Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Slide lock or slide release?

Not sure if this will stir up the same controversy as hot/cold carry or, God forbid, blue tape vs. all other colors, but should a semi-auto pistol have a slide release or just a slide lock?

In the opinion of myself, God and John Moses (not necessarily in that order), a pistol should have a slide release. I will make exception for the tiniest pocket pistols but a real combat oriented pistol needs to have something that can feed a round from a fresh magazine with the use of only one hand. Never mind that it generally takes two hands to load a fresh magazine, but once done, you should not have to slingshot the pistol to load it. If you want to, that's fine, but you shouldn't have to.

Being left handed, this is a nit pick which has just about turned into a deal breaker for me on the S&W M&P. Their manual tells you to slingshot the slide, that the slide lock is not what that miniscule stamped metal part is for. The ambidextrous slide lock/release (gender confused, perhaps) will work to release the slide, at least that one on the left side of the pistol will but the one on the right side is apparently there for ornamental purposes only since it is nigh impossible to depress unless you have the finger strength of a teenage boy with a free PornHub account. And even that little nub of a thingamajig on the left is not the easiest thing to manipulate.

Which is frustrating because I like everything else about the M&P 2.0. My two examples are nicely accurate, the extra grips allow one to customize it to fit, and the trigger is very good - after some take up it breaks almost as nicely as a good SA trigger. You can even switch the magazine release to the opposite side, which I have done. But it is almost impossible to release the %^*#@! slide with the left thumb! Arrrgh.

A Glock Gen 5 has a nice ambi slide release, the one on the Sig P320 is better. And even on those antique 1911's and Beretta 92/M9's, the slide release on the left side only is an extended piece that positions itself under the thumb (or my index finger) and allows good leverage to easily release the slide. Even the little Sig P365 has a fully functional left side slide release.


So, on a semi-auto pistol do you call it a slide lock only or do you agree with God and JMB that it should also serve as a slide release? All comments are welcome, I want to keep a completely open mind and not try to influence anyone here...

I've always considered it a slide release and used it as such. Was never told to do it any other way - that is until youtube "operators" taught so many that their time as a cook in the Reserves qualified them to teach others about how to get out of "non-permissive" environments and thus - the overhand slingshot was what needed to happen.

I am just concerned about more bullet testing videos. Use the thingamajig as you see fit. It is your gun do as you wish
How about those bullet testing videos? Where are the bullets?
They should have just used a 9MM the Magnificent Farce and one shot would have been all it took.

I've always used the slide release but in a recent class we were instructed to use an over handed slingshot method for 2 reasons.

1. Muscle memory, helps with clearing a malfunction if that's the only way you do it.
2. Gross motor skills might be all you have in a stressful situation. Leading back to muscle memory, grabbing the slide with your off hand and pushing the pistol forward with your strong hand.

As for the 2.0 M&P's, the slide release does break in or you can work on the detent they added to stop auto forwarding when inserting a magazine. Personally, I liked it when all I had to think about was slamming a mag in and pulling the trigger.

I never bought the "gross motor skills" as a reason to overhand release the slide vs the JMB designed lever. I don't consider squeezing a trigger as sights line up a "gross motor skill" yet people are expected to perform that just fine under stress - relative to releasing the slide.

Since I never "slingshot" it is a slide release...

I rack the slide by grasping the top and pulling back while pushing the gun forward. I do this for the same reasons TWR expressed.
To me the slingshot method means pinching the back of the slide and pulling back (like a slingshot).
There are even rear slide attachments that can be added if you are into this retarded style of slide operation.
I seldom if ever use the slide release lever.
Shooting with my wife last weekend she kept trying to use the slide release on her Shield to no avail. I reminded her of the overhand rack as she had been trained. It was like a light went on.

Who would dare argue with Larry Vickers?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LmjakoWKwU

I use the "slide stop lever" (which is what Glock calls it) on my Glock 19, activated with my strong hand (right hand) thumb.

For 1911's, I release the "slide stop" (as named by St. John Browning), with my weak hand (left hand) thumb.

I used to slingshot everything but found it was a smidge slower.

I've never done the slingshot method, it seems foreign and slower to me. Of course, I mostly shoot 1911s and BHPs, so it's more natural to me to use that way, as a slide release


. I have an M&P, too, but seldom shoot it much. I'm right handed, but usually work the slide release with my left thumb. It just works better for me that way. My M&P is an older one, a police trade-in, and still pretty tight. It's "okay" but has no character, like all the plastic-framed pistols, in my mind, anyway.

