Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Releasing the slide.....

Left handed here.

For any handgun with a slide release lever, drop magazine with left trigger finger. Insert new mag with right hand. Drop slide with left trigger finger on slidecatchreleasetakedownpin as right hand moves back into support position. Resume shooting.

If the slingshot method is used, grasp rear of slide with thumb and curled forefinger of right hand, pull back and release.

Been doing that for 47 years and a bit late to change.

When TAK always talked about the dead man’s gun or whatever with the M9 where a person grasping the slide accidentally puts the safety on I always wondered how someone could do that, then realized he was talking about people wrapping their hand over the top of the slide so the thumb pushing down on the safety engages it. With thumb and forefinger the forefinger is curled around and under the safety so the only way it can pull is up which never engages the safety.

I forget which manufacturer, maybe Ruger for their Mk series .22’s or Kahr, advises in their manual to always use the slide release lever to drop the slide on a fresh magazine, never slingshot as the slide release method always results in more positive chambering of the round.


Just an addendum, but IIRC that slide release drop was how we were taught to do it in Army basic training. Those 1911’s we used for training had likely been in service since Korea and the slide notches were still working like they should.

Well said, and very true.

Thanks for all the replies...I hope it can remain "civil" as in much of life, there isn't just one "right" way to do things...and for those instructors who would smack someone for not using "THE" way, they have no business instructing.

As to terminology...in the Brownells catalog a 1911 slide release is called a "slide stop"...a Glock is called a "slide release". On a Ruger MKII/III it is a "bolt release". Which is kinda ironic because most people I know who are into 1911s use the part as a "release" whereas most people I know with Glocks slingshot. Both systems have extended "releases" so to say this part should not be used as such is silly.

Back when I started shooting combat style matches in the early 1970s everyone used the slide release. I believe the first change from using the slide release to slingshot was the SIG Academy. Reason being that the placement of the slide release being high up on he grip and very small contributed to many a student botching a reload. Glocks are in about the same place and about the same size.

If one carries a DA semi-auto like a Beretta 92, P38 or older S&W that has a hammer drop safety on the slide if using the slingshot method there is the possibility under stress of activating the safety in which case a shooter gets nothing but squish upon pulling the trigger. I have seen this happen about a half dozen times since I started firearms training in 1991.

And as has been pointed out, when one uses only the slingshot method, one a) turns a handgun into a handsgun and b) if ones support hand becomes unavailable to help with the reload one may balk...I have seen this happen in one handed reload training when a student who always loads slingshot would have to stop and look at his gun when just a thumb or index finger on the release would have send the slide home.

Great comments....Bob

I've have done demos with a S&W 6906 putting the safety on just grabbing the back of the slide right over the safety lever just pulling straight back.

It may be Kahr...I have a P380 and CW9...if I slingshot from a full mag it will FTF 50% of the time. The P380 was bought used and had a note inside the box from the original owner warning of this.

When I read that above post about some match shooters saying the slide stop notch would wear out I almost fell off my chair laughing...

Bob

Which is why I use the slide release and keep my hands away from the safety lever entirely.

Besides which, my other hand is holding my saber. IIRC the 1911 was originally intended for use by cavalry and infantry.

This depends on what pistol I'm using if i use the slide release or not.

FYI, if you plan on releasing the slide on a Kahr using the slide stop/slide release, you may want to dehorn that sucker a bit first. YMMV.

I tend to do what jim in idaho does, being left handed. I use my trigger finger to hit the mag release, right hand to reload, and sling shot the slide.
a couple of the pistols have strong enough springs just using a finger on the release would not cut it.
I have a beretta 92 that i reversed the mag release to the right side and didn't like it.

Just tried to use the slide stop on the CW9, no way my left trigger finger is strong enough to release that and I have to break my grip to hit it. If I were right-handed my thumb could work it without problem. Don't have that problem with larger autos...hmmmm.

Don't recall having failures to feed with either it or the K40 when slingshotting and there is no safety to knock off anyway so I'll continue with that method, I reckon. YMMV.

Really informative thread BTW, thanks for your insight, gents.

I agree.

