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Releasing the slide on an empty chamber?
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Bunnykid68
Grandmaster
Lot better to release a slide on an empty chamber than one with a projectile in it.
Me and a friend were talking about this earlier and i wanted to know everyone's opinion on Releasing the slide on an empty chamber. Is it bad for the gun, or are people just worried too much and babying their guns?
Never did any harm that I know of.
...or are people just worried too much and babying their guns?
This last part.
netsecurity
Shooter
Your gun ain't going to work right if you operate the slide with caution. Pull it back hard, and release fast, and let it slam! That's how it is made to work. A bullet going off is more violent than your slide release, and the gun is made to shoot several thousands of times.
Yea, wear will appear on the barrel and slide, because it is supposed to. If you have a collectors mint condition gun, then that's the only time I'd baby it.
EDIT: They say don't let a 1911 slam empty, even a new one.
Yea, wear will appear on the barrel and slide, because it is supposed to. If you have a collectors mint condition gun, then that's the only time I'd baby it.
EDIT: They say don't let a 1911 slam empty, even a new one.
Last edited:
The manual that came with my Kimber specifically states to never let the slide fall from full lock on an empty chamber.
I dont baby my guns, I think they are tools made to be used like any other tool.
If it cant handle being closed from full lock on an empty chamber then it aint gonna handle 1k rnds of 230gr ammo. My Kimber has been closed on an empty chamber several times and has nearly 1k rnds through it now.
Its just fine.
I dont baby my guns, I think they are tools made to be used like any other tool.
If it cant handle being closed from full lock on an empty chamber then it aint gonna handle 1k rnds of 230gr ammo. My Kimber has been closed on an empty chamber several times and has nearly 1k rnds through it now.
Its just fine.
NHT3
Grandmaster
NOT a good idea on a 1911, hard on the sear and hammer..
Advice from the well respected Hilton Yam
Weapon handling protocol
Always ease the slide down on an empty chamber, never slam it shut from slide lock. A G.I. rack grade 1911 may do fine when you slam the slide on the empty chamber, but a gun with a tuned trigger and fitted barrel will do better without it. The jarring of the slide slamming down on an empty chamber can cause the hammer to follow and the sear nose to crash into the hammer hooks. Your trigger job will last longer if you ease the slide down. Further, the lower lugs on a match fit barrel take a lot of impact when they contact the slide stop, and without the buffering effect of the round feeding into the chamber, you increase wear on your barrel by slamming the slide on an empty chamber. It's not the end of the world if the slide drops on an empty chamber, but it's not a good habit to develop either. It is the sign of an amateur 1911 handler.
Thumb cocking the hammer can sometimes result in the hammer slipping out from under the thumb and falling to half cock. Some hammers are designed with a half cock notch that protects the sear nose, but many do not. Excessive crashing of the sear nose into the half cock notch will degrade your trigger job. If you are fumble fingered, try cycling the slide to cock the hammer for dry firing. This may seem picky, but I see this occur constantly.
Contrary to popular opinion, dry firing is not harmful to modern 1911s. Old guns with soft breech faces may have exhibited peening problems from the firing pin strike, but a modern gun should be plenty hard. Serious shooters dry fire practice frequently, and well made guns do not experience any ill effects from it.
Always load using the magazine to feed rounds into the chamber. NEVER drop a round into the chamber with the slide locked back, then drop the slide onto the chambered round. The extractor is NOT meant to pop over the case rim. The round is meant to slide up UNDER the extractor hook during feeding from a magazine. This breech loading technique is exceedingly abusive to your extractor and will cause loss of extractor tension at the least, and in the worst case scenario will cause the extractor hook to break. If you are looking to load the gun to its maximum capacity, chamber a round from the magazine, remove the mag, load another round into it, and reseat the mag. Give the mag a tug on the baseplate to ensure that it is seated.
