Are forward serrations a passing fad?

I personally like both the looks and the function of the forward slide serrations. I wouldn't pay extra to get them, but I wouldn't refrain from buying a gun just because they were there.
 
I too believe these serrations are ugly. But what's the deal with press checking? What am I missing here? Does your pistol randomly unload itself?

I guess what I'm saying here is I'm trying to understand the logic behind press checking. Do you have failures to feed when dropping the slide on a new magazine? Or is press checking mostly useful for individuals that have to load and unload often for security reasons or somesuch?
 
i press check when somone hands me a gun to examine or when they hand me back my gun after looking at it...i know it's hard to believe that folks actually hand around guns that aren't locked open.

i will also press check on the firing line during competition because of the oppurtunity...and it never hurts to be sure. i even check before i reholster a gun i've had in my locker/lockbox...you know what jokers cops can be
 
The purpose is to make sure the pistol is loaded without ejecting a round. Sounds trivial, but talk to a serious HG instructor some time and they will tell you that firing a pistol with an empty chamber - for one reason or another - is not an infrequent occurence. A "click" when you expect a "bang" is not cool. Perhaps more important, you do a chamber check each time you pick up a firearm.
 
Whenever I'm handed a pistol, I drop the mag, lock the slide to the rear and visually check the chamber -- just like Dear Old Mom taught me. Well, hammered through my thick skull is probably a better description.

I've been taught the press-check, mostly in the last five or so years, but old habits die hard and I don't really see the need for one.

I have no doubt that shooters learning in this day and age find the press-check to be useful, if not vital. Different training, different habits.

LawDog
 
I always thought they were there to ease in assembly/disassembly.
 
What the heck is wrong with grasping the rear serrations like you were going to slingshot the slide and opening the slide just enough to peek in?

I never liked forward grooves because I always felt my hand was too close to the damn muzzle. Is there any advantage to pulling from the back vs pushing from the front?

BTW I remember when the "cool" way to see if you had a round up was to touch the extractor. This of course didn't work on a conventional 1911 and I never found it all that reliable besides.

regards,
David
 
I'm with David. I see no purpose for forward serrations. I check the chamber by grasping the REAR of the slide, and slightly retracting it. I definitely don't want my fingers anywhere near the muzzle.

Regarding "press checks," I was taught that a press check is done on M1911s by pressing against the spring plug, which retracts the slide. You can't do this in a gun with a full-length guide rod (like a Kimber). And I'm with those who believe a press check is not a good idea -- it puts your finger near the muzzle of a loaded gun. There's an alternative that lets you check the chamber without putting your fingers near the muzzle (simply grasp the rear of the slide with your weak hand and slightly retract the slide).

I don't see any advantage to a press check and a significant disadvantage. I think the same is true about using forward serrations for checking the chamber -- there's a better way.

I've attended LFI-1 and LFI-2. Ayoob doesn't allow press checks on his range (he also runs a cold range, btw). I suspect that Ayoob would not approve of using the forward serrations to check the chamber either.

M1911
 
I find the front cocking serrations useful for unloading the chambered round. Rather than letting the chambered round fly out and get lost on the floor, I hold the gun in my off hand and rack the slide with my strong hand with the front serrations, palm cupped toward the chamber. This ejects the chambered round into my hand.
 
There are many variations on a chamber check. The "press check" is only one of them. Although I can see why one might prefer one over another (hand strength, ergonomics, low light conditions, etc.), I can't imagine why they wouldn't be allowed at a HG course. How do you quickly confirm you have one in the tube? That's a fairly critical issue to be overlooked in a HG course.
 
ljlcdl:

First, Ayoob does not allow the press check on his range because he considers it unsafe -- it puts your fingers near the muzzle of a loaded gun. Second, as I described above, there is a perfectly acceptable alternative -- simply grasp the rear of the slide with your weak hand and draw it back a short distance. It achieves the same thing as a press check but keeps your fingers well away from the muzzle. Third, Ayoob runs a cold range. At LFI, there's seldom a need for a student to check the chamber of a gun with a closed action, because you only draw and load upon command. And after firing, you lock the action open, a range officer checks to confirm that you have no magazine loaded and chamber is empty, then you close the action and holster.

M1911
 
Rik, I do the same thing when unloading, but I hold the pistol in my dominant (right) hand, muzzle pointing to my left. I put my weak (left) hand on the slide, with my left index finger and thumb on the rear serrations and the rest of my left hand fingers over the ejection port.

Rack the slide, and the chambered round pops out into my left hand.

LawDog
 
Thanks. The 'need' that one prepares for is not the course, it's the real world. I've been taught to check the chamber after every tactical reload, a practice which has meaning. It's importance is not a look-see for range safety. It's to be sure you don't get killed because you didn't know the weapon was empty but failed to lock the slide back after the last round. In a recent course I saw this happen no fewer than two times in three days and no doubt are the type of incidents that provides the basis for certain trainers drilling this into peoples' heads. It's a good idea to learn and perform safe chamber checks. When you carry a weapon for self defense, some part of your body is always close to the muzzle. Anyone who can safely draw and fire a weapon from concealment can surely learn to perform something as simple and fundamentally important as a chamber check.
 
ljlcdl:

I'm NOT objecting to a chamber check. What I'm objecting to is using the "press check" method to check the chamber, as I think there's a safer way that's just as effective.

M1911
 
I know what you mean. On some of my weapons it's no problem. On others, especially with sweaty hands, it's almost impossible, even with my vise-like strength (LOL)! I frequently use a Glock 30 with a revved up double spring system and that can be tough on a bad day. The press check is also useless at night, when you can't see into the chamber. The overhand method then seems to work well for me. I slip my weak hand index finger into the chamber while sliding back the slide. As always, YMMV.
 
ljlcdl,
The press-check is worthless at night? I press-check w/o looking just by feeling the cartridge.
Bob
 
That's what I said. I use the overhand method, not what I had described earlier when somone asked what a press check was. The advantage of the method I described is that it keeps the weapon nearly in a fighting position. What others have described - grabbing the rear or top of the slide - takes your hands way out of position for optimal shooting and you waste time getting back on the gun before you can fight. OTOH, if you can't do the under the dust cover approach, you do what you can.
 
A couple of thoughts. I think checking to confirm that a gun is loaded is a very good idea, on the range, when first holstering the gun, after reloads, etc. There are several acceptable ways to do it, many of which have been listed above. When press checking using the offhand under the forward portion of the slide, the serrations help most people most of the time. When doing it that way, your trigger finger can relatively easily feel in the chamber to confirm that a cartridge is there in low or no light. The overhand rear method is ok, but for some people it occasionally results in pulling the slide back too much, which ejects a round unintentionally, or, worse, causes a double feed or live round stovepipe. The use of the underhand forward press check seems to be a bit more controllable, as does the one finger under the muzzle method (which can't be done on some and is probably more dangerous, potentially). The comment that Ayoob doesn't allow press checking, which I cannot confirm, is to me explained and made irrelevant by the later comment that he runs a cold range (which I again can't confirm). As to press checking in general, my partners and I who operate a firearms school, have decided to not use it in the CCW permit classes, but do use it in more advance handgun classes. We found that really new students had difficulty in press checking safely, and in the limited amouht of time available in the CCW classes we felt we couldn't safely teach it. We do think it is extrememly important in general.
 
hickman - That's about it. The good news is that, given the number of shots fired during a civilian gunfight, we'll probably never have to use our chamber checking skills during a gunfight. My music instructor once told me that you practice (perfect) above the level you need to play. It's also a good training principle for PD. Train high.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top