Some thoughts after reading the responses-
1. Skill level. Right off the bat let's go ahead and address this one. The average 10 year old playing Pee-Wee football is better at football than 99% of soldiers/Marines/police/agents are at shooting. I've worked at a couple of addresses whose duties included teaching and actually measuring the skill level of gun carriers using real standards.
Measuring pure accuracy, drawing, recoil control, target to target transitions, reloading, malfunction clearances and stress tests, etc; if a person does not belong to a national SMU, dedicated mil HR unit, or shoot USPSA/3-Gun/IDPA regularly- they will at best be barely mediocre. Even if they are in one of those organizations, if they don't shoot action competitions the best shooter that I have ever seen was in the high "D" low "C" class range for USPSA..... That ain't "good" nor close.
This isn't talking smack- it's reality. Very few ( like 4-5) organizations have the funding, latitude and institutional knowledge to produce measurably good shooters. Of those that do- EVERY SINGLE ONE uses GM ranked USPSA/3-Gun shooters to teach gun handling and marksmanship techniques.
2. Anything you do with your fingers is a "fine motor skill". The whole "grasping the slide is a gross motor skill" is complete and utter BS. Using the sights, pressing the trigger, hitting the mag release, and using the slide release are ALL the same. The reason that people can't hit the slide release under stress is because they are horribly, woefully untrained.
3. I can't think of an actual top level trainer or shooter that teaches anything other than using the slide release. "Top level trainer" being a world class action competitor and/or member of one of the very top mil/LE organizations that is also a top level competitor. Using an overhand or slingshot technique to reload is MEASURABLY slower. And since it is quite easy to teach someone to use the slides release under stress- they do.
I do so because of experience in combat. I did shoot competition, on a National level at one point, and I did Master the slide technique, for reducing times in competition, and I did carry that technique over, professionally, to use in combat.
The differences and applicability between the various competitions and sports can not be overstated... So in that vain- what "national level" skill did you achieve and in which venue?
]
But, just like techniques have evolved in clearing rooms, houses, and buildings, so have techniques for handling an Emergency Reload. Because of this, in real life, and in realistic drills, in and out of vehicles, rooms, houses, buildings, etc...I now use ONE technique, to address all administrative, malfunction, and emergency reloads...by using a Power Stroke, both 2-handed, and 1-handed.
Well yes, things do evolve... but not in the way that you've stated. Early in the war there was a huge rift between "combat" and "competition" in most of the military and LE communities. The only places where there wasn't was the very top level orgs as I stated above. As time went one there has been a trickle down effect with even "regular" special units are getting some training with the top guys. As it has went the gap between the shooting techniques the "combat" people are doing and what the "competition" people are doing has narrowed considerably. To the point that in some places USPSA GM's and 3-Gun competitors are running the programs... It makes sense. Shooting is shooting. The gun doesn't know whether it's being aimed at a piece of paper, steel or person- the only difference is the emotion that the shooter brings to the task.
The fastest most efficient techniques are the fastest most efficient techniques. Practice and train them until they are subconscious under stress and then don't worry about it.
]
But, when going head to head in a competition for time, I will switch to a slide lock for that particular match. But if being shot at, NO.
So you understand that one way is better, but choose to use a slower technique- why? Just train the better technique.
]
I do know some, fairly high speed pros, who still favor a slide lock on their personal combat pistol, but that number seems to be shrinking. But those guys are so in tune with their pistols, they can determine a malfunction in real-time, just from the sound and feel. In addition, it is rare for them to screw up, and find themselves in need of an emergency reload, as they can conduct tactical and speed reloads to avoid the slide locked back emergency.
There is nothing wrong with using the slide lock in combat, just realize, it does carry some baggage.
Being able to tell when you are at slide lock versus having a malfunction isn't "high speed", that's basic level skill. If a shooter can't tell when his gun has locked back by feel- they're not trained.
]
Also, for those who believe, that their heart rate will not go up, when bullets are flying in their direction, and those same people believe that they will not experience physiological changes as that rate goes up....Well then, I'm willing to wager that I can make you void your bladder with nothing more than a realistic simunition training drill that likely would overload your senses and have you overwhelmed. People screw up simple tasks just from peer pressure of being watched.
I shot around 14,000 sim rounds personally in 2016, and watched around 200,000 or so get shot by mates and others in training. Once a person has a solid skill level with the gun on the range, it takes about 4-5 focused and structured force on force evolutions to ingrain those skills- i.e. Sights, trigger, reloads.
