So how many times do you "rack" the slide unloading or checking a pistol

Drop the mag one rack check the chamber, you can rack the slide 100 times useless unless you check the chamber. I doint see the point of racking it more than once.
 
I don't understand this racking the slide 2 or 3 times. I pull it to the rear, letting the round hit the floor (or table if I'm holding it over a table), and hit the slide lock as I pull it back. With the slide locked to the rear, I then visually inspect and stick my pinky finger in there to "feel" it clear. The pinky finger thing is an old training scar from having to clear rifle chambers in the dark and you still can't see in with a flashlight from the angle.

What kind of gun do you have? It is generally not recommended on most guns to manually insert a round into the chamber. It causes undue wear on the extractor which is forced to jump over the cartridge rim. One is supposed to always load from the magazine.
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^^^ this is truth. Some pistols may suffer no ill effect and be ok, some not so much. Almost all semi-auto pistols are designed to be controlled feed and not push feed. Do as you wish and believe as you wish, but I would not make a habit out of dropping a round in the chamber and sending the slide home on it. You are working with the pistols design to load from the magazine. Were it a push feed chamber, knock your self out as it is designed to do that.
 
Thanks for backing me up on that. He seems pretty set on doing it his way instead of the right way. But you never know. If enough people chime in he may give it more thought.


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I drop mag
Rack
Lock open
Inspect
Then run the slide several times just to triple check no rounds come ejecting out
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I wonder at this...
Given the order named, just WHERE are any additional rounds going to come from????

Personally, I drop the magazine, then lock the slide back, on every gun I have that allows that manner of operation.

Some do not.

Not every gun one owns is a duty pistol class semi auto. Some pocket guns don't have a hold open feature, unless there is an empty magazine in place. Some don't have one at all.

I see nothing useful that multiple racking of the slide, on what should be an empty gun, does. If the chambered round doesn't come out the first time, because of some mechanical failure (broken extractor) what makes you think it will come out the 2nd, 3rd, or 25th time you rack the slide????

That is why a visual/tactile check is ALSO done.

I will also add my voice to the argument to not load by dropping a round in the chamber and letting the slide close on it. MANY designs are not made for this, including the original 1911A1s. It CAN cause damage, unless you have a gun made with a pivoting extractor. Those guns can handle it, but other designs are at risk when you do it.

The fact that you might get away with it for 20+ years without damage is simply a testament to the durability of the gun parts, and no guarantee that the NEXT time you do it, something won't break.

I have one semi auto which does have a pivoting extractor, and the owners manual still FORBIDS letting the bolt slam home on a loaded round in the chamber! Not because of the risk of damage to the extractor, but because of the risk of accidental discharge from the firing pin slamming into the primer!

(no, its not a duty class semi auto, so what??) Habits matter, and if you have more than just one design of firearm (and I do) one should only use those habits and practices that are safe in ALL of them.

otherwise, you are setting yourself up for a failure of some kind, or worse, an accident.

If a gun is meant to be fed from the magazine, FEED IT FROM THE MAGAZINE, otherwise you are abusing it, and risking damage.
 
"I wonder at this...
Given the order named, just WHERE are any additional rounds going to come from????"

Elves.

It might seem silly to some, but I'm never going to question someone doing multiple racks and chamber inspections after the magazine is out.

Is it overkill?

Probably.
But if it assures that the gun is safed AND reassures the individual doing it that the gun is truly safe, then it's just the right amount of kill, really.
 
My wife runs the slide like 15 times, drives nuts but its the way she was taught. Oh well. Myself, if finished unload and show clear, if clear slide forward, pull trigger and holster :D
 
It might seem silly to some, but I'm never going to question someone doing multiple racks and chamber inspections after the magazine is out.
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I mostly agree, "mostly" only because some folks give an appearance of substituting multiplicity for actually paying attention to the results of the chamber inspections. It is not enough to look - you have to actually see.
 
I mostly agree, "mostly" only because some folks give an appearance of substituting multiplicity for actually paying attention to the results of the chamber inspections. It is not enough to look - you have to actually see.
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Well said. Having a routine isn't bad until it allows carelessness. Multiple racking of the slide, without seeing the empty chamber may give the illusion of safety. That is dangerous.
 
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