Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Should a Glock do this?

I bought a new Glock 19 last week, it is a Gen 3. With the slide locked back I can load a full magazine and if I slap it in decently hard the slide will come forward and chamber a round without me touching the slide release or racking the slide. I have never heard of a Glock doing this, but admittedly I am new to the Glock platform. What say you guys? Something that needs to be fixed, or normal?

I never tried the 'slap' test before ... but I don't think your Glock should do that.

The slide lock actuates off the magazine follower. If you seat the magazine hard enough, many pistol designs will do the same thing.

I just went over to my Bosses office and asked check out his Glock 23 that he carries concealed, and it will do it too. I have to snap it a little harder than mine, but it will do it. Sounds like it is relatively normal then.

Interesting.... not neccesarily a BAd thing so long as one knows it is going to happen, I guess.

Just a suggestion:

I wouldn't make a habit of "mag-slamming" to drop the slide on a loaded magazine. It's not uncommon for the top round in the magazine to come loose and orient itself improperly towards the chamber - thereby causing a shooter induced malfunction. When this occurs the stoppage often resembles a stove-pipe with a loaded round.

Hold the slide release up when you slap the magazine. If the slide holds, either the 'nub' that contacts the follower is too big or the spring is too weak (or bent).

Thanks for the advice guys, I will take note.

M&Ps do this also, so S&W decided to take credit for this as a design feature.........at least according to the rep who taught our armorer's class. It does shave a little time off of a slide-lock reload, so I guess no harm, no foul.

My HK usp compct does this. It make it "Tacticool!!" when the young guys at the range are watching. LOL!

Heck even my "frankengun" Commander will do that if really positive force is used in seating the fresh mag. Both my Glocks will do it and the 19 don't have drop free magazines, it is a 2 pin gun.

One-hand loading a Glock:

All Glocks will do that if you slam a magazine in hard. I have seen it taught as a quick reloading tecnique but do not like it. The potential problems with doing it are:

1. It is possible, but quite unlikely, that the top round will either misfeed or that the slide will close before the magazine is fully inserted and the top round will not be fed.

2. Most shooters I have observed will instinctively rack the slide after it closes and will eject a round from the chamber, especially if they have been trained to "slingshot" the slide rather than use the slide stop.

3. If the magazine is only partially loaded, it is possible to displace the top round in the magazine when the follower spring is compressed by the inertia of the "slam", allowing some momentary slack between the rounds and the magazine lips. I have only seen this a couple of times, but the top round had reversed and was pointing the wrong way in one instance and in the other there was a problem that had been resolved by another instructor before I saw what exactly happened. The fewer rounds there are in the magazine, the more likely this is to happen.

Yes, you forcefully slapping the mag releases the slide release causing the slide to come forward.

The only auto I have used that won't do that is my Delta. And I find my Delta annoying for that reason.


Travis

It's part of a technique, actually. 45 degree palm heel.

It doesn't work on all guns and isn't 100% reliable, anyway, so I prefer to train to powerstroke.

My H&K P30 works like that.

I wish my Glock 30SF did that. With the dinky slide release lever it's easier for me to pull the slide back and let it go than to try to trip the slide release. It wastes a lot of time.

Do you compete, or are you just using it defensively?

Because if it's the latter, a powerstroke is a superior technique to using a slide release -- and also is good because it's a similar movement to your administrative load and a FTF/failure to go into battery malfunction clearance. But yeah, it gives you the most momentum and requires less fine motor skill, which is a good thing.

A power stroke or "slingshot" to release the slide does not take any more time when reloading than using the slide stop does, since your support hand is already right there after the magazine change. It is a surer method when under stress because of the gross motor skill vs. fine motor skill dynamic.