Magload
US Veteran
I guess I need to start slamming the mag home harder as none of mine are doing it. Don
Slide release when mag is inserted M&P9 FS
- Thread starter Nitrous SSC
- Start date
My 1911s never "auto forwarded". I bought a Ruger SR 45 that did part of the time. Sent it back to Ruger, and the gunsmith decided to "fix" it. Made it happen all the time. For me that was moving from bad to worse. Because I don't want different behavior, I eventually sold it.
Since I started shooting polymer guns a few years ago, I have gotten used to the slide dropping on it's own when inserting a full mag. I am now shooting the darling husbands 1911 45. Once in awhile, when forcibly inserting a mag the slide will drop. I have never had a gun strip off a round off the top when the slide auto closed. I just count it as a bonus and carried on.
Magload
US Veteran
If it doesn't strip off a round when it closes where is the bonus? Seams like you have a empty chamber and now have to rack the slide to load one. Or am I missing something? Don
OP
Nitrous SSC
Member
Mine has gotten to where its been 100% of the time it drops the slide. My M&P40 full size does it too. Its really sped up my reloading if it goes dry during a match. At first I hated it. Now I'm totally cool with it.
Johnmuratore
Member
I've never had that happen, even once, with my 9c, 40c, 45c, or S&W full size 1911. I don't think I would mind if they did. Would save me a step in the process.
AR-Getsome
Member
Try putting slight pressure on the slide lock as you insert a magazine, That's the way I do it sometimes during and IPDA match or at the range.
gargoyle999
Member
I have a FS M&P 40 that does this with the 3 mags I have. If I put the mag in real slow it doesn't but with a bit of force it does. This particular gun is an unissued police trade in w/o a safety. I thought maybe it was a 'feature'. I like it.
martybee
Member
I can see It being a safety issue if for some reason the firing pin was stuck or frozen in the fire position;
Or if you had your trigger finger in the trigger guard and on the trigger! Safety First, keep your finger out of the trigger guard and always have the muzzle pointed down range or in a safe to fire zone!
mb
I witnessed a Sig 226 DA/SA do it without stripping a round from the mag......definitely not good. I never had the auto forward occur with any Sig I had.
My Shield 40 has never done it. But my FS M&P 40 does it occasionally. Personally I don't like it, but I'm aware of it when it happens. When it does it, it has never failed to strip a round from the mag.
The one thing I found among my 3 mags is a differently designed follower in one of the mags. I haven't bothered to "test" it to see if it auto forwards after emptying that particular mag and inserting one of the others, but I will specifically test it next time out.
My Shield 40 has never done it. But my FS M&P 40 does it occasionally. Personally I don't like it, but I'm aware of it when it happens. When it does it, it has never failed to strip a round from the mag.
The one thing I found among my 3 mags is a differently designed follower in one of the mags. I haven't bothered to "test" it to see if it auto forwards after emptying that particular mag and inserting one of the others, but I will specifically test it next time out.
Rastoff
US Veteran
There is a little to be concerned with here. While some guns do this, most don't. If you begin to rely on this "feature", it can cost you if you use another gun.
One of my students this weekend had a Glock that did this. He then picked up another gun. When it didn't "auto forward" upon mag insertion, he actually paused for about 2 seconds while he tried to figure out what was wrong. In a defensive situation this could have been deadly.
One of my students this weekend had a Glock that did this. He then picked up another gun. When it didn't "auto forward" upon mag insertion, he actually paused for about 2 seconds while he tried to figure out what was wrong. In a defensive situation this could have been deadly.
Never experienced an auto-forward 'feature', but to me it seems like it can never be a 100% guaranteed activation.
Whatever time you save by not manually hitting the slide release or slingshotting the slide is probably trivialized by the time it takes for you to realize that it happened, process, confirm, and be ready for a condition of an empty chamber.
For the style of competition shooting I do, I have the luxury of knowing how many shots I'll need and reload points will be planned, and reloading with one in the chamber from the previous mag has worked just dandy for me so far.
Whatever time you save by not manually hitting the slide release or slingshotting the slide is probably trivialized by the time it takes for you to realize that it happened, process, confirm, and be ready for a condition of an empty chamber.
