I can rack the slide of my 1911 against my shoe. You cant do this with a full length recoil spring guide rod, but you can do it with the standard/ mil-spec guide rod. Reloading: I would think it would be hard to reload a revolver with one hand.(?) I mean, you either will have a speed loader to deal with , or you will have all of those loose bullets dropping everywhere ; all the while your bleeding and being shot at. I can reload my 1911 with one hand(see Dwight 55's post). I think I'll take my 1911. JMB designed it so soldiers in battle could operate it under extreme circumstances, one of the circumstances Im sure being one handed operation. Thanks JMB !