1911 dropping the slide on a live round

[Spiffy]

I saw on channel 6 last night some footage of a man dropping the slide on a bobtailed 1911 when they were talking about the guns in bars bill. Anyone else see it? Any one else think "They shouldn't have done that".

[timcalhoun]

Well, if it is a traditional extractor you can ruin the tune on it for sure. Bottom line there is no good reason to do this. The same idiot will wonder why at some point he starts to have FTE issues.

[Chucktshoes]

Why wouldn't you do that? Isn't it the same as when the gun cycles after firing?

Edited May 7, 2010 by Chucktshoes

[timcalhoun]

Why wouldn't you do that? Isn't it the same as when the gun cycles after firing?

No. When the gun cycles the rim of the round cams under the claw and then the breach face pushes the round in.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Im confused....are you saying he had a full mag and dropped the slide or that when the slide was open he inserted a round and hit the slide release?

[Chucktshoes]

Im confused....are you saying he had a full mag and dropped the slide or that when the slide was open he inserted a round and hit the slide release?

I think I might be too. I took it as he dropped the slide on a full mag. If not, then yeah, dumb.

[Erik88]

I always drop the slid on my semi's. I didn't know this hurt anything?

[timcalhoun]

I always drop the slid on my semi's. I didn't know this hurt anything?

I think we need clarification from the OP as to what exactly he saw.

If you put a round in the chamber and then slam the slide home on a 1911 with a traditional extractor you can mess up the tuning of the extractor. If the 1911 has an aftec or something that uses a spring for the tension on the round then it's way less of an issue.

When in slide lock with nothing in the gun and you release the slide, most times you wont hurt anything. But if it is not your gun then I consider it rude and you should walk the slide down even if it is a glock. A 1911 with a light trigger job it is particularly important not to do this because the hammer and sear will bounce off of each other and with habitual frequency you will reduce the life of a good trigger job.

[Guest Straight Shooter]

Its always been bad form to drop the slide on an empty chamber.

Col.Jeff Cooper would would sternly admonish his students and anyone else for doing it. Matter of fact, it was in his Rules of the Range not to do it, even with pistols like the Glock, which it does not hurt to do so. On 1911's, its hard on the gun. Dont do it.

[Mike.357]

I saw this too.

The guy on camera dropped a round into the tube through the slide, released the slide onto the round, then inserted a mag into the pistol.

[TGO David]

I saw this too.

The guy on camera dropped a round into the tube through the slide, released the slide onto the round, then inserted a mag into the pistol.

Ah. So what you're saying is that the media found yet another dumb ass to make the rest of us look bad. Gotcha.

[Guest Tiny G]

There is a lot of confusion on how to carry +1 . . . I've seen this happen many times.

[Magiccarpetrides]

ahh i get it now...thanks for the clarification.

[Guest cheez]

Well I reckon I am a dumbass because I have done this on every semi auto pistol I have ever owned. Never has hurt a thing. I bet I am not the only one who does this either.

[Magiccarpetrides]

Well I reckon I am a dumbass because I have done this on every semi auto pistol I have ever owned. Never has hurt a thing. I bet I am not the only one who does this either.

lol your not alone....but i typically dont...very rarely have I...I just prefer to rack one from the mag first.

[Guest Plainsman]

Well I reckon I am a dumbass because I have done this on every semi auto pistol I have ever owned. Never has hurt a thing. I bet I am not the only one who does this either.

Its your Kimber Ultra CDP II. If you wish to potentially mess with the tuning on the extractor of your $1000 1911, then have at it! The reasons for not doing so have already been stated more than once in this thread alone.

[Guest Jamie]

If you happen to have one of the older Hi-Powers like mine, with the old internal extractor, you can snap the head off the extractor by dropping the slide on a loaded chamber.

Now, the extractor for it isn't hard to replace, but they're getting harder and more expensive to find. :-\

I'd avoid dropping the slide on a loaded chamber of a 1911 for the same reasons. Granted, it may only bend the extractor rather than break it... but still, who needs a gun that don't work right?

J.

[laktrash]

I'm also confused Its alright to let the slide slam if there's no round in the chamber and you're feeding from magazine. But if you have round in the chamber you should ride the slide up or just don't do it at all. correct ?

[Guest Spurhunter]

Well I reckon I am a dumbass because I have done this on every semi auto pistol I have ever owned. Never has hurt a thing. I bet I am not the only one who does this either.

I will show my support and second your first portion of response....

[Guest rsgillmd]

There is a lot of confusion on how to carry +1 . . . I've seen this happen many times.

Nobody ever taught me anything specific. For my Sig I'll chamber the first round from the magazine. Then I'll release the magazine and insert an extra bullet to replace the one I used.

[timcalhoun]

But if you have round in the chamber you should ride the slide up or just don't do it at all. correct ?

Don't do it at all. Most all handgun extractors are designed for the round to cam up under the extractor.

As I said before, with a spring assisted extractor it is not that big of a deal (I still say don't do), but with a traditional 1911 extractor you are really adjusting the extractor to have less tension on the round (or worse). To adjust a traditional 1911 extractor all you are doing is bending it farther one way of the other to adjust the tension. And making the hook go the whole way over the rim of the round is bending it too far.

Edited May 7, 2010 by timcalhoun

[I_Like_Pie]

You saw a 1911, but not all of that genre have internal extractors

If it were a Smith and Wesson 1911 - the guy on TV could have done it tens of thousands of times with no ill effect.

[Guest Luckyshot]

I dont have what could be called formal training but experience has taught me this is a bad idea. I just hope that when doing this they are paying close attention to see if the slide is locking up. The extractor aside the gun is useless if the round isnt chambered right(slide not closing all the way).

[Guest Jamie]

I'm also confused Its alright to let the slide slam if there's no round in the chamber and you're feeding from magazine. But if you have round in the chamber you should ride the slide up or just don't do it at all. correct ?

You should never force the extractor over the rim of a chambered round if you can avoid it. All rounds should be fed from the magazine into the chamber.

Slamming the slide closed on an empty chamber is hard on the cross pin that holds the gun together.

J.

[Guest Tiny G]

Nobody ever taught me anything specific. For my Sig I'll chamber the first round from the magazine. Then I'll release the magazine and insert an extra bullet to replace the one I used.

That's the right way. If you want to carry +1 then put in the magazine, strip off the top round like a normal day at the range, then remove the magazine and add a round, then replace the magazine.

There is an old thread talking about how many times you should do this to the same round if unloading is part of your nightly ritual. There were varying opinions but most guys just said that if you're worried about it then get to range and shoot more! :cool:Then you've always got 'new' ammo.