Slide Stop vs Slide Release

EdGCNM

EdGCNM

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So I was browsing through the thread on dropping the slide on an empty chamber and the old thing about people insisting that the slide stop/slide release on a 1911 can only be called a slide stop, end of story, came up. Can someone explain the basis of this to me? I really don't get it.

I reload, so I fully appreciate and agree with the semantic difference between a "bullet" and a "cartridge." I call a bullet a bullet and a cartridge a cartridge.

I also understand the difference between a "magazine" and a "clip" in firearms, and I don't call a magazine a clip.

I own several handguns. One of them, my Hammerli SP-20, has a true "slide stop." Like most European target pistols, it doesn't lock open on the last shot fired from the magazine (they want every shot to be the same in the shooter experience). You can manually retract the slide and then push in a little button on the side to lock it open for inspection by the RSO. There is no way to use the button to release the slide again, however. This gun definitely has a slide lock because functionally, that's all it does. It locks the slide open.

On a 1911, and many other pistols, the slide lock is also a slide release. It is clearly designed with a checkered tab on the top, which, when depressed, is specifically engineered to release the slide from lock. It is clearly a slide lock and a slide release. So why do some people lose it when some other people refer to it as a slide release instead of a slide lock? I don't get it.
 
Cause they're stupid, and people on the internet get bent out of shape about everything, its a freakin slide release, or hell, maybe its a slide lock, do people reallly care that much??? they need to get out more, jeez
 
Semantics.
As long as the person I am talking to understands what i am saying who cares what I call it.
I will say I am out of bullets when the stapler is empty, it's just being playful with words.
However with that being said, when you are ordering parts you should use the correct terminology.
 
This is the way I see it. It all depends from where you start from. Sorry, I haven't had my coffee yet LOL!!
If the slide is already in the closed position and you slide it back = slide lock
If the slide is already in the open position and you close the slide = slide release
 
History will inform you. Until 1909, all of mr Brownings designs operated without a "lock open on last round" device. It was incorporated because the US Army had been impressed with the lock open on the Luger pistols involved in the pistol trials, and considered it to be advantageous to mounted troopers reloading on horseback. Browning accommodated the request and that is why 1911s have it. If a trooper has large hands, reloading can be managed with fewer steps and less two hand manipulation. Almost all target guns in the world lack this last round lock open and I dare say that almost every user loses count at some time or other and drops the hammer on an empty chamber at the end of a string. Maybe folks should also note that the very popular Ruger 22 pistol series did not have a last round lock open until the advent of the MarkIII. Those paranoid about the slide running forward on an empty chamber also get upset about "dry firing" - and would be appalled at the gun check procedures at ISSF and NRA bullseye matches, where snap caps or similar are not allowed, where the competitor hands an open pistol to the checker who proceeds to drop the slide and lift the test weight, making sure that the trigger releases. Any gun that can't take this as a regular event in it's life should not be used for anything other than a boat anchor.

Dr Jim - who has checked guns at the Canadian National Pistol Championships for more than 20years.
 
I don't get it either, I use that part for both functions, and, depending on circumstance, shooters should be able to use that part for both functions. There is one school in the US that teaches that under no circumstances should that part be used to release the slide, disciples of that school are convinced that they know the "One True Way" to use a pistol. They're wrong, of course, but who am I to upset their apple cart.
 
I tend to think the names are interchangeable and manufacturers may call them slightly different things for proprietary reasons. Shoot your guns and don't sweat the small stuff...as long as we understand what each other is talking about , it really doesn't matter. Life is to short to stress out about every little thing, someone will always think whatever you believe is wrong. Shoot, sh¡t and move on!

Think of all the different proprietary names people have came up with in the last few years for all-wheel drive systems in automobiles.
 
To me the size matters of the device. My norinco has an extended slide stop/release device that is easily manipulated with the strong hand thumb, therefore I use it and refer to it as a slide release. BUT, on my S&W E-series it is smaller and only comfortably operated with the support hand, since it is smaller. So I use and refer to it as a slide stop.

Personally I think the sling shot method is lame and slower. The argument of "gross vs fine motor skill"is pointless because pulling the trigger is a "fine motor skill" and if you can handle that, you can handle operating a slide release under pressure. That being said, I instinctively use the silly slingshot method on my S&W since the slide release is not functional for me.
 
When I first got my Glock17 I wondered why the "slide release" was so flat making it difficult to manipulate and to release the slide.
Went out and bought an oversized "slide release". That was unnecessary because my "slide release" is now my "slide stop" cause I use the sling shot method. YMMV
 
I think I may be confusing myself between the correctness of the term as a "part name" vs. functionality. I think that as a part name it is correctly called the slide stop, which is nothing to do with how it's used. You can use it as a slide release but it's still properly called a slide stop? And those that are so anal about this are basing their opinion -- not on whether or not you use it as a slide release -- but rather on the fact that the part is called a slide stop. Maybe. Although my impression initially was otherwise.
 
Without being gun specific, it is more about how the part is used.

In a lot of firearms training, the part is used only to prevent the slide from going forward, thus it is a slide stop.

~ Loading the gun is done by pulling the slide to the rear.
~ Removing ammo is done by pulling the slide to the rear.
~ A malfunction is cleared by pulling the slide to the rear.
~ All Immediate Action Drills (IAD) are done by pulling the slide to the rear.

So in training, gross motor skills, there is no need to learn and practice to push down on the itty-bitty lever just to close the slide. To make the slide go forward, the slide is pulled to the rear and released. A slide release serves no other purpose, eliminating training for that one function condenses the IAD's.

This method works for most of the auto-loaders without the need to use different motions for different models. Some auto's do not have an external slide stop/release, so practicing to push one down is useless.
 
What does the part do? It locks the slide back on an empty mag, or manually if desired....you can then release the slide lock by inserting a new mag and either sling shoting the slide or by pressing down on the slide lock to disengage it thus releasing the slide.
Slide release is what happens when you release the slide lock.
As long as I understand what someone is saying I'm OK with that.
 
My pistols and i have an understanding. The pistol uses it as a slide stop, I use it as a slide release. We've managed to maintain our friendship despite our differences.
 
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