Loaded Mag, Slide Locked Back, Ready To Go. Is This A Good Idea?

[BCG]

I have two friends who store their home-defense handguns

- loaded magazine inserted in the gun

- with the slide locked open

Their rationale is that, in the event they hear something go bump in the night, they can simply hit the slide-release and be good to go.

One of them also recommended this to his girlfriend, who is a newbie looking to buy a handgun.

While this doesn't seem like a good idea to me, I kept my mouth shut because

- I couldn't think of any rationale and convincing arguments against it, and

- I didn't want to contradict my friend in front of his girlfriend.

What, if any, are reasons folks should not store their home-defense pistols this way?

[GyroF-16]

I have two friends who store their home-defense handguns

- loaded magazine inserted in the gun

- with the slide locked open

Their rationale is that, in the event they hear something go bump in the night, they can simply hit the slide-release and be good to go.

One of them also recommended this to his girlfriend, who is a newbie looking to buy a handgun.

While this doesn't seem like a good idea to me, I kept my mouth shut because

- I couldn't think of any rationale and convincing arguments against it, and

- I didn't want to contradict my friend in front of his girlfriend.

What, if any, are reasons folks should not store their home-defense pistols this way?

I guess what I wonder is “What is the ADVANTAGE of this arrangement?”

If one doesn’t want a chamber-loaded gun sitting there, keep the magazine out, or insert it with the slide forward on an empty chamber.
But it would seem objectively better to have the gun loaded (chambered) and properly secured.

I can see a disadvantage when using a TDA hammer-fired gun (Beretta, Sig, etc), as releasing the slide results in a cocked, SA gun. (Probably not what one wants, unless committed to shooting a known threat).
For striker-fired guns, not an issue. But I still don’t see what is gained with this method.

[CDW4ME]

If one is uncomfortable with having a pistol with a chambered round they are better off with a revolver. (said by somebody who doesn't carry revolvers)

[claymore504]

While I can't really come up with an immediate reason this is not a good practice, I have to wonder why you would even do it to begin with. Most of my procedures are focused on the reality that I have 4 kids in my house. Therefor, guns stayed locked in a safe, unless on me. If they do not have kids to worry about, I do not see why they would not keep the gun loaded and ready to go. If kids are the reason then I think that method is not the right answer at all. Having the slide forward would be a much better idea. If a child does get one of those guns, half the work of loading it is done. All they have to do is get lucky and hit the slide release.


When people stor guns in odd ways, like this, it usually comes down to they do not feel comfortable having a loaded gun in the house which points to a need for training. They do not have full in depth knoweledge of how that gun works and what it takes to actually fire. They need to stop thinking of ways to stor the gun and seek out quality training.

[blues]

To me, it introduces the possibility / probability of error or malfunction at a time of potential high stress...which is exactly the wrong time for such an event.

As others have mentioned, either train until the comfort level is there with the firearm...or find another method or firearm.

[Jim Watson]

I think chambering the top round from slide lock (or condition 3) is more subject to malfunction than the gun firing and cycling. I have seen a lot of guns that had to be spoon fed that first round but then shooting just fine.
I would not consider it a reliable state of readiness vs a normally loaded gun.
My house gun is DA-SA, ready for the crunch-tick.

[LockedBreech]

One bad quality I can think of is that it keeps the chamber open to dust and debris which, over time, could make a malfunction during feeding more likely.

Moreover, it just speaks to a general ignorance about the safety features of modern guns, which are every bit as safe when a round is chambered. Ignorance about safety features naturally makes me think they aren't practicing enough - guns get a lot less mysterious and scary when you learn to operate one dirty, clean, cold, hot, calm or under time pressure.

As someone else noted also, the worst possible time to complete an unfamiliar motion (dropping into battery then immediately into firing) is when you are clumsy and filled with adrenaline. As an example, almost every gun I own has a pretty easy thumb-actuated slide release, but a few (like the Ruger EDC9 I had my fiancee carrying before her P365) does not work like that, you have to pull the slide back.

If they're going to store it that way, they should be practicing that way, but if they practiced more, they'd realize they don't need to store it that way...

That being said, I understand not wanting to nitpick a friend. I have a very safety conscious friend with kids who keeps his manual safety and magazine safety equipped gun stored separately from his magazine out of a hyper-abundance of caution regarding his kids. Gun in a pistol safe by the bed, magazine hidden in some sheets on the top shelf of his closet. Ideal? Far from it. But I don't nitpick because at least I was able to convince him of the necessity of having SOMETHING in the house in case someone tries to break in.

[pangloss]

I keep my bedside pistol with a full mag inserted and the chamber empty. If I reach for the pistol in the middle of the night and grab it wrong, nothing happens. If the slide was locked back and you reached for the pistol in a hurry in the dark, it's entirely possible that you could smash a finger by releasing the slide without a proper grip on the pistol.

Staging the pistol in Safariland ALS holster seems like a much better plan than keeping the slide locked back on an empty mag.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

[idahojess]

I agree with what everyone has posted so far.

The most rationale, reasonable answers I could provide is that:
(1) in the stress of the event, the gun could fail to go into battery, and then you have a malfunction
(2) complicated manipulations should not be performed under stress, especially by those who sound like they do not have great training (what if the shooter has their finger on the trigger while dropping the slide?).
(3) the gun isn't by any means, "safe" in that condition.
(4) It's better to just be trained to have a loaded gun, remove it from its safe if needed, and use it safely. Or alternatively, a loaded magazine next to an unloaded gun in a safe, if necessary, that the shooter is trained to load and make ready.


The magazine in a locked back gun setup sounds like an end run for proper training and finding a gun that works for the shooter/owner.

[Ichiban]

And for the uber tactical Timmy - the noise of the slide slamming home will give away your position.

On the other hand, it might have the same effect as racking the slide on a pump shotgun is supposed to have.