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April 8th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Jim Wilson is a very smart man, which doesn’t keep him from occasionally saying some dumb stuff.
April 8th, 2014 at 8:02 pm
I find it difficult to manipulate slidestops with my thumbs without altering my grip so I use the rack method to release my slide for that reason more than tactics
April 9th, 2014 at 3:11 am
I use the slide release as a slide release. There are plenty of trainers who’ve been in gunfights that teach either strong hand thumb or weak hand thumb slide release technique.
April 9th, 2014 at 3:14 am
(my response, reposed from original)
Racking the slid by hand is not wrong. Using the slide release is *also not wrong.* It is totally and completely up to the individual shooter what is most effective *for them.* Saying anything else is bad advice.
I use the slide release method, because *it works best for me.* (I do train to use both, I just prefer using the slide release since it is faster and more versatile)
To address some of the misconceptions you mentioned:
Failure to load: If your gun is failing to load after slide release you have problems with your recoil spring. Perhaps this is a race gun, or the spring is old. Either way the extra few millimeters or so of travel you get from a manual release should not be the difference between a successful chambering and a malf. If it is then your gun is unreliable and you need to not carry it until you figure out why.
Wear. A gun is a device designed to contain enormous amounts of pressure, and deal with extreme forces while firing. The slide stop specifically has to deal with tremendous forces when stopping the slide on the last shot. It is typically arresting the slide in full motion as it comes forward to pick up another round. If you are saying that a component designed to handle this kind of abuse will have its lifespan in any way significantly altered by manual release then you need to seriously reexamine your design. (You could start by removing the lever that allows manual release, or adding more material, to name a few solutions. Either way “extra wear” is a myth in well designed arms.)
The “fine motor skill” argument. I have heard this a million times and it is flat out wrong. According to this logic you should not be able to reliably operate a trigger either. Using the slide release is literally just taking your thumb, pressing it against the slide, and pressing down. It is nothing but training, and arguably easier than racking by hand (again, depending on the individual)
The “unfamiliar pistol” argument is also bogus, as most pistols have the slide release in near enough the same location to make no difference, and the ones that do are a rarity *just like pistols that cannot be racked normally.* Better to have your own, that you know and have practiced with, than to rely on an unfamiliar weapon. And if you do have to rely on an unfamiliar weapon odds are it is close enough, but it is a crap shoot no matter what method you use.
Reason you may want to consider using the slide release in a defensive situation? Faster on target shots after a reload from empty. I can insert a mag, then move my support hand back into fire position *while putting the gun back into battery* and then firing, instead of having my support hand move to the back of the gun, then back down to the proper support position. It also allows me to use the gun one handed, in case my other hand is holding something (like a retained mag on a tactical reload) or is wounded.
Which method you use is up to the individual, and how successful you are with either method is totally up to training. Again, to say otherwise is bad advice.
April 9th, 2014 at 3:18 am
lucasloc, that was very well stated.
April 9th, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Thank you, lucasloc.
The biggest advantage of the “slingshot” technique would be when using an unfamiliar weapon, like a “pick up” gun. Simply because, while you may not have the instinctive feel for where the release is on a gun design you don’t use, you can ALWAYS find the slide.
Since very rarely will you find yourself in a time critical reloading situation with a strange gun, it’s a low probability variant of an already very low probability event.
I’ve never had any problem using either technique, and depending on what I’m shooting and other variables, use either (although my default is “weakside thumb”).
April 9th, 2014 at 11:18 pm
Lucusloc: I’ll disagree with you on the “excessive wear” argument. I’ve had multiple guns have the slide release wear out and need to be replaced. It’s a simple fact that tugging back on the slide causes the slide stop to drop without rubbing against the slide when you push the slide stop down. Granted, this won’t be an issue for hundreds, if not thousands, of uses, but rubbing two pieces of metal together with force will cause one side or the other to have some material removed.
Of course, when the stop wears out, the gun will still function just fine except for the lock back on last round feature, and it’s usually dead simple and cheap to replace, so…