For the style of competition shooting I do, I have the luxury of knowing how many shots I'll need and reload points will be planned, and reloading with one in the chamber from the previous mag has worked just dandy for me so far.
martybee
Member
I'm in agreement.
mb
mb
Plan/prepare for it, but don't expect it. That's how I'd train with it if I had to live with it. If you can replace the slide stop or other possibly worn component, do it.
No auto I've ever shot has done this, but I also do not "slam" magazines home. Maybe I've just been too gentle.
No auto I've ever shot has done this, but I also do not "slam" magazines home. Maybe I've just been too gentle.
Whitwabit
US Veteran
None of the pistols I have ever shot has done this auto load . I personally wouldn't like it for the reason Rastoff stated, using a pistol that didn't auto load in a life or death situation could very well get you killed. Since you would have trained for the round to load after slamming mag in after a reload. My Beretta is so tight that you have to rack the slide and can't use the lever to release the slide.,and that is how I have always trained!
My M&P FS is much looser than my Shield, and the FS will usually auto forward with every firm mag insertion. I can make it do it pretty much 100% of the time if I slam the magazine in, intentionally smacking the butt of the grip with the heel of my hand. The mechanics are this: as you smack the butt of the grip, the frame will rotate forward with an impulse. If the gun is "loose" or doesn't have a very tight recoil spring, the slide will momentarily remain stationary while the frame rotates forward and the recoil spring compresses just a bit more. This "unlocks" the slide stop lever, in exactly the same fashion as when you slingshot the slide home on a new magazine. Naturally, the "unlocked" slide stop lever will fall (as there's no magazine follower to keep it up) and the slide will ride home, stripping and chambering a round.
My FS does it and two of my three CZ pistols did it (P-09, and 75). They are all full-size guns with recoil springs that aren't super tight (because of the mass of the slide, etc).
My three semi-autos that will not auto-forward under any circumstance are my old CZ P-07, my current Shield, and my current Kel-Tec P-32. All three of these guns are smaller guns with smaller slides and tighter recoil springs. The tighter recoil springs do not allow for the slide and frame to move independently during even a forceful magazine insert. Theoretically, you could get it to happen, but it apparently takes more force than I care to deliver.
My FS does it and two of my three CZ pistols did it (P-09, and 75). They are all full-size guns with recoil springs that aren't super tight (because of the mass of the slide, etc).
My three semi-autos that will not auto-forward under any circumstance are my old CZ P-07, my current Shield, and my current Kel-Tec P-32. All three of these guns are smaller guns with smaller slides and tighter recoil springs. The tighter recoil springs do not allow for the slide and frame to move independently during even a forceful magazine insert. Theoretically, you could get it to happen, but it apparently takes more force than I care to deliver.
RalphMP9FS
Member
That's a good explanation.
Rastoff
US Veteran
That was a decent explanation hokiefyd, but let me add just a little to it if I may...
I can get my M&Ps to do this even without a mag. Lock the slide back and pretend to insert a mag. Using a normal force, the slide will close. Check this out:
If a mag is inserted and the direction of force is with the red arrow, it's unlikely the slide will go forward. However, alter that direction of force like the green arrow, and mine will close every time. Yes, it still requires some force, but it doesn't need to be slammed.
The mag doesn't need to be slammed in. This happens more due to the direction of the force than the magnitude of the force.
This is close, but with one addition; the M&P slide stop has a spring on it. This spring has a downward force on the slide stop. Thus, even if the gun were upside down, the slide stop will move out of the way if the pressure of the slide is released.
I can get my M&Ps to do this even without a mag. Lock the slide back and pretend to insert a mag. Using a normal force, the slide will close. Check this out:
If a mag is inserted and the direction of force is with the red arrow, it's unlikely the slide will go forward. However, alter that direction of force like the green arrow, and mine will close every time. Yes, it still requires some force, but it doesn't need to be slammed.
Correct. I used the term "fall" in this context because that's the motion that it takes under normal circumstances, but yes, it is spring-loaded. Thanks for the clarification; I can see how my terminology could be interpreted to mean that the slide stop lever would fall due to the force of gravity alone.
Yep, me too. As noted, it's the vector of force on the butt of the grip, and not the actual magazine insertion, that allows the slide to close.
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