To add to this, any instructor who insists that there is only one way to charge a pistol (his way) is more likely than not, not worth his creds. Quite frankly though, A truly gifted teacher of handgun shooting is about as rare as an honest politician.

I have seen literally hundreds of LEO/.mil/.gov instructors, the vast majority of whom, simply put, sucked.

Figuring out what teaching method (learning style) works for an adult learner is usually the first step, along with not being dogmatic in method of operation.

I have seen more guys than I care to remember recite a canned portion of lecture in rapid fire drill sergeant style, because they think it sounds cool, and makes them look cool, all the while completely losing a good portion of a class, who may be struggling with a portion of the lecture. The struggling students never get it figured out, and totally check out.

It usually goes like this :

"""AAAAAAWWL RIIIGHT! This Heeers the M240 BRAVO! It is a general-purpose machine gun. It can be mounted on a bipod, tripod, aircraft, or vehicle. The M240B is a belt-fed, air-cooled, gas-operated, fully automatic machine gun that fires from the open bolt position

The first step in maintenance is to clear the M240B This applies in all situations,not just after firing The gunner must always assume the M240B is loaded To clear the M240B, the gunner performs the following procedures:

Move the safety to the fire "F" position With his right hand, (palm up) pulls the cocking handle to the rear, ensuring the bolt is locked to the rear (bipod mode)Return the cocking handle to its forward position Place the safety on safe "S."
Raise the cover assembly and conduct the four-point safety check for brass, links, or ammunition Check the feed pawl assembly under the cover Check the feed tray Lift the feed tray and inspects the chamber Check the space between the face of the bolt and chamber to include the space under the bolt and operating rod assembly Close the feed tray and cover assembly and place the safety to the fire "F" position Pull cocking handle to the rear, and pull the trigger while manually riding the bolt forward. Close the ejection port cover.

THEENDANYQUESTIONS!?MOVINGON!"""


One long winded run-on sentence. The instructors are "cooler" if their ball cab is dirty and they have a big wad of chew in.



Back to the original topic, it simply depends on the activity I am doing, and what I am doing it with.

I use the slide stop (lefty, left index finger).

I don't buy the 'loss of motor skills' deal. To get to slide lock I have to have the presence to fire the pistol empty, then drop the empty magazine by pressing the release button, acquire a full magazine, index and insert the magazine to lock, then suddenly lose the ability to press the slide stop.

I don't think so.

When it's catching the slide, it becomes the "slide stop"; when I press it to drop the slide, it then becomes the "slide release".

Can't take this sh^it too seriously................

YMMV

MM

Potahto.

I always go over the top with my left hand. A little slower but it works with every semi auto that I'm aware of. Grip and rip as they say.

I usually do so after inserting a fresh clip.


Dave.

I go with what works for that shooter and platform they are using. I tend to go with a slingshot or slide release for two reasons. One, I tore a bunch of tendons in my left elbow which means squeezing over the top is tougher than a slingshot grip. Two, I have seen more jams and problems clearing weapons because the bottom of the palm is covering the ejection port and bouncing an empty or live round back into the action.

I have seen one out of battery detonation with a 1911 with grasping over the top, shooter was trying to clear the gun, bounced a live round back into the action and when he released the slide the ejector hit the primer. I am not saying this is the sole reason I dont do it but it has been on my mind.

As an instructor I have always felt it was my responsibility to give the student options and let them find the solution. I understand the concept of Hicks law overcoming someone under stress but on a sterile and low stress range environment they can examine the options and see what works best for them.

Funny thread.





Clark

If in a hurry, inserting the new mag and slamming it into position will often release the slide and make my gun ready. Otherwise, usually the overhand. Some situations might find me using a different technique, but the 2 I mentioned above covers a vast majority of the times.

Same here...seems to work.

Slingshot. It has always worked for me. I too have always believed that it was a stop, not a release. Just me.

I'll slingshot the slide when in the process of chambering a round from a magazine.

But when I release the slide on an empty chamber and magazine -
I'll grasp the top of the slide slowing its freefall as it slams home.

As to using the slide release lever on many of my pistols ...
I don't, as some seem to require excessive force to activate.

Maybe they just need breaking in - but I don't want to break something off!

- Moose