Riding the slide?

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hologon

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I just got my first handgun (first gun!), a semi-auto (H&K USP).

I have been chambering the first round (racking the slide) by gripping the rear serrations with my thumb and third finger, yanking back, and then easing the slide forward. It seems like it would be a gentle and quiet way to do it.

Apparently, this is considered "riding the slide" -- and I'm supposed to let go at the end and let it BANG into place.

Obviously, this is the kind of recoil that the slide is meant to take (despite it sounding awfully painful to the gun), but what kinds of problems does it cause? Does it lead to mis-chambering? Mis-loading?

Or is it not really such a bad thing?

Thanks!

-jon
 
hologon -

Letting the slide drop from full retraction unimpeded is the way the gun is designed to function. You will actually get more problems feeding when you ride the slide down, then if you drop it. Dropping the slide is not bad for the gun as long as you are chambering a round. Some guns you can mess up the trigger/sear interface, such as the 1911, if you drop the slide on an empty chamber to much. Remember that firing the gun and dropping the slide manually are essentially the same thing. Both methods use the recoil spring pressure to return the slide to battery.

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Freedom is not Free
 
ATM is right. Let the slide go forward on its own, that's what it is made to do. You're not going to hurt the gun any. The H&K is a great gun and all quality handguns are designed to fire thousands upon thousands of rounds and the slide slams forward on every one. Your H&K would outlast you.



DWM
 
Hold the trigger back on 1911 to avoid sear damage. Disconnector pervents firing when doing this. Check disconnector first. Chamber condition shouldn't mitigate the sear battering.

[This message has been edited by B Shipley (edited September 25, 1999).]
 
Hologon-
Ditto to the previous advice about letting the slide do the work.

Another important point, not mentioned here: Do not rack the slide with thumb and forefinger, Hollywood style. Besides being considered "sissified" in most circles, it requires fine motor movements. Mr. Murphy loves fine motor movements. Grasp the slide from the top, using all four fingers and palm. Rack rearward with the weak hand continuing reafward after the slide stop is reached.

A good training technique is to allow the weak hand to continue rearward motion until contacting the opposite shoulder. This will guarantee that you're not riding.
Rich
 
Riding the slide can frequently cause probems chambering the round. I have seen a S&W 3913 fail to fully go into battery when the slide was not released at the rear of it's travel. What this means is the slide stops a fraction of an inch short of being fully forward. Most guns are designed not to fire when this happens. Some early Glocks WOULD fire when this happens, resulting in catastrophic destruction of the gun and ofen injury to the shooter.
 
There's a very old thread started by Steve Koski which discusses his method of locking the slide forward. You may want to do a search and unearth it for fun.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
Be very carefull when holding the trigger back as B. Shipley recommends. I have seen several accidental discharges by people using this method. Apparently what happens is the finger holding the trigger back, bounces of the trigger slightly, allowing the disconnector to release. Then as the finger re-assumes it's hold on the trigger, BANG!
A safer method is while holding the pistol in the right hand, with the thumb of the right hand holding the hammer back, release the slide with the left hand. Awkward? Yes, but much safer.
I'll guarantee you this, it beats the hell out of the pair of drawers you have to replace if you have an AD using Shipley's method. I'll grant you, they are probably a rare occurance, but the idea of never suits me better.
Paul B.
 
Dear everyone:

Thank you for your replies!

Very helpful group of people here. I just tried the "all fingers and palm" trick and it really works a LOT better than the "sissy" way I was doing it before.

I also feel a lot more comfortable just "letting" go at the end.

I suspect riding the slide was the problem I had when I rented a Glock and it often failed to go entirely into battery... wish I had known this then!

Thanks again!

-Jon
 
Paul-
I, too, dislike B. Shipley's method, as it clearly violates Rule #3. I don't understand your method, however. On most autos, the slide conceals the hammer when racked...how are you able to get your fingers in there to hold the hammer?

My preference...4 simple rules. If you obey rules 2 and 4, when loading, you should have no problem. Just rack it and let it go.

A further problem with holding the trigger or hammer is that it complicates the manual of arms by requiring different loading techniques than are advisable in a combat situation. ie: when you run a weapon dry or clear a malfunction, you don't ride the slide, hold the hammer or hold the trigger. You just rack and get to business.
Rich
 
Kimber points out that you can actually damage your sear by riding the slide too much. One thing... I find the "hand on top" method to be the only way my wife can rack the slide... but by holding the left hand tight in against the upper chest, and pushing the gun away under the left armpit. I find the method painful, and will continue to use the "pinch" method; luckly, I don't shoot in front of anyone who would care! 'asides, with the "clipdraw" onboard, you really can't grab the slide that way.

-Moss
 
We're not talking combat situations here, we're talking about maintaining a $75+ trigger job, and the 1911 gurus (Kuhnhausen, Wilson, et al.) specify pulling the trigger before letting go the slide to do this. I put a "death grip" on my trigger when doing this, so the finger position is maintained. Again, check the disconnector first.



It would really be unsafe to ruin the sear by dropping the slide continuously and have the thing slam fire or full auto because you let a little ledge that has .010" of contact surface get worn/peened until it wouldn't hold. It is safer to pull the trigger before dropping the slide because it keeps pressure on the sear (and maintains its position against the trigger bow) and can PREVENT slam fires and drops into half cock (which can become slam fires).



For standard 1911 triggers, the same applies, but there is more surface to work with and the battering takes longer, such that you might never have a problem.
 
B. Shipley-
Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on the finger on the trigger method of racking. :)

For my 3 Gunsite Customs and 1 Les Baer Custom, I still rack the way the factory and trainers teach...personally, I don't desire to "learn" two methods because then you don't have one that's "instinctive".

In any case, if the sear is so fragile that it can be screwed up so badly between cleaning/inspections, I'd imagine there'd be at least a dcouple of lawsuits out there. There's lots of 1911's on the market and I've not heard of one legal action.

As we say, YMMV. :)
Rich
 
I don't desire to either, so I carry a Glock.



I didn't just make this up, and you can look in Kuhnhausen's book, "The Colt .45 Automatic: a Shop Manual" for more. I also got a nice reprint from a Smith that had the advisement by Wilson that you hold the trigger to the rear when dropping the slide. I've had problems with 1911s dropping to 1/2 cock (which is why the lawsuits are few), but I don't trust it, particularly series 80 guns.



My Gold cup dropped to 1/2 cock every time I DIDN'T hold the trigger back upon releasing the slide.
 
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