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Press Check Method...


Pittbug

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Pittbug

The press check went out in 1980....I remember it well, I was there... :P ...used to do the same thing...they really frown on it now..best to grasp the slide from under the dust cover and push it back a bit.... :lol:

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Shoot long enough and when you LAMR you HEAR (even with muffs and plugs) and FEEL the round going into the chamber. No need to press check just be "aware".

But, yes you are correct in that having any "digit" in the trigger guard is a no-no during any loading, reloading or movement (if not engaging targets)

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+1 to what TightLoop said about opening the slide a bit and looking, or what GmanCdp said about using a Barney mag and getting a visual on nothing being in it after the loadup.

"These" methods are safe and will never get you warned, or DQ'd.

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I'm assuming that the press check method of having your thumb inside the trigger guard is a no no?

I like to do a press check during the LAMR.

Thumb? I guess I am not familiar with this method. I was taught to grab the back of the slide with my left index finger free and pull back and look/feel with my index finger?

I agree with you about doing a press check. I am actually pretty paranoid after using the barny method and having short stroked the gun and comming up for the first shot and ... "click"... WTF?

So now I 1) put in a barny mag 2) rack slide 3) drop mag and check round count 4) insert new mag 5) PRESS CHECK, thats right the round might have majically dissapeared. 6) press in on the slide stop to make sure I did not push it out with my trigger finger being up on the slide all that time 7) holster... :lol::lol::lol:

So what that it drives some people nuts... I have my little thing at LAMR... It does not really take me that much time and I know for sure that I am ready to go at the buzzer.

Ira

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iweiny

If I was your RO, you would be DQ'ed for finger in the trigger guard after LAMR...you cannot press check anymore...dangerous...and passe' ;)

Are we perhaps talking about different things? I DO NOT put anything finger or otherwise in the trigger guard. If I did yes I would agree a DQ would be in order. That was kind of why I asked about the thumb.

My definition of press check is to pull back the slide just a little bit and look/feel for a round through the ejection port. My trigger finger is along the side of the frame, out of the guard, and my left hand is up above the gun.

I think perhaps I am missing something?

Ira

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Ira,

The classic "Press Check" is where you insert your left thumb into the trigger guard. Place the first joint of your left index finger over the recoil spring plug and then "Press" the slide back by squeezing using your thumb in the front of the trigger guard.

Steven Seagal does it in several of his movies. I shudder at the thought of putting my left index finger that close to the muzzle and then trying to move the slide!

Nolan

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Ira,

The classic "Press Check" is where you insert your left thumb into the trigger guard. Place the first joint of your left index finger over the recoil spring plug and then "Press" the slide back by squeezing using your thumb in the front of the trigger guard.

Nolan

This is kinda tough to do if you have a full length guide rod. ;)

I do a "pull check", since I have two Series 70 Colts that pre-date serrations on the front of the slide. Finger out of the trigger guard, safety off, grasp the rear serrations and pull back far enough to see the loaded round. Works for me, and I haven't been DQed (yet).

Edited by revchuck
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Well considering I've only ever shot maybe 3000 rounds, in about 20 trips to the range and 2 IDPA events, I think I'm highly qualified to be a novice and as such I much prefer to check the chamber manually :)

I usually use a different method of just grasping the top of the slide with my weak hand and push it back a bit, but I just got done reading Dave Lauck's book on the 1911 and he described the different method with the thumb in the trigger guard.

Thanks for all your responses.

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Press check is bad? Has anyone ever heard of a mishap with a press check? I only have one 1911 left with a short guide rod to do it with but it never seemed dangerous. I gotta stop at Wally World and pick up a case of paranoia maybe? :unsure:

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Ira,

The classic "Press Check" is where you insert your left thumb into the trigger guard. Place the first joint of your left index finger over the recoil spring plug and then "Press" the slide back by squeezing using your thumb in the front of the trigger guard.

Steven Seagal does it in several of his movies. I shudder at the thought of putting my left index finger that close to the muzzle and then trying to move the slide!

