefer it is available in Pink!
