Massad Ayoob says don't release slide on empty chamber.

[GunsNstuff]

Because they are different actions? I do however use snap caps when dry firing with my 2011.

Separately, I can't believe anyone who has spent any time with 1911's didn't already know this was a thing.

BTW, who is Gun Blue?

Different actions, but the same principle. Metal slamming against metal with or without a softer metal to cushion & slow the steel parts of the gun.

 

[jamil]

This is one of those subjects where there is serious disagreement. Gun Blue says it's fine. Massad Ayoob says it's not good. I say it's fine. What do you say? Has anyone taken microscope pictures of a gun and it's parts, then released the slide on an empty chamber 1000 times, then took more pictures & compared? I bet there is no difference.

It’s not good to dump the clutch either but who hasn’t wasted some good rubber on the pavement?

When I do dry fire practice the slide is getting released at some point. It’s just part of the wear and tear.

 

[92FSTech]

Different actions, but the same principle. Metal slamming against metal with or without a softer metal to cushion & slow the steel parts of the gun.

The metal slamming against metal that actually causes the problem isn't the slide/frame components themselves, but a product of how the 1911 action is designed via the leaf spring that provides tension against the trigger and sear. It's not the force of slide slamming home that directly damages the ignition parts...rather it's the ignition parts slipping or disengaging under the inertia and hammering into each other. Most other semi-autos use a completely different system, so this doesn't happen with them.

Mas also makes a valid point in the video that slamming the slide home can also cause additional wear to the locking lugs and extractor on a 1911, but that's going to take far more iterations to develop into an actual problem than dropping your sear into the half-cock notch of your hammer, which can cause issues almost immediately with a gun that's been tuned to exact tolerances. Also, the tilt-barrel locking lugs and coil-spring actuated extractors of most modern pistols like a Glock or a Sig are different and more tolerant of this kind of stuff than the hanging barrel link or bent one-piece spring-steel extractor of the 1911 design.

 

[GunsNstuff]

The metal slamming against metal that actually causes the problem isn't the slide/frame components themselves, but a product of how the 1911 action is designed via the leaf spring that provides tension against the trigger and sear. It's not the force of slide slamming home that directly damages the ignition parts...rather it's the ignition parts slipping or disengaging under the inertia and hammering into each other. Most other semi-autos use a completely different system, so this doesn't happen with them.

Mas also makes a valid point in the video that slamming the slide home can also cause additional wear to the locking lugs and extractor on a 1911, but that's going to take far more iterations to develop into an actual problem than dropping your sear into the half-cock notch of your hammer, which can cause issues almost immediately with a gun that's been tuned to exact tolerances. Also, the tilt-barrel locking lugs and coil-spring actuated extractors of most modern pistols like a Glock or a Sig are different and more tolerant of this kind of stuff than the hanging barrel link or bent one-piece spring-steel extractor of the 1911 design.

I accept this advice with a 1911, but not with Glocks or Sigs or just about any other modern gun. Rifle or pistol. Lots of semiauto rifles and pistols don't have slide locks or bolt catches, so they slam home after the final round has been fired anyway. He is holding a 1911 in the video, but he says not to do it with any pistol.

 

[92FSTech]

I accept this advice with a 1911, but not with Glocks or Sigs or just about any other modern gun. Rifle or pistol. Lots of semiauto rifles and pistols don't have slide locks or bolt catches, so they slam home after the final round has been fired anyway. He is holding a 1911 in the video, but he says not to do it with any pistol.

I drop the slide on my empty Sigs and Berettas all the time. I'm not worried about it. If there is any excessive wear at all it's minor and I'm willing to accept it, and if they ever do break I'll fix 'em. But a tuned 1911 is a different critter and can incur almost immediate damage.

I'm not saying Mas's advice should be applied to everything, just trying to clarify that the reasoning behind it with a 1911 is sound and why.

 

[indiucky]

Finally, some common sense in this thread

Why thank you sir.....

 

[Bassat]

Drop the slide. Don't drop the slide. Flip the cylinder/crane. Don't flip the cylinder crane. Leave the magazines loaded. Don't leave the magazines loaded. Cocked and locked is safe. Cocked and locked is dangerous. Round under the hammer (revolver) is safe. Round under the hammer is not safe. Manual safety is just that. Manual safety will get you killed. I've had my fill. I sending off all my guns to be melted down. If you see me walking around the South Bend/Elkhart area with a cross-bow (open carry) and full quiver, just remember - it is defensive only. I am the good guy.

