Excessive wear?

[RonDeer10mm]

I was messing around with my glock... LOL
So I was using the slide stop lever to release the slide on an empty chamber with the magazine still inserted(I need to get snap caps), does this cause excessive wear? I've never done it before(not doing it again either way), I was bored.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yea, don't do that.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

On a Glock you will probably grow tired of it before it damages anything.

 

[rellascout]

More than likely you are not going to hurt you Glock unless you do it excessively but it's bad form.

 

[Kiln]

Doubt it will cause any problems. Look at the groove that the slide release sits inside of, if it is beginning to look angled instead of squared then chances are you'll have a problem at some point in the distant future.

The steel Glock uses for the slide is quality metal though and I don't imagine you will have a problem with it.

 

[Bovice]

Here we go again. It's bad form because I don't do it.

On Larry Vicker's show, when he visited Glock, guess what the Glock instructor said!

"Slingshot it because when TSHTF you lose fine motor control and permanently lose the memory of your 14th birthday."

Know what Larry said?

Hint-it had something to do with ALL pistols, and not glock specific.

Double hint-it was NOT slingshotting!

So do what you want. It isn't wrong either way. But one of them can be used on 100% of service pistols, even if it has a slide mounted safety/decocker.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

"Ease it empty, slam it loaded" is good advice to follow, especially handling someone else's gun. Slamming the slide shut on a hammer-fired gun is, in fact, a legitimate functional test for "hammer follow" (if not carried to extremes). But Glocks don't have hammers.

 

[Skylerbone]

Aside from the single legitimate reason given there is no good reason for it. The main concern with a design like the 1911, where this topic is well-worn, is damage to the lower lugs and slide stop pin. There are thoughts on damaging the sear nose as well.

Glocks are not intended to be handled in such a manner regardless of their robust design. Never confuse capable of with harmless.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

An acquaintance who works as an instructor with Special Ops troops at Ft. Bragg, says the US military now teaches troops to use the slide release on hand guns, based on a lot of problems with using the slingshot method in Iraq and Afghanistan. (There were a lot of problems with the slide not being released cleanly, and the drill having to be repeated to get the gun going.)

The fine motor skills used to release the slide using the slide release/stop lever are really not greatly different than the fine-motor skills needed to release the slide CLEANLY when slingshoting. (Many use the OFF HAND to depress the slide release/stop lever, with several fingers used at the same time so that the small target is easily found and pressed. Using the lever can give a "cleaner, more abrupt" slide release.

Knowing HOW to slingshot is a good skill, particularly when doing clearance drills, so proficiency is good -- but it may not always be the most reliable method for getting the gun back into action in certain real-world situations.

For competition venues, Glock offers extended slide releases to make using the lever more handy.

 

[Skylerbone]

This isn't a question of loading method, the OP is dropping the slide on an empty chamber purposely and wishes to know if it is detrimental.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

This isn't a question of loading method, the OP is dropping the slide on an empty chamber purposely and wishes to know if it is detrimental.

The question of excessive wear wasn't clearly presented: was it 1) whether dropping the slide on an empty chamber would damage something internally, or 2) was it whether it would damage the slide (through excessive wear from the movement of the slide stop/release)?

Nobody mentioned sear/hammer/striker wear, and some of the response clearly seemed to point to concern about the use of the slide stop/release (as a source of slide wear), hence the subject of loading methods.

Dropping the slide on an empty chamber with some types of hammer-fired guns (like a tuned 1911) could arguably damage the hammer/sear interface. Dropping the slide on an empty chamber with a Glock and most other guns (especially striker-fired guns) doesn't seem to be problem. The slide DOES move forward with greater force when a round isn't being loaded.

Do you have a different interpretation of the original question and an answer for the question?

 

[Skylerbone]

I beg your pardon, Walt, I read more than was there with interpretation.

I'm a slide stop user myself. Does it cause more wear to use it than to sling-shot? Sure, but not excessive wear.

Slide drops on an empty chamber is something I don't make a habit of though it should be included in a (as mentioned) 1911's safety checks to verify no hammer follow. Regardless of model I can see only one answer to what I held to be the original question. It is my opinion that any extraneous banging causes increased wear, I cannot say that such wear is excessive in the specific example of a Glock but I would never recommend it for its own sake.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Chambering a cartridge lowers slide velocity considerably; Letting them slam home empty will batter the mating surfaces over time, be it breechface, lugs or whatever component takes the brunt in the handgun you're using. It won't hurt them to do it accidentally a time or five, but don't make a habit of it. And NEVER do it in a gun shop when handling one of their guns. I've seen shop owners nearly fly over the counter with this one, and it tends to make the interaction with that customer far less friendly from that point forward.

 

[coalman]

It will cause wear not doing it won't. Seems obvious. But, unless you are seriously OCD, likely won't matter over your lifetime with the gun.

 

[Skylerbone]

Recognizing abuse is not a measure of compulsion. I've heard owners brag of their unlubricated Glocks that run sans cleaning or care "and love it". That simply isn't reality. An engine can run without a drop of oil too but when it protests you will know it and protest it will.

Despite opinion on the matter it can certainly do no good, therefore it can be no more than wasted effort at best. I consider the lifetime of my firearms to be the time I've spent with them, the time my children spend with them and the time my future grandchildren will spend with them. Some in my collection were purchased new nearly 30 years ago while function and appearance are as new despite tens of thousands of rounds and regular field carry.

 

[fxstchewy]

Kahr wants you to use the slide lock for the release also, i think the lever will wear before the slide so it would be the wear item, on a Glock you will never wear it out because Hickok45 uses them........