HAS ANYONE NOTICED THE "NEW METHOD" OF COCKING A SEMI-AUTO?

[2152hq]

I had a Sgt in the S/O that could rack the slide on a 1911 with one hand.

His thumb behind the grip safety and his fingers over the top of the slide and forward as far as possible.
He'd pull the slide all the way back with the 4 fingers and let it go. His fingers then switched to the front grip strap and index finger to the guard.
All in an instant.

Would it work with a loaded mag?
He said it did but wasn't crazy enough to such things anymore.

He was a Korean War Vet. He said it was funny the things you did when completely bored out of your mind.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I have a card playing buddy that can open a beer bottle with his wedding ring. It works pretty good. He's only broken it twice....

 

[rockquarry]

I didn't know optical sights on a handgun served a purpose until now.

 

[Narragansett]

Will wonders never cease!

But I've noticed that " young studs" only shoot, really fast, at 3-5 yds ......most trying to get a good "shotgun pattern" on paper........ so doesn't really matter!!!!!!!

3-5 yards? They must have learned that tactic from the guys that test and write for magazines now.

3-5 yds, is a good distance to throw a stone

 

[The Last Standing Knight]

Sorry, but this sounds to me like another one of those so-called "macho" tricks like swinging open a revolver cylinder and then shutting it closed again with a flick of the hand or holding a semi-automatic pistol "gangsta-style" off to the side.

Neither are good for the weapon or accuracy.

(shrug and shaking head)

 

[Beemerguy53]

It's like the Popiel Pocket Fisherman or water injection for your '57 Plymouth. Some people can't live without the newest gismo and there's plenty of entrepreneurs willing to invent for them.

Whenever I see some tricked-out black rifle, or a plastic pistol festooned with all sorts of gimcracks and gewgaws, I remind myself that Alvin York killed 20 or 25 German soldiers (depending upon the source) and captured 132 more, with a plain-jane bolt-action rifle and a 1911.

 

[Skeet 028]

New semi autos have hammers??

 

[cadmike]

Not my gun so who cares?

 

[StrawHat]

This is a compensator that I wish I had bought years ago. Would like to get several of them.

Sorry, I can not find the file but it was a long bushing compensator, installed on a 1911. The good part was you could insert a magazine, put the comp on a flat surface, push down and chamber a round from the magazine. I have several friends and family members who are not able to safely rack the slide. I would install that comp on their pistols.

Kevin

 

[WR Moore]

OK, the 1911 and BHP have fully captured recoil springs. There's a flat surface below the barrel that can be used to press against something to rack the slide. I do believe there's other brands/models with the same design. That's not possible if your recoil spring guide rod will stick out the front of the slide with the slide in full recoil position.

Now then, last night I did run across a video featuring a "name" trainer who appeared to be using the optic to help rack the slide. No idea why he didn't use the sling shot grip.

It's worth noting that he was taking care to keep the hand clear of the ejection port. It's been 30 odd years since keeping your hand away from the ejection port has been taught. Accidental encounters of handgun parts with primers has caused cartridges to fire while being ejected, resulting in hand injuries ranging from slight to crippling*. The size of the pistols prevented a safe grasp of the slide forward of the ejection port.

Watching this, a couple of things dawned upon me.

1. It appeared that all the sample pistols were compacts. IMHO, the wisdom of mounting an optic on a handgun gets more problematic as the size of the pistol goes down.

2. This was being done as safety checks during a video presentation. If an optic had sheared it's mountings, it'd be edited out, probably with a change of handling.

3. The only figures for shock loading of a slide that I know of are of a 1911 .45. The recoil shock load is 700 Gs, the battery shock load is 750 Gs. One "G" is normal gravity. I tried to calculate the load on the screws and got really confused. I got one answer where the shear load on the screws was trivial ( less than 2 lbs), the other was somewhere in the 52-55 lb range.

Using the slingshot grip on the slide is a whole lot better for many reasons. Unless you can't do it. I'd be really, really, really hesitant to slam an optic up against some object to rack the slide.

*After bringing this back to my then employer, I had 3 people admit to such injuries at the loading/unloading barrel while in the service. Given the low pressure of the .45 ACP, their injuries caused on a slight loss of function. Not true with higher pressure cartridges like the 9 mm, 10 mm or .40 cal where crippling injury was present. Yes, they had ER photos to authenticate.

 

[tmd17]

More concerning to me than how some rack their slides back with a red dot is the growing dependency on electronics for a close quarter self defense handgun.

 

[S&WIowegan]

Red Dots are GOOD!!

If you're as old as I am with tired eyes red dots are very important. The dots are built to withstand the constant slamming of the slide when firing. I can assure all you worry-warts that using the red dot body to rack the slide is minimal stress vs. shooting.

Take a collective deep breath and find something else to fret about!

 

[Old cop]

I'm old too, set in my ways & I don't have a red dot on anything. Watching videos over time I noticed the same thing, mostly younger people, and it occurs to me that could damage the screws holding the red dot in place. All said, not a good idea IMHO.

 

[Fishinfool]

Re / mount strength. Just a couple of years ago, a buddy I cross bow hunt with started carrying his cross bow by the scope, like an AR with a carry handle. Said it was plenty strong enough.

That season, he jumped about 5 feet off a rock, while holding his bow by the scope. The impact of the landing separated the scope base screws from the bow.

I have a number of range and hunting handguns with optics, and have never utilized them to carry the gun, or work a slide. Just seems like common sense?

Larry

 

[Gene L]

I have a red dot on a Buckmark. I wouldn't put one on a CF.

As for practice distance, 3-5 yards is enough to get you on paper. It represents a good GetOffMe range. A lot of other stuff is "gaming." Like running toward a target from 25 yards off...hardly Defensive Shooting. More like Offensive Shooting and unless you're in the military or law enforcement, or unless you're playing a shooting game you have the right to run away and increase the distance between you and the threat.

 

[max503]

but it seems like every tacticool guy on YT videos is doing it after they themselves saw it on a YT video. Next thing you know, they'll all be ... stabbing it forward as they pull the trigger.

Hey! I remember the old-time cowboys doing this on the black and white Westerns!

What goes around comes around!

 

[max503]

I didn't know optical sights on a handgun served a purpose until now.

Plates and bowling pins.

 

[Gene L]

Hey! I remember the old-time cowboys doing this on the black and white Westerns!

What goes around comes around!

On "The Cisco Kid" sidekick Pancho would thrust his pistol foreword from his wrist when shooting. No fast draw, just a motion like he was casting a flyrod.

 

[luvsmiths]

A red dot on a handgun is the first thing wrong here.

Next the kids will be scoping them.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I see hunters carrying their rifles by the scope(using it for a handle)........I smile and move on along. As you stated. Lots of stupid stuff out there...Most want to be a cool tactical tommy.