 

[indiucky]

If you see me walking around the South Bend/Elkhart

Fellow INGOer's...

If you ever see me walking around anywhere north of Nashville call the po-lice...I've been kidnapped......

 

[JTKelly]

This is one of those subjects where there is serious disagreement. Gun Blue says it's fine. Massad Ayoob says it's not good. I say it's fine. What do you say? Has anyone taken microscope pictures of a gun and it's parts, then released the slide on an empty chamber 1000 times, then took more pictures & compared? I bet there is no difference.

Why does any one CARE what these paper heroes say?

I'm still carrying, shooting, and using the same Interarms/Remington Rand/ parts box 1911 45 acp fully functioning 1911 gov model I bought in 1978. They probably taught a million mule skinners to shoot with that gun or parts of it before I ever got it and I'd put it in my holster for the day, any day, and bet my life on it right now.

But I'm not getting checks from salesmen, gun stores, or selling magazines.

 

[Expat]

 

[armalitesheepdog]

I just dont do it.....I also don't advise others how they should handle there personal property. Each there own I say

 

[BigMoose]

Depends on the pistol.. same as dry firing.

 

[bobzilla]

All my 1911’s are stock crap. No “finely tuned” anything in my arsenal.

 

[cedartop]

Drop the slide. Don't drop the slide. Flip the cylinder/crane. Don't flip the cylinder crane. Leave the magazines loaded. Don't leave the magazines loaded. Cocked and locked is safe. Cocked and locked is dangerous. Round under the hammer (revolver) is safe. Round under the hammer is not safe. Manual safety is just that. Manual safety will get you killed. I've had my fill. I sending off all my guns to be melted down. If you see me walking around the South Bend/Elkhart area with a cross-bow (open carry) and full quiver, just remember - it is defensive only. I am the good guy.

Even D-K has camps of different meaning. How ironic. Or is it?

 

[Alamo]

So clearly, the answer is to get a Glock.

 

[Creedmoor]

This is specifically an issue with 1911s with a tuned trigger. It's not universally applicable to every semi-auto handgun, or even every 1911.

A tuned trigger on a 1911 usually involves tweaking the sear spring a bit to reduce the tension for a lighter pull. This can put the gun into a condition where dropping the slide on an empty chamber can produce enough inertia to "bounce" the sear/trigger engagement and let the hammer fall to the half-cock notch, which will destroy the finely-fit edge on your sear in short order and ruin your trigger job.

This doesn't happen when the gun is loaded (at least not with a properly tuned gun) because the friction of chambering a round and the slide dragging over the top of the magazine slows it enough to reduce the impact to the point where inertia can't overcome the pressure of the sear spring.

I was taught with my Colts, to pull the trigger back before you release the slide.
I have always done that loading those pistols and when dropping the slide on a empty barrel, I just let the slide forward while holding it.
The only 911 pistol I have ever had drop the hammer to half, was a stainless Para Ordnance Limited P14.
It thought it was a M3 grease gun for half a magazine. The left side spring sear spring?
Broke the tip off and turned the sear and a few other parts to poop.

 

[Creedmoor]

As long as I can keep flipping the cylinders closed on my expensive Smith and Wesson revolvers with a short snap of the wrist and fanning my delicate single actions I am good.....

I've seen some movies...I know what works....




View attachment 324839 View attachment 324840

I do that with my Python and second gen single action Colt.

 

[indiucky]

I do that with my Python and second gen single action Colt.

It ain't cricket otherwise.....

 

[NHT3]

I accept this advice with a 1911, but not with Glocks or Sigs or just about any other modern gun. Rifle or pistol. Lots of semiauto rifles and pistols don't have slide locks or bolt catches, so they slam home after the final round has been fired anyway. He is holding a 1911 in the video, but he says not to do it with any pistol.

Took a little field trip to Nighthawk Custom a few years ago and they told me it's a no-no with a 1911. That was good enough for me but where striker fired pistols are concerned I don't believe it's a problem.

 

[Skip]

So clearly, the answer is to get a Glock.

Well, I still don’t do it with any of my striker fired pistols either. You can do what you’d like, and I’m not condemning you. Just can’t bring myself to do it….