Slide Slammer

Does it have the contact point textured on the bottom or the top? If the top, then slide release.

And the slide doesn't slam when the pistol is functioning properly? I don't drop the slide on an empty chamber, but when I'm shooting, I don't do that with an empty magazine, either.

I'll see your Larry Vickers and raise you a Jim Wilson.

It's a slide stop, not a slide release.

I'll see your Larry Vickers and raise you a Jim Wilson.

It's a slide stop, not a slide release.

[/quote]



Yeah, the good (retired) Sheriff has a lot of real world experience and I respect that, I always enjoyed his writing.

But he ain't in the same league as Vickers.

Another great vid, this one from John Lovell, Warrior Poet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3NBGH5TMgs

Know and use both/either as needed. Don't lock yourself into a box... be versatile/flexible.


(Oops, just watched the videos... hopefully my post wasn't a spoiler for anyone.)

Release.

I always question authority - I want to know why they recommend what they recommend. In some instances someone will adopt a technique and since they are subject to the same ego and pride as any other human, recommend their way as the best and then find rationalizations to back it up. OR - perhaps they are used to training non-gun enthusiasts who aren't going to really practice much so they need a one size fits all approach.

It's like the guy who told me X brand trucks suck, never ever ever buy an X brand truck - and he should know since he was an expert in brands X, Y Z and a few others. So I asked him why, and his response was that they don't come in any color he liked. Point is, ask the reasoning behind someone's recommendation and then judge for yourself if that reason is something you can use. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

I'd say go with what suits you. For some 51 years now a semi-auto pistol to me meant a 1911 or a Ruger Mk of some kind. From age 16 when my Dad bought a Colt Gov't Model I learned to use my index finger to release the magazine and then to reach up and drop the slide with that same finger. Slingshotting a Ruger Mk pistol means pinching the ears with the thumb and second joint of the index finger, not reaching over the top. Same same with any pistol now, I use thumb and forefinger if I want to use that method at all. Up until this year my only other centerfire auto was a Beretta 92FS and I can operate that the exact same way as the 1911's I used for so long. Grabbing the whole slide on that really risks activating the decocker and safety, if my thumb and forefinger contact the decocker at all they are pulling up on it.

To me using the lever attached to the protusion that engages the slot in the slide is a faster method since I can be re-acquiring my grip simultaneously, second fastest is the slingshot with thumb and forefinger since the arm and hand have to travel less distance to re-acquire the grip. To someone else maybe a totally different way works best.

Now since the nice pistol manufacturers have begun putting a metal nub on the right hand side of their products, and allowing the magazine release button to be moved over as well, I've been practicing using my thumb to release the mag and drop the slide. The right side mag release is definitely nicer, as is the right side whatever you want to call it on a Glock G5 and a Sig P320. With a full magazine they disengage the slide easily and I'm ready to go. The S&W bugs me because I'd like to use that as well but the right side WYWTCI is practically useless.

There is a definite advantage in finding one method and then sticking with it, that's what caused me to sell or put away four pistols with different controls and different trigger actions and go with totally striker fired, ambidextrous pistols.




Fwiw, I did buy an X brand truck and it was a wonderfully reliable vehicle for the 13 years I owned it.

I’m spoiled to the slide release. Both of my semis have the release and it’s natural.

That’s not counting my Ruger Mk II, SS 22. It’s in a different use category to me.

Jerry

Im still worried about them videos. Are where are Them videos of the bullet tests

For me it's most important function is as a slide stop. To clear the gun you drop the mag, lock the slide to the rear, visually and digitally check the magwell and chamber for clear. On the reload I prefer to use it as a slide release but w/ my small hands I am also comfortable with releasing the slide w/ an overhand grip. I have stair tape on the top and sides of my slide to add friction. Using it as a slide release is faster but being comfortable w/ all methods is sensible.


mike r

I use it as a slide release on all of my pistols that have one.

I have usually used the release. However a friend in Texas that works at a range advises to use the slingshot method on Glocks especially. He has seen broken ones and replaced the slide releases on a couple. He is even a Glock fan.

Now on my G44 I found that using the release will cause it not to feed, so I use the slingshot method.

