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Slide Lock Reload


rmj339

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I've heard it said that Option 1 is preferable from a reliability standpoint because the slide has more momentum by the time it reaches the next round to strip it from the mag, and also because grabbing the slide with the weak hand is a more gross motor skill than finding the mag release with a thumb. However, I run a 1911 and have never encountered the issue of the rounds being packed in the mag so tightly that the slide would not strip them when using the slide release. Is this ever a problem in high-cap mags?

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Not in my experience. Not sure which tactical ninjas have the authority to define gross motor skills. I can find the slide stop with my thumb (it's right below it) much easier than I can grab my little CZ slide quickly.

My experience has been that type 1 is much more prone to error since some will follow the slide forward, robbing energy from the recoil spring and causing the next round to not chamber all of the way. Just pushing the button makes it more consistent and harder to screw up.

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I'm a lefty so options #2 and #3 aren't available to me. Using my left index finger to release the slide is an iffy proposition (even more so since I amputated the tip of that finger last year), so weak hand release is what I do.

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Put yourself on the timer and the answer will be self evident ...

#2 assuming you use your strong hand thumb followed by #3

#1 is a distant third as mentioned my Alma ...

What Nimitz said.

I'm not very accomplished but I was wondering about the same thing a few months ago. Tried on a par timer and it wasn't even close on a P226. Number 2.

I do think that this is probably gun dependent, hand size dependent, and handedness dependent. Give it a shot. You can do it at home.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not in my experience. Not sure which tactical ninjas have the authority to define gross motor skills. I can find the slide stop with my thumb (it's right below it) much easier than I can grab my little CZ slide quickly.

This

The gross/fine motor skills argument is pure stupidity at work. Aiming a handgun and pressing the trigger so as not to disturb the aim are both fine motor skills that we are supposed to be able to perform no matter what. But hitting a big ass button that is right in line with one of your fingers is too complicated under stress? I don't think so.

My SH thumb does not reach the slide release, so I hit it with my WH thumb at the same time as my WH is getting back to its proper place on the pistol. In terms of speed it's not even close with grabbing the slide FAR behind.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Same here with my M&P. Slam the mags home and auto-forwarding is fastest. When I switched to single stack though, I see myself using #1.

Are you worried about bending your ejector when you reload a ss in slide lock?

LOLWUT?

1911s do just fine being reloaded from slide lock.

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My strong thumb is pretty much right there (if it doesn't go back into battery by itself, which happens a good percentage of the time). Flicking it with my thumb doesn't seem like a more demanding motor skill than the (gross?) motor skill of going for the slide with my weak hand.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Breaks down to efficiency of movement, or sacrificing time because something might work better for you. I use a strong hand release, because unless the slide automatically goes home when you bump the fresh magazine into the well, your thumb is already in place, and the closest thing to get to it. Your weak hand can already be moving back to the grip while your strong hand thumb actuates the release. The amount of distance for your thumb from the magazine release to the slide lock lever is less than for your hand to move from the bottom of the magazine well to the release or over the top of the slide.

The only reason I could see using the other options is if a person either doesn't have the hand strength or finger dexterity to do so.

As far as the "tactical" guru's who argue that a shooter should go hand over slide, its been outdated since the 90's, along with the weaver stance... Turns out, if your to the point where you loose motor function in your hands that you cannot operate a slide lock lever, you also can't use the magazine release or pull the trigger... So the argument went out the window.

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