The Problem
You just started collecting Social Security and are now fully retired from the day-to-day rat race of making a living. This is the time in life you had been looking forward to, which equates to unlimited range days with your favorite pistols. Unfortunately, having spent more than six decades working with your hands, your strength is not what it once was. General manipulation of your 9 mm everyday-carry gun as well as some of the other semi-automatics in your collection has become difficult and troublesome—especially racking the slide. Other than reverting to revolvers, you are looking for options in the semi-automatic category that are easier to handle and perhaps easier on the old hands during recoil. You did not work this hard for this long only to experience this disappointment. Your hope is for answers that will keep you shooting into the next decade, that is if it is still legal by then in your home state of California.
The Solution
There are options available that should keep you shooting as long as you want to, even in California.
When addressing a conundrum such as this from someone whom I have never met, I prefer to keep my suggestions simple and easily attainable with the equipment they already have before suggesting a change in firearm or caliber.
In sticking with the guns you have, you may want to consider installing more prominent sights, which will give you something against which to rest the web of your support hand when racking the slide.
Since Father Time is creeping up on you, you might want to consider a red-dot sight for your guns to help with the vision changes that we all experience later in life. Such sights will also give you a handhold to make racking the slide a little easier.
A technique that might be helpful is to hold the gun in close to the body’s center at an angle across the body with the strong hand, being aware of where the muzzle is pointing, followed by gripping the slide with the support hand in the serrations machined into the slide. Pushing with the strong hand and pulling with the support hand will double your leverage and make the process of operating the slide a little easier for you.
Using this method to lock the slide open for safety or general manipulation—once familiar with the technique—will prolong the usage of your preferred guns. Always practice good muzzle management and trigger-finger discipline, and you will experience both safety and success.
Another option is to replace your 9 mm with a .380 ACP pistol similar in size to your current everyday carry gun. There are several things to remember if replacement of the 9 mm becomes a consideration.
Since you live in California, the options may be narrowed because of the draconian and absurd laws in that state.
The size and brand of the gun should be similar to what you are currently carrying, if possible, which will make an easy transition from one pistol to another for familiarity and handling purposes. Maintaining a similar gun size will result in less felt recoil due to the slightly less powerful, but certainly viable .380 ACP cartridge, and will ensure the handgun fits your hand—meaning that all fingers rest comfortably on the grip of the gun and the gun points naturally, with the natural extension and pointing of the hands toward a target.
An important point that must not be overlooked is how the gun operates regarding locked-breech or blowback-operated actions.
A locked-breech gun means the barrel and slide are locked together at the moment of firing. These guns use a much lighter recoil spring than blowback-operated guns, which makes racking the slide and locking it open significantly easier.
Do not fall into the mindset that a pistol chambered in the .380 ACP cartridge must be a small, easily concealed pistol because of the reduced power of the cartridge. There is no free lunch here. The smaller the gun, the more difficult it is to handle with less than optimum hand strength and dexterity. Less weight means more felt recoil as well.
As we get older, ease of handling and minimizing recoil keep us shooting longer because it allows us to maintain our effectiveness in personal defense and hitting our target. Added to that, it is just more fun to shoot a pistol that fits one’s specific needs.
