skeletonized slide

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skizzums

New member
has anyone here skeletonized their own pistol slide? what are the downsides to doing so? I understand I will be weakening the slide, but will it cause malfunctions from changing the weight? will I need to be changing out springs or anything if I do so?

I ask because I have a cheap cz clone that is beat to crap, and I was considering doing it just for fun. I have a pretty nice mill and it look like it would be only a somewhat difficult job. and if I screw up, im only out a 300 dollar pistol

I see this done to race glocks all the time, but don't know what else it entails other than cutting holes in it.


maybe just something simple like this
 
The reduction of the slide weight will make the slide faster and may cause feeding problems.It certainly will add wear and tear to the gun. Heavier springs will help some but there are limits to what you can do.
 
Stiffer springs may accelerate the wear. Especially on a Witness that has to stop all that slide velocity returning to battery with their somewhat fragile slide stop pins.

Glocks have pretty heavy slides. Witnesses have pretty light slides.

I wouldn't.


It's funny that the Beretta favored by competitors has a heavier slide than standard.
 
well, I reckon ima "Just Do It!®"

I have to mill out a lower next weekend, so ill do this is the process. im going to skeletonize the slide, cut the beaver-tail and round the front of trigger guard, should be a "blast"
 
all kinds of stupid in anything but a range gun

As a test platform I suppose you could make a case for it. But, still......
 
Seems like a lotta work just to let more dirt and grime into the inner workings of a gun that is known to be very reliable.
 
Sorry. If I was a machinist is with access to that sort of gear there would be so many projects lined up that I wouldn't have time to drill holes in someone else's gun design.

Those of us who don't share you excitement are probably both feeling like it is a shame to potentially ruin a nice gun, and that it isn't necessarily an attractive alteration.

I'm sure there are lots of folks who like this aesthetic and will cheer you on.
 
I would just have it refinished myself... But if you want to try it, go for it. Its your pistol, and you are the one who wants to experiment.
 
Pistols for me are to have fun with, I'd say go for it and play. What the heck, you can have a good experience with your experimentation, and it's not like you are going to lose much if the whole thing goes south on you.
 
Issues with skeletonized slides:

1) more exposure to dirt
2) reduced mass
3) reduced weight

The reduced weight means the slide will travel faster. Check for hyperfunction.
 
how would one check for "hyperfunction"? but that is my biggest concern, I don't care about dirt and am not concerned with critically weakening the slide, but how will changing the weight affect the reliability
 
skizzums said:
I see this done to race glocks all the time, but don't know what else it entails other than cutting holes in it...
Click to expand...

I know you've seen it on Glocks, but have you seen it on CZs or CZ clones? If not, you might want to find out WHY NOT...

Do a GOOGLE search for "CZ RACE GUNS" and then select IMAGES." When you see cuts at all, they are on the optic mounts; those optic mounts aren't stressed parts.

The Glock slide is a much different piece of metal than the CZ clone slide. But, that doesn't mean that other changes on that "sculpted" slide weren't also made to those Glocks to compensate for the changes in the slide.

As noted above, little things like cycling will change -- which may require mods to the recoil components and mags. For examle, if that slide moves faster, it may not be able to strip off the next round as it should. And, as RX-79G noted, the slides stop of the CZ clones may be the weakest part of the CZ pattern design, and that slide slamming forward with extra force may lead to premature slide stop breakage.

Cut away.. and you might just be junking a gun that you can still sell. The cuts will, perhaps, look good to you but will just cause potential buyers to turn away. I might buy a clone, but I sure wouldn't buy one that someone has "bubba'd" for not reason other than looks.

You'll also find it hard to replace that reworked slide -- for while Witness slides are available separately, the new ones are made for the LARGE frame Witnesses. I've been a CZ enthusiast since the late 90's and I can tell you: finding a used CZ clone slide is difficult.
 
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Apples and Oranges here, Beretta has been making an open top slide for a long time. They have a lot od R&D involved which is the one thing you are lacking. How much are you willing to invest in replacement slides as you R&D this adventure???:eek::cool:
 
I reckon I'm willing to invest the value of an already beat up cheap gun. But know I am reconsidering, mainly because of where he front sight pins in, I wouldn't be able to make any cuts on pretty much the first inch of the slide. I also didn't want to come too.close to the ejection port, so it really only leaves about an inch of area to work with, which would be kind of silly. So I guess I am just going to round the trigger guard and trim a little of the beaver tail. It is in bad need of refinishing anyways, going to see if I can find a auto shop locally that will bead blast the frame and slide for me and do a DIY cerakote.

Have any of you done a cerakote yourself, is a bead blast absolutely needed? Or is there another method for prep?
 
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