Carver “carry” Racker for left handed shooter

[WilsonD]

I’m new to shooting and left handed so my Glock 34 gen 4 does not have ambi slide release so I was looking to put a Carver “carry” Racker on to help me with reloads. There is nothing in the rules that states this not legal. Any ideas?

[gomerpyle]

I’m new to shooting and left handed so my Glock 34 gen 4 does not have ambi slide release so I was looking to put a Carver “carry” Racker on to help me with reloads. There is nothing in the rules that states this not legal. Any ideas?

heres a cool alternative technique (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyt1DIj2XR/), courtesy of Kyle Defoor.

[El Cid]

I’m new to shooting and left handed so my Glock 34 gen 4 does not have ambi slide release so I was looking to put a Carver “carry” Racker on to help me with reloads. There is nothing in the rules that states this not legal. Any ideas?

I’m not sure what you mean by rules. Are talking about USPSA or IDPA or some other governing body of matches?

I looked up the Carver Racker. I don’t see what advantage you’d gain even as a lefty. It’s designed to pull the slide rearward when an optic is in the way of the grasping grooves. For releasing the slide when locked open I don’t see the Carver piece helping unless your pistol has a slide mounted optic.

There is also a very fast technique taught by Defoor and others where the right middle finger hits the slide stop lever after inserting the magazine. I looked but can’t find a video. I’ll keep looking.

ETA - gomerpyle beat me to it.

[RJ]

If you are shooting to slidelock in USPSA production, you've probably made a mistake somewhere. :)

If this is IDPA, or other gun game, as above, I am uncertain what you mean.

[Medusa]

As noted already, it’s necessary to specify the rule set when asking a question like this. It’s also worth noting that one generally needs to be able to specify what rule authorizes, in your view, if the modification if it is questioned at a match. I don’t believe the item you mentioned is legal in idpa SSP and don’t immediately see the rules justification for it in uspsa prod. I may be mistaken.

I’m a left handed competitive shooter who does her best at idpa (SSP), uspsa (prod) and speed steel. I do fairly okay locally at idpa, which has lots of slide lock reloads. I exclusively shoot beretta 92s with left side only slide release. I train to rack the slide on reloads but have also found a good positive reload at the weapon correct angle will auto forward the slide most of the time. I wonder if there is a similar sweet spot on a glock 34.

I haven’t been able to make any right handed operation of the slide release work faster, safer, and more reliably under time pressure than racking or auto forward, but you might be able to do so.

My one cent, your mileage may vary.

[EricM]

Below are my comments from a similar thread (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?21750-Southpaw-Glock-Mag-Changes) a few years ago. I posted a couple pics later in that thread and there is also discussion of other methods. I like the method presented by Defoor too and if I was just getting started I might lean that way, as it seems more universal both in terms of hand shape and gun configuration...the method I describe works fine for me with Glocks, Walthers, HK USP's, and others, but wasn't reliable for me with a Beretta PX4.


Lefty here. During the reload, my trigger finger is in hard register high on the slide such that the slide stop lever (OEM extended) sits just behind the knuckle (proximal IP joint). When the new mag goes in, the force of the mag insertion plus pulling back as necessary with my index finger sends the slide forward. I don't necessarily preload the lever as Todd discussed...but I don't necessarily not preload the lever. My finger is pressing against the slide, but it is right there on top of the lever during the reload.

Key thing for me is I'm not rotating the finger down toward the trigger in order to depress the slide stop (used to do that, was awkward and unreliable)...instead, by way of the magazine base pad my support hand is driving the lever into my knuckle. Usually the slide drops immediately almost as if it was autoforwarding, but if for some reason it doesn't I shift my hand slightly to pull back and down with my index finger.

As I mentioned I use the OEM extended slide stop lever. You could also consider the Ghost Bullet Forward Slide Release (link (http://www.ghostinc.com/product/GHO_BFS_BLK/Ghost-Bullet-Forward-Slide-Release-Combat-Black.html)). If you're interested in the Ghost one, shoot me a PM and I'll send you mine...I have a fair number of rounds on one without any problems, but for me personally it doesn't provide any advantage with my current technique to I went back to OEM.

[rojocorsa]

heres a cool alternative technique (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyt1DIj2XR/), courtesy of Kyle Defoor.

Interesting...

As a lefty, I've always used my trigger finger to hit the slide release (until I switched to 5th gen).

[YVK]

I've a totally different approach. This is 2020. There's a ton of guns on the market and there's absolutely no reason to tolerate ones that don't support your shooting or handling. Idsell it or trade it for a Gen 5.

[jamautry]

I am a lefty, and I use my index finger to release the slide. I would recommend the following slide release, the forward design makes it very easy to drop the slide in a Glock. https://handguncombatives.store/products/bullet-forward-slide-release



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[TheNewbie]

Am I the only one who though Wilson Combat was releasing a D model Beretta when reading the thread title?

[BehindBlueI's]

Title edited for clarity, and I think he means IDPA rules.

[Alpha Sierra]

I’m new to shooting and left handed so my Glock 34 gen 4 does not have ambi slide release so I was looking to put a Carver “carry” Racker on to help me with reloads. There is nothing in the rules that states this not legal. Any ideas?

That slide racker thing is not allowed in USPSA Production (appendix D4, 21.2b), USPSA Carry Optics (appdx D7 21.6) nor in IDPA stock service pistol (8.2.1.3 A)

It is allowed in other USPSA divisions (Limited, Open) and in IDPA Enhanced Service Pistol and IDPA Carry Optics (because it's ESP with an optic).

Why not instead learn to use the release on the left side? It's bound to be faster after some work to get used to it and like someone already mentioned, you're doing something wrong in USPSA if you're routinely reloading from slide lock.

ETA: I'm amazed that with all the aftermarket stuff out there for Glocks, a quick search didn't turn up a single ambi slide stop for Gen 1 - 4 pistols.

[Medusa]

heres a cool alternative technique (https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyt1DIj2XR/), courtesy of Kyle Defoor.

I gave this another look and am working on acquiring this skill. Thanks for the link.