[FONT="]NRA Life member [/FONT][FONT="]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT="]
Gunsite graduate Certified Glock armorer[/FONT]
Advice from the well respected Hilton Yam
Weapon handling protocol
Always ease the slide down on an empty chamber, never slam it shut from slide lock. A G.I. rack grade 1911 may do fine when you slam the slide on the empty chamber, but a gun with a tuned trigger and fitted barrel will do better without it. The jarring of the slide slamming down on an empty chamber can cause the hammer to follow and the sear nose to crash into the hammer hooks. Your trigger job will last longer if you ease the slide down. Further, the lower lugs on a match fit barrel take a lot of impact when they contact the slide stop, and without the buffering effect of the round feeding into the chamber, you increase wear on your barrel by slamming the slide on an empty chamber. It's not the end of the world if the slide drops on an empty chamber, but it's not a good habit to develop either. It is the sign of an amateur 1911 handler.
Thumb cocking the hammer can sometimes result in the hammer slipping out from under the thumb and falling to half cock. Some hammers are designed with a half cock notch that protects the sear nose, but many do not. Excessive crashing of the sear nose into the half cock notch will degrade your trigger job. If you are fumble fingered, try cycling the slide to cock the hammer for dry firing. This may seem picky, but I see this occur constantly.
Contrary to popular opinion, dry firing is not harmful to modern 1911s. Old guns with soft breech faces may have exhibited peening problems from the firing pin strike, but a modern gun should be plenty hard. Serious shooters dry fire practice frequently, and well made guns do not experience any ill effects from it.
Always load using the magazine to feed rounds into the chamber. NEVER drop a round into the chamber with the slide locked back, then drop the slide onto the chambered round. The extractor is NOT meant to pop over the case rim. The round is meant to slide up UNDER the extractor hook during feeding from a magazine. This breech loading technique is exceedingly abusive to your extractor and will cause loss of extractor tension at the least, and in the worst case scenario will cause the extractor hook to break. If you are looking to load the gun to its maximum capacity, chamber a round from the magazine, remove the mag, load another round into it, and reseat the mag. Give the mag a tug on the baseplate to ensure that it is seated.
[FONT="]NRA Life member [/FONT][FONT="]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT="]
Gunsite graduate Certified Glock armorer[/FONT]
Oops. Thanks for the info NHT3.
Maybe Ill be more carefull with it from now on.
I dont drop rounds into the chamber, Always lock it back and drop the slide on a loaded mag to chamber a rnd, I dont thumb back the hammer or try to "decock" it either. I knew that was dumb on a 1911 but I never really thought the slide release was a big deal.
Maybe Ill be more carefull with it from now on.
I dont drop rounds into the chamber, Always lock it back and drop the slide on a loaded mag to chamber a rnd, I dont thumb back the hammer or try to "decock" it either. I knew that was dumb on a 1911 but I never really thought the slide release was a big deal.
I've just always been in the habit of easing a slide closed when there's not a round loading. No real reason or justification. It's just how I do it. I don't like the sound of a slide closing on an empty chamber, but oh how I love the sound of chambering a round.
Avoid doing it on a 1911 with match trigger components, or an exceptionally light trigger. In some cases you can break a sear nose, or drop the hammer to half cock and ruin your trigger job.
Otherwise, if the gun can't handle it, might as well offload the thing ASAP.
Otherwise, if the gun can't handle it, might as well offload the thing ASAP.
What do the sear and hammer have to do with racking the slide? No, don't release the slide on a full chamber; that can be hard on your extractor, but chambering a round is of little effect in buffering that much spring tension and slide mass. What's slamming into what, exactly, that isn't made to be slammed into? I don't think JMB (PBUH) was relying on the shell casing to absorb any shock. That would be a mistake.
indiucky
Grandmaster
Same. I think Massad Ayoob has a rule. "If empty you ride the slide...If loaded you let it rip." or something to that effect.
I have always done it that way. I don't think it is measurably harmful to a weapon to let it slam, but with a 1911 it almost seems disrespectful. I am not saying myself or Mr. Ayoob are right. It's just how I feel about it. Lord that whole paragraph makes me sound like a hippie. Oh well.
