I did something stupid Sunday. I forgot to pull the trigger before attempting to remove the slide. Of course the slide moved a tad forward but it wouldn't come off. So my dumb thing to do, out of habit I point towards the ground, pull the trigger just to watch my slide smack the gravel. To my delight all I did was brush the gravel dust off to find no damage! If you have holster soars already your practicing draw more then me, keep up the good work. I can say I'm impressed with the tuff finish on mine!!