Recoil Spring Strength

[fdegree]

Since my wife is having trouble pulling the slide back, and locking it open, I started looking for the recoil spring strength. Perhaps I don't know what I'm looking for, or maybe the manufacturers to publish information. Anyway, this leads me to my question:
How can you find out what the recoil spring strength is on semi-auto pistols?

I'm trying to find the 9mm's that have the weaker springs so she can try them out and see what she thinks of them.

 

[Ektarr]

Perhaps there's a way for her to use what you've got...

Instead of her holding the pistol out toward the front and trying to pull the slide to the rear with the other, non-shooting hand, have her turn (assuming she's right-handed), 90 degrees to the right, making sure she keeps the muzzle pointed downrange while she turns. Then have her grasp the TOP of the slide with the non-shooting hand and, holding the sidearm close to the chest, push both hands towards each other, racking the slide that way...the same arm action as if she were pushing her palms together. Finger off the trigger the whole time, right?!

See if that helps. It helps my Lovely Bride. Good luck.

 

[fdegree]

Perhaps there's a way for her to use what you've got...

Instead of her holding the pistol out toward the front and trying to pull the slide to the rear with the other, non-shooting hand, have her turn (assuming she's right-handed), 90 degrees to the right, making sure she keeps the muzzle pointed downrange while she turns. Then have her grasp the TOP of the slide with the non-shooting hand and, holding the sidearm close to the chest, push both hands towards each other, racking the slide that way...the same arm action as if she were pushing her palms together. Finger off the trigger the whole time, right?!

See if that helps. It helps my Lovely Bride. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I know it is hard to describe mechanics in writing...I'm not sure I grasp what you are saying. I'll try to restate what I think you are saying to see if I got it.

Assuming all necessary safety issues are adhered to, and she is right handed:
Bring her right hand, with the pistol, up to the left side of or chest...place her left hand on top of the slide, resulting in her left forearm being over the slide, and her left elbow extending out past the muzzle (not down in front of the muzzle...still above it, but extended past)...then push back on the slide while pushing forward on the grip.

If I am correct in the above description, wouldn't her hand get in the way of ejecting, if there is ever a jam that she needs to clear? Or, am I over thinking it?

 

[Glockster20]

Her left hand would still need to be to the rear of the slide, past the ejection port. The front portion of the slide gets very hot after several rounds anyway, so she wouldn't want to be touching anything forward of it.

 

[Pugster]

This is a discussion with which I'm familiar. In principle, the method Ektarr described above is the "proper" method for cycling the slide (pushing with the chest muscles rather than pulling with the arm muscles). My 110 pound bride has more problem with the "push" method than she does wil the "pull" method and she can barely do the "pull" method. We've tried all my autos (Beretta 92fs, S&W Performance Shop .40 and Browning HP) with the same result. She always said in a panic she could cycle the 92fs (her gun) on adrenaline. I'm not too keen on that approach. As far as spring strength goes, I'm an engineer, not a gunsmith, but logic would suggest the manufacturer uses a certain spring strength because that's part of the overall gun design, so I would be reluctant to go to a weaker spring. I finally gave in to my own worries and got her a new FNP-9 last week. I'm not sure if the spring is just a bit weaker than my other guns or if it is because the slide is wider than my others making it easier to grip, but she can handle that slide just fine. She also got a really nice new gun out of the deal, too. The FNP-9 is a very nice gun and it is lighter which makes it even easier for her to handle. Should have done this long ago. Not the cheapest solution, but a good solution.