Popping Ports with a M&P

[Severian]

This past Saturday at our club IDPA match we had a stage where you had to shoot through three ports in a wall. Each port had a hinged plywood door that was secured with a magnet on top. You hit the door and the port opened as the door fell out and down. It didn't take much to open the port. The guy before me was shooting with a G17. Instead of using his weak hand to knock the doors open, he just tapped the door with the front of his gun. No need to re-grip the gun that way. It worked for him. So I came to the line and decided to do the same thing. I ran to the first port, knocked it open, but when I pulled the trigger. . . no bang. Tap, rack, then bang. Came to the second port and the same thing happened. I'm clueless. Thought it was my gun. Third port. No bang. Afterwards I realized that the tap on the door was enough to knock my M&P out of battery. I should have realized that after the failure on the first port. Live and learn!

Edited November 16, 2011 by Severian

[Sarge]

Yes indeed, live and learn. Never try to replicate what a Glock can do with an M&P!

I have done what you describe before and all was fine. Your gun should have gone back into battery. Is your ammo a little tight in the chamber or something? Running a spring less than 13lbs?

[steel1212]

Try putting your thumb on the back of the slide.

[Severian]

Yes indeed, live and learn. Never try to replicate what a Glock can do with an M&P!

I have done what you describe before and all was fine. Your gun should have gone back into battery. Is your ammo a little tight in the chamber or something? Running a spring less than 13lbs?

Well, I'm definitely using a lighter recoil spring - 11lbs. But before this I've never had any problems (after 5,000+ rounds) with a FTRB.

[GForceLizard]

I've seen people do this with high $ 2011's. I'm not comfortable doing this with a lowly Glock. The thumb on the back of the slide sounds like a good trick. I guess a wooden port isn't going to ruin the barrel crown. Do you have 5,000 rounds on the recoil spring? How much shorter is it than a new in the package replacement spring?

Edited November 17, 2011 by GForceLizard

[Severian]

I've seen people do this with high $ 2011's. I'm not comfortable doing this with a lowly Glock. The thumb on the back of the slide sounds like a good trick. I guess a wooden port isn't going to ruin the barrel crown. Do you have 5,000 rounds on the recoil spring? How much shorter is it than a new in the package replacement spring?

Oh no, I meant 5000 rounds through the gun, not with that one recoil spring! Yikes. The 11lb spring has worked well for me. I think the factory recoil spring is 16 lbs.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Severian

[Dan Hefta]

Try putting your thumb on the back of the slide.

Just make sure that you remove it before bang time. That would hurt like hell!

[want2race]

You can shoot with while pressing your thumb on the back of the slide. Nothing happens except the gun is a single shot. They even teach that in the Glock Instructor course. If the slide doesn't move, the barrel doesn't unlock. Yes, I was aprehensive about trying it but it works.

...and barrel crowns are over-rated...

Edited November 17, 2011 by want2race

[Dan Hefta]

You can shoot with while pressing your thumb on the back of the slide. Nothing happens except the gun is a single shot. They even teach that in the Glock Instructor course. If the slide doesn't move, the barrel doesn't unlock. Yes, I was aprehensive about trying it but it works.

...and barrel crowns are over-rated...

Really? I will take your word for it... I don't think that I will try it though.

[MGMorden]

Running a spring less than 13lbs?

My M&P fails to return completely to battery about 1 time out of 50 if I even run my 14lbs recoil spring. Not sure why, but swapping the factory 16lbs spring back in solves the issue immediately.

[wgj3]

I've shot a couple of matches that expressly forbade opening ports with your muzzle due to some perceived safety issue, but if its kosher with the match, the gun should do it. The spring would definitely be the first place to look. Then check your ammo (esp if reloaded) and possibly clean gunk out of your chamber and the rest of the gun as well. As mentioned earlier, the gun should have enough spring tension to return to battery if nudged out like that.

[kevin c]

You can shoot with while pressing your thumb on the back of the slide. Nothing happens except the gun is a single shot. They even teach that in the Glock Instructor course. If the slide doesn't move, the barrel doesn't unlock. Yes, I was aprehensive about trying it but it works.

...and barrel crowns are over-rated...

Really? I will take your word for it... I don't think that I will try it though.

I've done it with a 22 (not G22, a rimfire). It kinda makes sense that it'd apply to something heavier.

With custom loads, why do we go to lighter springs? Because it is possible that the spring pressure is greater that the recoil force to the point where the gun will not cycle. But it's not like it takes a hundred pounds of spring pressure to keep the gun closed, Maybe for a minor load, not even much more than a couple dozen.

After all, your hand absorbs the force of the recoiling gun down on the grip, so, as long as you don't cut yourself, some other part of your anatomy on the rear of the slide might do the same.

Maybe this weekend (though I'll experiment a bit with something nonliving first, and will have appropriate padding for the real thing).

ETA: I have a 50% success rate on opeing ports with the muzzle of the gun. It worked with my Limited gun that had a 15# spring, failed with my Production Glock with an 11# spring.

Edited February 14, 2012 by kevin c

[Reshoot]

I have never used the muzzle of my gun to open a port / hatch / door. I have too much respect for her.