DA>>PN>expected that the .380 would be manageable for her.  The shooting part
DA>>PN>was okay but she had difficulty operating the slide.
DA>>I've found that one way for newbies to rack the slide is to hold
DA>>the slide steady with one hand, and "rack the frame."  Seriously.
DA>>The other point is about leverage.  Has she tried doing it by
DA>>holding the gun at arms length with elbows straight?  That way
DA>>you can get your shoulders into it.
DA>>It's mainly a matter of leverage.  Newbies usually hold the slide
DA>>in such a way that they are trying to move it in a direction 90
DA>>degrees to their forearm, and using only their elbow and wrist
DA>>muscles, which gives poor leverage.  You need to get your
DA>>forearms as close as possible to being parallel to the direction
DA>>of slide movement, that way you get your shoulder muscles
DA>>involved.
When instructing a newbie to rack a slide, I say "like pulling back a
rubberband sling shot."  Push forward with the grip hand, while pulling
back with the weak hand.  Then let go.
Another mistake newbies make is to try and grip the slide "over the
top", instead between the thumb and index finger, "like a sling
shot." (the first way can be very dangerous should a primer be forced
against the ejector and cause the round to go off with the action open)
It's funny (NOT) how many bad habits newbies pick up from movies and TV.
Take care.
David
 * QMPro 1.53 * Criminals prefer UNARMED victims
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