Nolan

Ah, ok, yea that is pretty stupid... That is NOT what I do. I guess I do a "Pull-check". But when I took a handgun safety course they told us it was a "press check". It is pretty much the same thing and I hope everyone could tell that I know that doing it is redundant with all the checking of barny mags and all but I am just that kind of an anal guy... ;)

Ira

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Press check is bad? Has anyone ever heard of a mishap with a press check? I only have one 1911 left with a short guide rod to do it with but it never seemed dangerous. I gotta stop at Wally World and pick up a case of paranoia maybe? :unsure:

Yeah, I know someone who blew the tip of his left index finger off press checking a Colt Officers Model .45. He 'had' big fingers/thumbs and the Officers Model must have had at least a 20lb recoil spring so he put a lot of his thumb into the trigger guard for extra leverage.

Notice I said 'had' big fingers/thumbs? About a year later he was riding his Harley with an open belt drive primary. While he was sitting at a stop light he thought the belt was loose so he reached down with his left hand and checked..........while the motor was running!

So remember boys and girls:

Never press check

Never check belt tension with the motor running

Never leave home without your medical insurance card! :P

Nolan

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Steven Seagal does it in several of his movies. I shudder at the thought of putting my left index finger that close to the muzzle and then trying to move the slide!

I agree.

I always thought that was a theatrical gesture, one of those "Hollywood cool things" that will get you hurt in real life ... :wacko:

Anyway, I seem to recall Steven Seagal doing it without the "thumb in triggerguard" part, just weak index on the recoil plug and pressing. :unsure:

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I will admit to doing it in the distant past when we shot but did not yet use full length guide rods..and you are right, it was the COOL way to check for a loaded round up the spout..we did it for about a year till someone in the club had an AD and nearly lost his finger...then we stopped doing it...

yes I have seen Segal do it...he is or appears to be quite knowledgable about guns of all types and especially 1911's, but I do think that he was encouraged to do that by the director for effect during that sequence...hopefully he is more savvy than that in real life...

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I see guys getting at least one, or two, or three fingers very close to the muzzle every time they load and unload, using the forward serrations, especially if the put their hand over the top of the slide to rack it. I see a lot of guys getting lazy when they do so, and sweep themselves. Having the hand out near the muzzle isn't a good idea.

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I agree with RickB on this. The latest de rigeur method of operating the slide seems to be the "hand-over" technique with half the hand sticking out past the front sight. I'm seeing many otherwise highly proficient shooters doing this.....and of course whatever the good shooters do will be imitated by many others.

The safest and smartest method is to simply slingshot the slide, pinching the rear serrations between the thumb and index finger of the weak hand.

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Underhanded grasp of the forward serrations is OK. "Slingshot" grasp at the rear of the slide is probably better.

NEVER put your hand on top of the slide to check or load or unload! You run the risk of slipping in front of the muzzle which can be VERY BAD. You also run the risk of a handfull of brass in the event of a KABOOM while unloading, also VERY BAD.

Remember, we may think of our guns as our "TOYS" but they are really exactly what they are, REAL GUNS, the purpose of which is to put holes into things. Let it be to our collective credit that we do not put holes into ourselves or into unintended targets.

Jim

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Shot a match where the guy LAMR and shot, then topped up. The guy had the nervous habit of press checking, sometimes twice before shooting. on the second stage, he asked the SO if he could press check, and the SO said, "bullets don't evaporate"- and told him no.

I think a lot of people get into the press check as a nervous condition that becomes part of their pre match ritual. I've seen people loose their karma when shooting a hot bay cause they couldn't press check prior to shooting the stage.

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iweiny

If I was your RO, you would be DQ'ed for finger in the trigger guard after LAMR...you cannot press check anymore...dangerous...and passe' ;)

Not to hijack the thread but I see at the big matches all the time the Super Squads rack the slide, insert finger inside the trigger guard and dry fire a couple of times at targets after the LAMR command has been given. Is this not a DQ?

DaG

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Not to hijack the thread but I see at the big matches all the time the Super Squads rack the slide, insert finger inside the trigger guard and dry fire a couple of times at targets after the LAMR command has been given. Is this not a DQ?

DaG

Nope. At least not in USPSA, sight pictures are not forbidden unless there are psted match rules prohibiting it. In IDPA they bing you for a procedural.

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