Release slide on an empty chamber?

[Rastoff]

...you obviously shouldn't do it often or frequently because there's really no need to do so.

I believe this member has it right. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something.

I've fired lots of rounds through my guns. I don't baby them, but I don't mistreat them either. I can throw a hammer on the ground, but I don't because I was taught not to mistreat tools. Guns are no different.

 

[cmj8591]

I've spent my fair share of man hours on police and military ranges. I was always trained and I have always trained that you never ride the slide forward, empty or not. In fact if you did, you would expect to be yelled at. Of course it will cause wear just like shooting the gun will cause ware. It is part of gun handling. I don't think that I have ever seen a 1911, or any other gun, break down from dropping the slide. I understand that highly tuned guns can be affected differently but if your gun is so sensitive that you get hammer fall or a peened sear from this, you probably shouldn't be taking the gun out in public and you should definitely avoid letting others handle it. This whole drop the slide argument has kind of become the 1911 "How many angles can sit on the head of a pin?" argument.

 

[Steve912]

Reading comprehension--it applies to TUNED actions, gents.

The GI arms room .45s had actions like two e-tools sliding
over a football. You can drop the slide, empty, as much as
you want with those, won't hurt a thing.

Dunning-Kruger in action, or what?

 

[Ed Fowler]

My first 1911 was a very hard used WWI surplus. It would fire the first round on its own, or double or more. My friend was well acquainted with this vintage pistol and taught with absolute authority!!

When you closed the slide on a loaded magazine you held the hammer back with your left hand took a tight grip on the pistol and fully expected it to go off at any time. You were ready and when it did you could maintain full control and there were no accidents.

I doubt that many reading this forum have even heard about these old worn out 1911s and would not be ready for a new one to fire without you touching the trigger. It can still happen, had a Gold Cup for a few weeks that could and would go up to 4 in row. Sent it back to Colt 3 times and it continued, finally traded it to a friend who thought it was fun stuff.

That is why I don't play games with the present crowd, just me and my dogs and we do fine and enjoy each round one at a time.

 

[GerSan69]

I hope this doesn't step on any toes, but I've never, ever heard such a thing. Ever. Anywhere. Every aspect of semi-auto work I've ever participated in involved "dropping" the slide on an empty chamber multiple times. If we were told anything, it was to never "ride" the slide and slow it down.
Maybe this is something that folks with overpriced shooting mechanisms (just calling them "guns" seems so cheap) need to worry about, but not us mere peasants with our mass-produced shootin' irons. (Heck, with all the rules and requirements they seem to have, like how many bore-brush strokes are required or something, it makes me wonder if they're too tired to shoot!)

 

[rwsmith]

All my guns are stock.....

...and I do what feels right at the time. I don't abuse them in any way and I don't baby them either. If I had a prize target pistol I may do things a little different, but I have no hard and fast rules on this.

 

[petepeterson]

Wow, you're not training yourself to ease the slide forward on an empty chamber. It's just common courtesy to handle someone else's handgun in a less violent manner, especially if it's a collectable. There's a very obvious difference between loading a round into the chamber or slamming home on an empty chamber.

Sorry, Ralph, but you're wrong. Obviously, easing the slide forward one time to show respect to someone and their property is going to subconsciously ingrain a "training habit" that will cause you to die nest Tuesday when you need to do the speed reload that occurs with each and every defensive shooting.

My Uncle allowed me to handle his Gold Cup when I was a young man. I think he almost dozed off while I closed it back up to hand it back.

 

[CB3]

I’m the OP. Thanks for this wide ranging discussion.

My opinion about dropping a slide on an empty chamber has mellowed.

I still believe modern in spec guns will not be substantially harmed by this practice, at least not for tens of thousands of rounds. During this time other gun parts will wear out. Very few shooters ever put more than a few thousands rounds through a gun. For them, this kind of wear will not be an issue.

I agree that slightly riding the slide to reduce slamming is not hard to do and would certainly delay long term wear. It’s also just polite, and even professional, when handling other people’s pistols, whether they ask for such an accommodation or not.

Now, on any expensive customized gun with more delicate, fitted interfaces, I can see that educated owners would handle them so they will last longer, reliably. I’ll bet those owners treat others’ guns with appropriate respect.

I went shooting my FS M&P 9mm yesterday. Out of habit, I dropped the slide using the release on an empty chamber. This thread washed through my mind. The next time I had the opportunity to close the slide on an empty chamber, I again used the slide release but slowed the forward motion a little with an overhand grip. I smiled.

That wasn’t so bad CB3! Maybe this forum can teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[TMan51]

I am not a gunsmith, and the following is meant as a beginning point for discussion.

Wow, thanks for the effort.

I'm an engineer myself, and treat my "Babies" like they are made of glass.

Why apply unnecessary force to any handling or use.

 

[WR Moore]

Why would it make a difference mechanically in a pistol whether the chamber is empty or the slide is chambering a round when the slide is returned to battery under the full force of the recoil spring? I would think, logically speaking, a slide closing on an empty chamber is less stressful on the moving parts such as the breech face and the ejector since there is no cartridge for them to come in contact with.
That's just me thinking out loud, I don't mean any offense to anyone else and their opinions.

When stripping a round from the magazine and feeding it into the chamber, the slide is (theoretically) being slowed by friction. So, dropping the slide on an empty chamber should carry a higher shock load. The ejector isn't involved in the feed cycle. The extractor does provide some slight friction when the cartridge rim slides up under it (it doesn't snap down on the case rim).

No one seems to have mentioned the rebound effect from the slide contacting the recoil spring guide flange and frame during the firing cycle.