Pressing down on the slide stop of Glocks will impart wear to them as the slide has a sharp edge (steel) and the slide stop is aluminum.
Best method is to replace magazine is to pull slide slightly to the rear and release. If you need to lower the slide on an empty chamber, remove magazine, pull slide to rear slightly and then depress the slide stop while allowing the slide to come forward.

????? says who?


mike r

I noticed on the MAC review he was told the same thing about the 44. I have a feeling it allows a shell that is not sitting quite right in the magazine to pop in place and feed better. The last 3 rounds of those mags are crucial to letting the gun work correctly. Just something to think about.

I do whatever the manual says to, unless that doesn't work well. AL-U-minny-um is a poor choice of material for either, IMO.

I'm not trying to be combative; I just want to sort out the accuracy of that information:

I've seen this type of advice/caution passed around on the internet for 10+ years but I have never seen or even heard about a Glock slide stop lever getting worn out due to using it by simply pressing down on it to release the slide.

I can't say how many mag changes I have on my extended slide stop lever (can't recall exactly when I installed it), but it's enough that I'd notice some wear by now if it was going to happen. Additionally, as I sit in my chair in the evenings, I typically practice mag changes for a couple minutes as I dry fire. I use the slide stop lever then, also without babying the slide. I just inspected my slide stop lever, and the black finish is worn off, but the metal itself appears undamaged. Here are the pics from 2 minutes ago:






I suppose if/when it does wear out, I'll spend the $10 and get a new one.

The slide stop is aluminum?

Wasn’t an implication. I was just being goofy.

Agree with you, God, and John Moses. Slide release.

Left handed here, too. So, I understand exactly what you're talkin about.

I saw what you did there..

Good one.

I've read the posts and they are very interesting. I use both methods and feel everyone should be able to. Mostly I use it as a slide stop, but for a different reason...maybe. Beside the fact that I can't reach most of them easily, without an extended one, is old age and arthritis makes it difficult to work most of them. Not being a high speed low drag kinda guy, I use whatever works. I still shoot bowling pin and use the slingshot method as I can use my whole hand and don't have to change my grip, which I feel important. It might be a tad slower on the reload, but I'm faster on back target.
I do use it as a slide release at times and I'm glad that the choice is there. As people age you adapt and change to stay in the game.

No question about it - the lever you push with a finger or thumb is a slide release. If a shooter was determined to forever sling shot the slide he could file off the lever and the slide lock would remain.

If one of the Illuminated Illuminati was going to do a bullet test with their semi auto would they use the slide stop/release or would they slingshot release the slide when they started their barrage of firing as they fling bullets at said animal?
After firing with the sound of a machine gun ripping off rounds a reload would be needed.
Then after an autopsy maybe there would be some bullets shown and critiqued.
Unless the animal was shot with a 9MM the Magnificent Farce then there would be no animal left after one shot. It would be vaporized.

Hmm

so is it a magazine release or a magazine lock
or safety release or a safety lock

was taught at Gunsight that the slingshot method was an Israeli thing. because they didn't have enough of the same types of guns to distribute, and had to use so many different types, that the "slingshot" worked for all.

also don't shoot dry, thats what a tactical reload was for. saving the mag, of course for later and consolidation.

loading mag, loading done with slide forward, hand over slide and "cycle" a round in feeling for lock up, reducing noise, and reasserting if necessary with a "press-check" or a "john wick" one handed press check depending on what the other hand was doing at the time.

If for some reason the slide was locked back (mostly 1911s) never drop the slide without holding the trigger back, to disconnect the sear, so as not to ruin a good trigger job.

That's crazy.

I sorta struggle with this and simply saying - I don't know here but why would I ever remove a magazine that's definitely working and feeding ammo and replace it for one I don't know for sure will?

Now - I get it, test before needed under duress and all that but it's still a bit of an unknown what may or may not have happened to that magazine between "life is good" and "holy chit - I need to return fire" - did you fall down, roll around, get mud/dirt in there etc. Did something happen since the last time you used that mag? How long ago was that?

I don't know - just something I wonder about.

A lot of the Gunsite dogma has been replaced over the years w/ actual experience based techniques gained by expert users since 9/11 and w/ the fierce evolution resulting from competition. "tactical reloads" are a good skill to have but few people can count rounds in a stressful, fast moving situation. Replacing a partially spent mag w/ a freshy is a good idea when in a "safe" place prior to moving into an unknown or hostile space.


mike r

Blue is one of those radical young guys who don't finger their triggers until their sight are on an identified target, whippernappers!

mike r

This is the sequence gun and shooter do every time the gun is fired and it cycles.

