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Thread: Use of slide lock is unsafe?

  1. #1

    Use of slide lock is unsafe?

    Hi,
    Had a safety question. While shooting at a range, I was told that when reloading a pistol I should not release the slide with the slide lock because it was unsafe and could cause the pistol to slam fire. I'd never heard this before. Is it true?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Who ever said that is a retard.

    Carry on using the part as it is intended

  3. #3
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    That's the first time I've heard that. I've got 36 years in the Army (active and reserve components) and have shot competitive pistol in bullseye, USPSA and IDPA.

    A 1911 with a poorly done trigger job will sometimes drop the hammer to half cock when the slide is released. Maybe if it's REALLY botched the hammer could go past the half cock notch and hit the firing pin. That would be due to a defective pistol, not an unsafe practice.

  4. #4
    Site Supporter Jay Cunningham's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlwaysLearning View Post
    Hi,
    Had a safety question. While shooting at a range, I was told that when reloading a pistol I should not release the slide with the slide lock because it was unsafe and could cause the pistol to slam fire. I'd never heard this before. Is it true?

    Thanks
    Maybe that thing can happen.

    But that thing almost never happens.

  5. #5
    Thank goodness for the infinite wisdom of the local range professionals.

    For crying out loud, what pistol even has a floating firing pin that is actually capable of a slam-fire? I have heard of it in SKS and FN rifles/carbines, but never a pistol so far.

    Edited: (SKS not AK)
    Last edited by cornstalker; 04-07-2019 at 09:25 PM.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter Norville's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duke View Post
    Who ever said that is a retard.

    Carry on using the part as it is intended
    This. Amazing what people will say.

  7. #7
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    If releasing the slide with the slide release/lock is unsafe, how’s it any more unsafe than releasing the slide manually by hand or the cyclic action from firing.

    If you have a floating firing pin it’s within the realm of possibility. Outside of riding the slide home with your hand, the slide release has a shortest slide travel distance, has less momentum and is safer by a statiscally insignificant margin.
    Last edited by txdpd; 04-07-2019 at 09:43 PM.
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  8. #8

    Thanks everyone

    Thanks everyone. I was pretty surprised by the instructions, but I've been out of the shooting game for some years (probably 7 or 8 years since I last took a class). I thought that perhaps something had changed recently, but it seems like that is not the case!

  9. #9
    Four String Fumbler Joe in PNG's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlwaysLearning View Post
    Thanks everyone. I was pretty surprised by the instructions, but I've been out of the shooting game for some years (probably 7 or 8 years since I last took a class). I thought that perhaps something had changed recently, but it seems like that is not the case!
    If you think about it, there's not a whole lot of difference in what the slide is doing if you hit the slide lock to release the slide, or pull the slide back back to release, or fire a round so that the action cycles normally.
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  10. #10
    What pistol? Some are not designed to be conveniently used as a slide release.

    ETA: But even on those it is not likely to result in a slam fire.
    Last edited by Drang; 04-07-2019 at 10:02 PM.
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