Slide stop question...

One theory to this is not damage, but motor skills involved. The boomerang release, grabbing the slide and pulling it back, is a corse motor skill while the slide lock lever is a fine motor skill. So in time of adrenaline the fine motor skills go away .

 

I agree. Not only is grabbing the slide to release it a much faster and easier move, but consider this...I'm a lefty. Wanna talk about how "fine" that motor skill would be to try and release with my index finger? That'll be the last thing I'd want to have to think about if I were under stress.

 

Not sure I see why this is a problem I do it . The ext slide stop / release is to give you more area for your thumb to control it .

 

That is an excellent point. I didn't think of it that way. Thanks!!!

 

Am I the only one that thinks this post was offensive??? I hope not.

 

In my opinion, the whole theory of not releasing the slide with the slide stop is not that it will 'cause damage' but that it will wear out your slide stop prematurely. By releasing the slide with the stop you are dragging the edge of the stop across the notch in the slide. Doing this over time will no doubt wear it. Just field strip your weapon right now and look at how the stop is shined at the back edge where it catches the slide notch. This is an indicator that it is a wear point; releasing it with the stop will wear it even more in that area. Sure, it's only a 15-20 dollar part but why wear it prematurely? I'm not sure of the effects it may have on the notch in the slide; probably not much since the slide is undoubtedly much harder steel than the slide stop.

I'm new to Glock but not new to handguns. I never release the slide on any of my semi-auto pistols by pressing down on the slide stop; I always pull back on the slide to let the stop sit back down where it belongs, then release. I shouldn't have said "never" because I do it sometimes just because I like that sound and occasionally I want to make sure it's functioning properly. Of course, I would if I needed to in a real situation, e.g: in the event I had a wounded hand or was using my weak hand for something else and couldn't rack the slide.

I would rather have my strong hand gripping the gun properly and be in position to fire and use my weak hand to rack the slide. One could argue that this is an unnecessary move...(racking the slide) and that you could do it faster by just pressing down on the stop with your thumb. I disagree. If your strong hand is in position or in proper placement to fire in the way that one should be practicing over and over, I don't think it's any slower, in fact it may be faster than rotating the gun in your hand to release the slide then rotating it back again to get your hand back into position for proper grip. This was written towards the right-handed shooter. I am a lefty so it's an even better practice for me.

I think the misconception in what is causing damage is that you should never let the slide 'slam home' without a round in position to be chambered. This is something most manufacturers warn against. I don't even let the slide slam home at all if I am simply loading my weapon, instead I let it return while holding some resistance. My theory here is that I may avoid bullet setback by not letting it just slingshot forward on that same round repeatedly (over time), maybe not but I still do it that way. Now, if I am at the range and intending on shooting that round right away, I obviously don't worry about bullet setback and just let 'er fly. I am sure some military/LEOs may have a different theory; I am just going by simple mechanical common sense and what I have experienced and been told. My theory makes sense to me whether it's so or not . Sorry I couldn't condense that but that's the way I see it.

 

Of course you could "slam the mag home" causing the gun to cycle itself.

 

I gotta try that; I hope mine doesn't do that. I would like to be in control of when my slide returns.

 

I slam my mags home and hope for the slide to cycle. Been doing it for years with 0 problems! And I know the mags are seated.

 

Like I said, you shouldn't let the slide slam home without a round being chambered. I'm not sure of the ill effects this may cause but I've always been told that this is a no-no.

 

We're talking about dependable $500 guns, if something needs replacing{$5-10 part} after 50,000 rounds..........wouldn't you say you got your money's worth?

 

if it wasn't meant to be used to release the slide it would not have a thumb release on the ss

 

This happens to me quite often in competition. I like it and have had zero problems with it.

NEVER use the slide stop to "release" the slide. Just don't do it. End of discussion. Everyone will thank us later for saying this.

 

Instead of a very old "i've always been told it was bad" kind of thing.........I want proof that it's bad for the weapon not what someone thinks is bad.

And don't take this wrong, anyone can go through the armorer course and get "certified" so someone with that title telling me so isn't the kind of 100% solid proof I'm looking for.

 

I've been a law enforcement officer for almost 7 years now. I'm also a southpaw so the slide stop is pointless for me to use as a "release". When you use the slide stop as a release you slowly wear away at the cutout in the slide and at the slide stop. Now all of a sudden your slide doesn't lock back you replace your slide stop. Wait, your slide still won't lock to the rear? OH NO!!! Now you have go buy a new slide.

Another point, if you're in a gun fight and your slide doesn't lock to the rear when you fire that last round, you lose valuable time trying to figure out what happened and fumbling for a reload. If you practiced the same way every time by slingshotting the slide you wouldn't have to worry about it.

 

The part is called a "Slide Stop Lever" and not a "Slide Release Lever." Plus the way it's designed on most handguns it's easier to push up and stop the slide than it is to push down to release it. Just my 2 cents.