It is used by a lot of bulleyse shooters who don't want to damage a very light trigger,

It was recommended by some pistol smiths when you got your new comp gun, (Wilson, Pachemyer, Clark) before IPSC was taken over by the gamers.

I don't care if you do it or not.

whether gamer mentality (technic) is superior as far as day to day carry would probably depend more on the person.

If you shoot IDPA or local matches that require a "tactical" reload you may want to practice them. Duh.

Okay, I gotta ask. You're in the middle of a stage or gun fight if it's a bad day and you run to slide lock. So you insert a new mag and press the trigger while hitting the slide release ending up with a dead gun (1911) at best?

Surely I'm misunderstanding what you said.

I saw Hackathorn say not to let a 1911 slide slam on an empty chamber cause it ruins a trigger job but I can't grasp what you're saying here.

guns dead only as long as you stand there and look at it.

as the mag is inserted and slide release press, gun is coming into sight picture (the definition will surely change for a gamer) trigger finger starts off trigger and either held straight out, mean time disconnector has picked up sear, gun goes hot

empty chamber can cause the most damage, but the interia against trigger mechanism is still present although less because slide slowed down a bit picking up the round from the mag.

There's is another reason to use the slide release...by always using the slingshot method you turn a handgun into a "handsgun".

In the classes I have run can't tell you the number of times I've seen students doing a one handed disabled reload during a blind scenario either stare at the gun for a second before realizing they need to use the slide stop or try to slingshot the slide with part of their body/clothing trying to catch the rear sight... The last one who did it last summer I asked, why didn't just use the slide release... He realized then he was so ingrained in using the slingshot method he didn't even remember it was there....

When I do a lockback reload at speed, my primary hand never changes grip. When the mag is slammed home with the support hand, as it rolls up into the support grip the left thumb simply pushes down on the on the release. And I start shooting. I teach "slingshot" as method #3, not #1.

The Israelis teach a slingshot reload because it flows naturally with their carrying with an empty chamber method...

From what I saw the SIG Academy was the first to start teaching slingshot...why, because their slide release button is so small and ergonomically out of place it is easily missed by many people. Same with Glocks.

Color me simple but I am stuck on when it is OK to put your finger inside the trigger guard unless prepared to shoot. The entire reloading sequence should be complete prior to doing this.


mike r

Just so everyone else who's reading doesn't get the wrong impression, what you described would get you immediately disqualified from a USPSA match.

Rule 10.5.9 (Match Disqualifications)
Failure to keep the finger outside the trigger guard during loading, reloading, or unloading.

Except during the firing sequence the pistol is pointed at the target. During the reload sequence it's not.

Got it!

And just to be clear, under stress, I can see the trigger being pulled at the wrong time allowing the hammer to follow the slide home at best or the gun firing at worst. To me it's just a bad habit to get into cause things do happen.

But my 1911 trigger isn't so light that it's gonna mess with anything either, when I run to slide lock, I'm gonna get it back in action the quickest way I can.

"And just to be clear, under stress, I can see the trigger being pulled at the wrong time allowing the hammer to follow the slide home at best or the gun firing at worst"

.....can't happen...there is a small part called the disconnector which prevents that very thing from happening... Hold the trigger back when dropping the slide and nothing will happen until the trigger is released and it resets...

It's just the same when one fires the gun...the trigger is still to the rear when the slide finishes cycling...

Some of my triggers are in the 3-3.5# range... I never drop the slide with any 1911 empty except during a match when it is basically required. The 4-6 times it has to be done in one day isn't going to kill anything...that and it is only the REALLY light trigger jobs that don't have very much engagement surface that are effected. Simple solution is just ease the slide down with ones off hand...no bad habits to pick up...

It’s a terrible idea.

Thanks Blue, I can still be embarrassed to be a boomer. JFC it is 2020 guys, do a reality check and quit making old guys look like Joe Biden.


mike r

Slide-locks are very useful when clearing stoppages. If you don't like to worry about pulling slide back or depressing slide-lock you can always get a gun that closes slide when mag is inserted. Examples are old Mauser HSC or Heckler & Koch .380acp.

Carrying with an empty chamber,----- now thats a terrible idea.

next time I need to use my gun, Ill wait until the RO yells load, and make ready.. ROFLMAO

hahahahahahahahahahahaha