Racking a pistol using front serrations

**SlimA** · 12-04-2019, 17:46

Good evening everyone

I just watched a video posted on Facebook that advertised self defense classes. The video seemed interesting and all. However, something has been annoying me quite a bit.

One of the instructors, while in a live-fire situation and taking cover, reloads his pistol and racks the slide using the front serrations on the gun. Now, I have never been to a firearm training course, so I might come across as a bit ignorant here...

Would using the front serrations of your pistol to rack your slide not open up the possibility of you shooting yourself in the hand (especially under a stressful situation)? What would the benefits of doing this even be? Is this method ever taught during training or is it just one of those "Tacticool" things?

**neilh** · 12-04-2019, 18:05

Just like you can also shoot yourself in the nuts or butt, from the draw with improper technique....

Nothing wrong with using the front serrations as long as you are muzzle aware

**Vega5** · 12-04-2019, 18:07

Its a shitload faster onto target using that technique. Easy

**AK-Gunner** · 12-04-2019, 18:11

Not a tacticool thing, not at least in the profession of being tactical. Some competition shooters started to do this in the 1980s with their heavily built 1911-type race guns with a thumb rest prohibiting the designer intended way of grabbing the slide from the rear with your thumb and index finger. Since it looks to many people cool, the method has been used ever since in the non-LEO/military shooting community.

You can swipe your hand with the barrel, sure enough, but it usually causes a DQ, not a hole in your hand.

In the "tactical" community there's only one way to rack the slide two handed and it's the grab from above style, were you tap-racking or reloading. Two issues, one solution.

**SlimA** · 12-04-2019, 18:31

Faster as in you can keep the sights on target when in competition?

**SlimA** · 12-04-2019, 18:32

Originally Posted by neilh

Just like you can also shoot yourself in the nuts or butt, from the draw with improper technique....

Nothing wrong with using the front serrations as long as you are muzzle aware

Yeah, probably very muzzle aware. In the video, the guy practically blocked the muzzle with his thumb.

**SlimA** · 12-04-2019, 18:33

Originally Posted by AK-Gunner

Not a tacticool thing, not at least in the profession of being tactical. Some competition shooters started to do this in the 1980s with their heavily built 1911-type race guns with a thumb rest prohibiting the designer intended way of grabbing the slide from the rear with your thumb and index finger. Since it looks to many people cool, the method has been used ever since in the non-LEO/military shooting community.

You can swipe your hand with the barrel, sure enough, but it usually causes a DQ, not a hole in your hand.

In the "tactical" community there's only one way to rack the slide two handed and it's the grab from above style, were you tap-racking or reloading. Two issues, one solution.

Thanks AK!It's interesting to know the history behind it.

**Vaal** · 12-04-2019, 18:56

What is the reason why you had to rack the gun? Normally there is a problem so it is at that moment, not "so loaded". I prefer the traditional back grab way.

**Vega5** · 12-04-2019, 20:15

Originally Posted by SlimA

Faster as in you can keep the sights on target when in competition?

Faster as in the position of your hand is directly over the hand holding the gun when the racking is done. So to grip its less movement to where the hand is needed.

**FNBROWNING** · 12-04-2019, 21:48

In my opinion the dumbest thing out for a number of reasons. Firstly it endangers hand in two ways.Puts your hand closer to muzzle and over ejection port. Damm easy to sweep hand moving it just too far forward, plus you could get a slamfire hangfire or some other reason for the gun to blow up your hand when gases and or shrapnel exit the ejection port. There was a thread some time back with a very nasty pic of the result of a hand over the ejection port.Secondly it obscures your view of the ejection port and ability to more quickly identify a malfunction and the type thereof, as opposed to merely being out of rounds. Thirdly it is the potential cause of a malfunction in instances of a round or case bouncing off your hand and back into the ejection port. This is just a stupid and unnecessary risk to be tacticool. This needs to be called out for what is.