Hard to engage slide lock on Shield 9mm
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Usually, when someone uses that Criss-Cross technique, the shooter is turned so that the muzzle is pointed down range.
(If the shooter were not standing sideways pointing the muzzle down range, that would put the person taking the picture down range from the shooter. Not a safe place to be)
OP
Protected One
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Finally was able to get through to S&W Customer service who co-signed the comment above about trying to use the slide lock with an empty mag. With a loaded mag it's will work, as I confirmed with my gun already. He did say that using some 800 grit sandpaper on the slide I could reduce the pressure required to get a release but that over time, with use it will lessen some anyway.
He said that S&W calls it a slide lock in the manual NOT because that's the only function it can or should be used for, but because it (like the slide) was designed for minimum width, and doesn't extend out far enough for most to use it as a release. So they called it a "lock", but he emphasized that there is no reason or danger in using it for both!
He also said that 1911's have larger levers and some manufacturers call them releases.
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I don't claim to be an expert. I'll leave that to others. The following is based on my experience, right or wrong:
I vote for the overhand method. It works reliably! IMHO and experience the slide lock/release method is a good way to get a miss feed or a failure to go completely into battery. I recall some on my Dept, using Glocks, pushing the "auto release" method for awhile. I believe that fell out of favor as it was really hard on the mags.
I also have found the actual slingshot method to be reliable also IF the shooter can reliably jerk the slide back so that it is yanked from between the thumb and finger as opposed to being actually released. Releasing it as opposed to having it yanked from the fingers can result in an anemic release similar to that achieved by using the slide lock as a release, resulting in a higher probability of a miss feed or a failure to go completely into battery, especially if the gun isn't super clean and lubricated. An extended range session will result in the shooter returning to the overhand method as he/she wears off the skin from between the fingers.
I vote for the overhand method. It works reliably! IMHO and experience the slide lock/release method is a good way to get a miss feed or a failure to go completely into battery. I recall some on my Dept, using Glocks, pushing the "auto release" method for awhile. I believe that fell out of favor as it was really hard on the mags.
I also have found the actual slingshot method to be reliable also IF the shooter can reliably jerk the slide back so that it is yanked from between the thumb and finger as opposed to being actually released. Releasing it as opposed to having it yanked from the fingers can result in an anemic release similar to that achieved by using the slide lock as a release, resulting in a higher probability of a miss feed or a failure to go completely into battery, especially if the gun isn't super clean and lubricated. An extended range session will result in the shooter returning to the overhand method as he/she wears off the skin from between the fingers.
ScaryWoody
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A lot of it is based on what the gun designers wanted to achieve. Glock can go either way. Kahr says you should use the release and not slingshot it. More energy from the release to chamber the round correctly. Smith and Wesson is opposite. Use the slingshot not the slide lock. You can file it down and make it easier. But, at that point it's a normal wear and tear part. Be prepared to replace if you shoot a lot. Know your audience and deliver what prevents phone calls.
Physics tells us that statement is completely incorrect (edit: IF the overhand release is done properly . . . )
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OP
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I took 2 guns to the class. The second was a glock 23 which I used for the second half of class. You're right...no problem at all.
BIGGERHAMMERTX
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I have two shield 9mm Gen 1. One gun I can use the slide lock to release the slide on a fresh magazine with no issues. Other gun the Hulk couldn't release it using a thumb, so that is slingshot or overhand only. Not ideal to have two identical carry guns that do not function the same way.
rsrocket1
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Using the slide lock as a slide release works but for Gen1 fullsize guns, this is what happens after about 1,000 "releases"
This is actually the second time the lever broke. After the first replacement, I only used the overhand or slingshot method of releasing the slide.The second Gen1 FS slide lock broke around the 50,000 round count so I'm guessing the lever will last about 4 times as long when not using it as a slide release.
I've always used it from day one with my Shield. It will take a long time for me to break one on a Shield simply because I don't shoot anywhere near as often with it as I do with my M&P 40 FS. Newer generation FS slide locks have a more beefier lever and may last even longer but I would much rather use the 2 handed method of releasing the slide.
This is actually the second time the lever broke. After the first replacement, I only used the overhand or slingshot method of releasing the slide.The second Gen1 FS slide lock broke around the 50,000 round count so I'm guessing the lever will last about 4 times as long when not using it as a slide release.
I've always used it from day one with my Shield. It will take a long time for me to break one on a Shield simply because I don't shoot anywhere near as often with it as I do with my M&P 40 FS. Newer generation FS slide locks have a more beefier lever and may last even longer but I would much rather use the 2 handed method of releasing the slide.
andyo5
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I found this on my .45 Shield and I believe that it is common to most or all of them. The issue is the angle machined into the slide lock surface that engages the frame. It is cut at an angle that causes you to be fighting the recoil spring when you try to use the slide lock as a release. In other words, to force the lock down, you are also forcing the slide further back. I took the approach of re-surfacing it to get more of a vertical surface, just to the point that the lock will work as a release, and no more. I would not do anything to the frame, just the lock. So if you mess it up somehow, you merely have to buy an new slide lock and not a new frame.
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Using the slide lock as a slide release works but for Gen1 fullsize guns, this is what happens after about 1,000 "releases"
This is actually the second time the lever broke. After the first replacement, I only used the overhand or slingshot method of releasing the slide.The second Gen1 FS slide lock broke around the 50,000 round count so I'm guessing the lever will last about 4 times as long when not using it as a slide release.
I've always used it from day one with my Shield. It will take a long time for me to break one on a Shield simply because I don't shoot anywhere near as often with it as I do with my M&P 40 FS. Newer generation FS slide locks have a more beefier lever and may last even longer but I would much rather use the 2 handed method of releasing the slide.
50,000 is a lot more than 10x 1,000. Your observation and experience make sense.
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