Using the slide stop to drop the slide on an empty chamber (IPSC Global Village)

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Stupid pistol noob question - is dropping the slide on an empty chamber bad?

BTW - can't get to your link. I guess you have to be a member to get in...
 
No problem dropping the slide on an empty chamber, just make sure the trigger is fully pulled when you do it.

Or, if you have a nork without a trigger job, go for it..... it can't make it any worse.
 
SandRoad said:
No problem dropping the slide on an empty chamber, just make sure the trigger is fully pulled when you do it.

Or, if you have a nork without a trigger job, go for it..... it can't make it any worse.
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? :confused:

Hammer down refers to the slide being forward, and then pressing the trigger.
 
Onagoth said:
I can't tell, is he using the slide stop lever to drop the slide?

And whats wrong with dropping it on an empty chamber
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Why would one consider unnecessarily battering up your pistol is the better question and perhaps the answer to yours above...

Just saying..... ;)

2007-10-27_091302_1aCoffee.gif

NAA.
 
Doing that to someone else's gun is a no-no. Doing it to your own is your call and doesn't hurt anything.

How many times has your mag follower failed to hold open the slide on the last round? It doesn't happen all the time to me, but it's certainly not something I'm going to lose sleep over wondering how much "damage" I'm creating by doing that.
 
Do "Not" drop the slide on an empty chamber !!

Here is an explanation from Mr Hilton Yam (1911 expert).....

Here's the basics on slide slamming, just so we are all on the same page:
-It can cause "trigger bounce" which is the inertial jarring of the trigger which can then cause the sear to release the hammer unintentionally. This can damage the sear nose.
-On modern dimensioned guns where the slide stop pin and barrel lugs are fairly closely fit together, a relatively thin section of metal on the rear of the lower lugs helps stop the forward motion of the barrel. The empty gun slams shut harder since there is not a round cushioning the slide's forward motion.
-A gun that has hammer follow is indeed out of spec in some way, but it is a very broad stroke statement. The "armorer fix" is to switch out some parts and hope something good happens. Remember that you get to be called an armorer after an 8 hour school, including the lunch break. The "gunsmith fix" may include simple parts replacement but will certainly also call for adjustment and tuning of the various parts. The sear spring weight, hammer/sear engagement, trigger setup all affect the possibility of hammer follow.

It is very common for people with some type of prior experience with rack grade WWII vintage 1911s or other similar GI/stock format guns to remember slamming the slide on them routinely without apparent ill effects. If the barrel fits loosely on the slide stop pin and the hammer hooks are set up at the GI height (which can easily be 30% taller than a tuned trigger job), then you can probably get away with a lot more.

There are some guns that will work 100% correctly when treated properly - ie. without slamming the slides home empty - but will sometimes follow when you slam them.

So what is the answer? The same as it was before all of this explanation. Don't do it if you don't have to. It's like kicking the doors closed on a Corvette. Will it destroy the car? No. Is it abusive? Yes. Can you treat that nicely set up car better so that you don't induce some other issues later? Yes. If you ask any 10 gunsmiths who specialize in 1911s, they'll all tell you the same thing as I have. If someone tells you it doesn't have ANY effect on the system, please ask them to explain WHY in as clear terms as I have used above, not just "because that's how I do it" or some other anecdotal bit.
 
When I drop the slide on a 1911 onto an empty chamber it rams home with a far more sharp and "glass like" sound than with any other semi I own or have tried. It comes near to the sound of a hammer head onto a good blacksmith's anvil. Since there's obviously a rather sharp metal to metal contact with very little braking friction to slow it down I choose not to make a habit of doing it. If it happens it's not a biggie over the long haul but I sure don't want to make it a regular thing. The rest of my semis seem to slide forward with enough braking resistance due to hingeing the barrel up into lock that it isn't an issue. But the 1911 is smooth enough in this step that there does not seem to be anything slowing it down.

In any event and for whatever the reason as a person familiar with metal working it's not a sound I want to hear any of my guns making on a regular basis. The sound a 1911 makes when dropping onto an empty chamber is the sort of sound you get when you're upsetting metal into a new shape.
 
i dont slingshot cuze there's no need to . just worthless on an empty chamber.

even with a full mag.

on the shadow or any other SP01,the sole weak point is exactly that...the slide stop.

once aware , releasing the slide by the slide-stop lever is worthless imo.
 
Seriously.... I call BS. I don't know about you guys, but that slide is whipping back and forth with a hell of a lot of force while the gun is firing. Letting it drop manually is not going to hurt it more.
 
RoscoeT said:
Oh please... is it going to break? if so you better leave it in the safe.
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Rutger said:
Seriously.... I call BS. I don't know about you guys, but that slide is whipping back and forth with a hell of a lot of force while the gun is firing. Letting it drop manually is not going to hurt it more.
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I fully agree. If your gun can't handle being closed on an empty chamber you bought a lemon. Oh hold on, is this another "1911" thing?? I thought they were the most reliable and dependable pistols ever made? On that note, why the special treatment for Norinco's I thought they were as good or better than brand name 1911's?:rolleyes:

TDC
 
Scully nicely posted Mr. Hilton Yam's gracious explanation of why a G.I. 1911 was, if not immune, at least far more tolerant of slide dropping. A 1911 is capable of being set up verry nicely, far more so than probably anything other than a nice Smith wheelgun. Having set the 1911 up, it makes little sense to batter it down. Just like why you do not fire a tuned S&W wheelgun single action. It can be done, but it is less than good for the carefully stoned and shaped sear.

But, Yam also says in anther post, that slingshotting the slide after an emergency reload induced more failures in courses he has seen than tripping the slide stop. So, use the right technique for the task at hand. Can't be too difficult. Let's see now, hmm threat still standing, gun is empty, reload and trip slide stop. Prepare to engage. Done. End of watch, stage, whatever, remove mag, eject round in chamber, lock open, verify empty chamber, ease slide down on empty gun. Engage safety. No need to trip trigger, except in confused settings like IPSC, IDPA, certain military formtions, who prefer AD's to safe guns. Oh, well.
 
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