Spring Weight For G 17

[DougBarnes101]

I bought my dad a G 17 for keeping around the house. (He had asked for one and I found a deal) He is 78 years old and had shoulder surgery last September. He went to load it and found that he could not rack the slide. He also has some arthritis in his hands. I was wondering if reducing the weight of the recoil spring might be of any help. Also is there a slide racker that doesn't require the removal of the rear sight? Or I am open for any other suggestions. We talked about a revolver but he didn't sound like he wanted to consider it at this time. He won't keep on in the chamber so I can't load it forr him and leave it. Thanks in advance for all of your help.

[Chuck Anderson]

You should be able to drop down to a 12 or 13 lb spring pretty easily. There is not a slide racker that I'm aware of w/o removing the rear sight. However, there is plent of metal there if someone wanted to mill another sight cut in front of the rear sight for one. Cheap solution is to put skateboard tape on the rear of the slide to help with the grip.

[robomanusa]

Instead of him trying to "RACK" the slide.

Have him get a firm hold of the slide with his left hand, and then have him push the frame forward instead with his other hand using the grip.

[eric nielsen]

What Roboman said, plus grip tape like this:

Glock Photo

[Wim]

Ditto most of that.

Also left hand over the top of the slide if all else fails - i.e. not gripping the slide between forefinger and thumb when racking it. Your dad should get a better grip between a few fingers on the left hand - particularly the ring finger and the heel of the palm. And then ditto hold slide and push frame.

But be aware that some may have safety issues around that grip atop the slide. I am not too worried as long as the hand is clear of the ejection port.

[alma]

www.lonewolfdist.com has a slide racker that replaces the plate on the back of the slide.

http://www.lonewolfdist.com/products.asp?p...4&curRecIdx=21#

Makos' charging handle is easily installed and it fits all Glock pistols. This is the perfect companion for use with all scope mounted sight systems or rifle stocks. Quickly converts for both right and left handed shooters.

MAK-FCH Glock Charging Handle $59.95

[edit]

Alma, nice find. I added the picture and the direct link.

Edited June 1, 2005 by Flexmoney

[Duane Thomas]

I was wondering if reducing the weight of the recoil spring might be of any help.

Definitely, but you also want to change the striker spring for a lighter unit at the same time or you can begin getting failures to go fully into battery.

We talked about a revolver but he didn't sound like he wanted to consider it at this time.

If your Dad has arthritis, pulling a long, heavy revolver trigger time after time is probably not the way to go.

He won't keep on in the chamber so I can't load it forr him and leave it.

It can be difficult to overcome the prejudice of people who "just know" it's unsafe to have round in an auto pistol's chamber, but (especially if he can't swiftly rack the action to chamber a round), he needs to be educated that this is a perfectly safe practice with a modern auto pistol design like the Glock. I'd suggest field stripping the gun, showing him how the firing pin lock works, etc.

[TRG65]

I just put one of the 11lb ISMI springs in my G17 (it does have a reduced striker spring) and successfully ran it at the recent Iowa Sectional.

Just a suggestion of a factory spring of a weight lower than 12lb.

Plus, there seems to be enough in the spring that it could probably be trimmed if one wanted to go really to the edge.

[Duane Thomas]

BTW, I would seriously suggest you check out the Ruger 9mms like the P95 over the Glock. I've had numerous students who couldn't cycle the action on my Glock 34, even with its 13-pound ISMI recoil spring (factory standard is 17 pounds). Every single one of them could cycle the slide on a Ruger Nine, even starting with the hammer down. Among full service caliber auto pistols, the Rugers are the most lightly sprung guns I've seen.

[tfs]

Get your dad a Beretta 92F or a Taurus PT 92. My wife had difficulty racking my 1911 when we were still living in the Philippines, but when she tried my Taurus PT 92, I ended up transferring the license in her name.

If everything else fails, get your dad a revolver. I think that's the most logical choice if he can't rack the slide of a semi-auto pistol.

Also, get your dad to exercise his arms with the help of a Physical Therapist. That could help him develop the strength he would need to rack the slide.

[DougBarnes101]

Thanks to everyone for their input and advise. I will be printing this out and getting it to Dad. I am thinking grip tape and maybe a 14# spring. Also I will work with him on holding the slide and pushing the frame. Thanks again to everyone.

[Flexmoney]

I person can stiff-arm (straight elbow) the gun as well. Which would allow using the whole shoulder girdle to charge the gun. Push one arm out, while pulling the other back...keeping the elobow straight (especially the strong side elbow)