Slide weight?

[IndianaResident]

How carefully weighted are slides? I'm thinking about adding mini reflexes, steel vs plastic sights, lightening cuts, extra serrations, laser rear sights, charging handles on glocks.....

At what point is a it a concern that the gun is going to either not cycle or shoot the slide off the back of the frame?

 

[rockhopper46038]

I suppose there would technically be SOME limit to how much weight reduction you could do with a slide and still retain structural integrity, but for the most part I would say that you can compensate for increases and decreases in slide weights through the use of different recoil spring weights and different ammunition loads. In the same way that a very light load will require the use of a lighter recoil spring in order for the slide to fully cycle, the same could be done for a light (or heavy) slide. Designs like the 1911 might also require adjustments to the timing by changing the barrel link length perhaps, but nonetheless can be done. Most likely I would guess that unless you are planning on doing some extreme machining out of the slide to lighten it, the changes you are listing would not have much effect on the lock time and could be managed through recoil spring adjustment and/or load recipes.