SWAT Mag Article

[Hambo]

There's no slide release lever on a HK P7.

If you're grabbing the slide on a P7 to release it, you're wasting time and movement.

[JAD]

If you're grabbing the slide on a P7 to release it, you're wasting time and movement.

I’m sympathetic to elements of his argument, so not to put words in his mouth but I think he might say that commonality of method is more valuable than speed or efficiency of a technique that has very little practical value.

I personally agree with the last part but not the first. People who worry about commonality have too many guns.

[Hambo]

I’m sympathetic to elements of his argument, so not to put words in his mouth but I think he might say that commonality of method is more valuable than speed or efficiency of a technique that has very little practical value.

I personally agree with the last part but not the first. People who worry about commonality have too many guns.

I think the whole topic is mainly a selling point for articles. The P7, which I loved and hated, combined the slide release with the lever that has to be squeezed to in order to fire. Doing anything other than squeezing the lever and driving on is ridiculous. In the era when I mostly shot the P7, and 1911 less, I used the appropriate method of slide release on each without ill effect.

[23JAZ]

I too use the slide release when I need to. I run a Gen 4 G19 left handed and it is still notably faster than grabbing the slide. Also, and I’m sure I’ll get tard and feathered for this one but, my 19 does this great thing IMO. When I put a little extra force when inserting the mag the slide automatically drops. Yes I know it’s not “properly” functioning but over thousands and thousands of reloads it’s never caused an issue and damn it’s fast!

[blues]

Same here. In fact, using the slide requires more thought than just hitting the slide release.
I asked about this in my first pistol class and the instructor said use whatever is more natural (paraphrasing, I don't recall the exact wording), so I have stayed a dirty slide release user.

Chris

Perhaps we should start a support group.

[23JAZ]

Perhaps we should start a support group.

DSRU Anonymous does have a good ring to it.

[mtnbkr]

Perhaps we should start a support group.

Works for me. I'll bring a hot bowl of...chips and salsa.

Chris

[That Guy]

The only method that works for all semi-automatic guns (at least the guns I've fired) is to reach over the top and pull back on the slide. If I want to train one method that will work 100% of the time, without having to think what gun happens to be in my hand and how it works, then I will use the pull back the slide method.

With a gun that has a slide mounted decocker and safety, using the overhead grip without being mindful of the safety's presence may lead to accidentally activating the safety...

Every type of firearm is a bit different. In order to shoot one pistol well, you inevitably need to adapt your shooting technique for that firearm. Grip size and length differences, trigger pull differences, different location of controls mean how you grip the gun, the placement of your trigger finger on the trigger, etc. may change between one gun and another. The solution to this dilemma is to focus on how to use your chosen type of firearm as efficiently as possible, and to stop switching guns all the time. If you need to be equally efficient with a Glock or a P7 because you don't know which one you'll end up grabbing at 2 A.M., that's the root problem and not the different slide releases between the two pistols.

[rob_s]

Not sure if I'm explaining myself right. Squeezing the grip on a P7 will release the slide. There is no slide stop lever on the P7. You *can* reach over the top and pull back on the slide to release it. It is slower to pull back on the slide to release it compared to squeezing the grip.

On a Glock, you cannot release the slide by squeezing the grip. You must either pull back the slide or hit the slide stop lever.

The only method that works for all semi-automatic guns (at least the guns I've fired) is to reach over the top and pull back on the slide. If I want to train one method that will work 100% of the time, without having to think what gun happens to be in my hand and how it works, then I will use the pull back the slide method.

If I were competing in a match where fractional seconds mattered, I would use the fastest method to release the slide, which is squeezing the grip on the P7 or using the the slide lever on a Glock. In the case of a competitive match, I'd have a few minutes to think about what I'm doing, run it dry, mentally visualize every hand movement. It would be no problem at all for me to use the squeeze to reload the P7 or the slide lever to reload the Glock.

If I am woken up in the middle of the night at 2am from a deep sleep, I want to have ingrained as my instinctual mode of operation, the thing that works 100% of the time. For my situation, I prefer to default to the slightly slower 100% fool-proof method, and in my back pocket, if I had time to prepare and visualize, and time mattered, I would use the faster method.

It's not a Herculean task to use the fastest method as long as you either only own that one gun and never shoot anything else or you have full cognitive abilities and have preparation time to get into the proper mindset. I might be dumber and less coordinated than the average bear, so I stick to the thing that always works so at 2am, that's what my body defaults to.

There’s an easy fix for al of that....

Stick to he Glock.

[BigT]

Genuine question, if commonality uber alles is a massive concern, why have different pistols? If that's the approach you choose then you really should only ever be shooting one gun, possibly in different sizes.

I think shit like that is overblown personally and use and recommend the slide stop even between different pistols. but if you're that concerned about having no cognitive ability under stress, then you shouldn't have a collection of guns you should have an armoury of them (with apologies to Chuck P for stealing his concept)