Pinch Check: eeek!

[pauli]

My point is that intelligent, mature and reasonably-skilled people can do lots of things that less intelligent or immature or less-skilled people cannot. Nuthin' new there!

...and the counter argument is that intelligent, mature, and reasonably skilled people should know better than to employ methods that are needlessly risky relative to the alternatives.

personally, i just find it mind blowing that anybody (much less people i tend to listen to) would put *anything* inside the trigger guard of a firearm for any reason other to pull the trigger, especially when the same end result can be achieved with less manual dexterity and better control by just grabbing the back of the slide.

there may be safe ways to operate a hair dryer while standing in a puddle, but that doesn't mean one shouldn't step onto something dry anyway.

 

[1911Tuner]

Plan B

ooooh! oooh! This one's gonna go hot! Guess I'd better 'splain another way to do it for those who wanna press/pinch check and don't trust keepin' control of the hammer. This one works well with a FLGR.

Gun in hand...Finger off-trigger...position the pad of the OTHER thumb at the end of the grip safety tang. Wrist bent downward...reach around with the index finger and position it on the front of the rear sight between the first and second joints. Pinch! The slide opens and the chambered round can be seen...or not seen as the case may be. Same applies as before. Once the slide is out of battery, the gun can't fire.

Of course, the ramped rear sights like the Novak Lo-Mount make it a bit tricky, especially if you've got short fingers...but it works well and doesn't
cause unnecessary heebie-jeebies. All it takes is a little study on the many ways to skin a cat. Izzat cool or what?

Theah! Now we can all be friends again!

 

[Majic]

personally, i just find it mind blowing that anybody (much less people i tend to listen to) would put *anything* inside the trigger guard of a firearm for any reason other to pull the trigger, especially when the same end result can be achieved with less manual dexterity and better control by just grabbing the back of the slide.

Better control than what, the pinch check? That's a matter of opinion.
Just another way to skin the cat. If that skinning knife is too sharp for you then leave it alone.

 

[swingset]

I love when Cooper advocates something stupid, and the apologists come streaming in to remind us he's 94 years old, knows more about guns than God's gunsmith, and has earned the right to be cranky and wrong.

Ok, that's all. On with the show.

BTW, I don't pinch-check my 1911.

 

[english kanigit]

Press-check, pinch-check, drop-mag-rack-slide-and-check... it all works to one end. I've done 'em all. That said, c yeager made one of my favorite points so far.

Ive always wondered why 1911s even have serrations on the aft portion of the slide, clearly they are just cosmetic...

Sure, it ain't trendy, but it works.


And before this thread gets any more interesting, I'm gonna put on some Nomex boxers...

 

[Gillster]

+1 for 1911Tuners method. That's how I check and I'm embarrased to say I saw it in a movie first (but not a Segal movie). Works though.


Chris

 

[StrikeEagle]

Thank you, one and all!

You guys are the best! Glad to know that I'm not alone in my discomfort. Tuner, you are joy and a treasure. Your suggestions make perfect sense to me.

Be well!

StrikeEagle

 

[W Turner]

I am not normally skittish about some the so-called "unsafe" things that old timers like Cooper advocate. In most instances I agree with them, but not this one.

The potential for error here is too great for me. Putting your finger in the trigger guard while putting another finger near the muzzle while performing an action the requires the thumb safety to be off ? Doesn't sound like a great idea to me either so I use a different method. I grasp the slide using the forward serrations and my hand under the pistol. Looks almost like I am cupping the portion forward of the trigger guard in my hand. My strong hand holds the pistol in a normal firing grip with the finger off the trigger.

On guns that don't have forward serrations, my weak hand goes over the top of the slide just forward of the ejection port and my strong hand is in a normal firing grip with my finger off the trigger. My hand/wrist/forearm are well above the muzzle.

May not work for everybody, but it works for me.

W

 

[45auto]

I used to "pinch check" all the time until I put in a FLGR. And all you guys thought that was a useless device.

IMHO, it's probably not the best, safest or most efficient way to check a 1911.

But, I still have one 1911 left without a FLGR, so I go into the gun safe now and then just to "pinch check" it. It's always empty anyway but it's a hard habit to drop.

 

[DirksterG30]

"I love when Cooper advocates something stupid, and the apologists come streaming in to remind us he's 94 years old, knows more about guns than God's gunsmith, and has earned the right to be cranky and wrong."

I couldn't agree more!

 

[Tim Burke]

I love when Cooper advocates something stupid, and the apologists come streaming in to remind us he's 94 years old, knows more about guns than God's gunsmith, and has earned the right to be cranky and wrong.

And I love it when some anonymous wise guy behind a keyboard who has never written a book on shooting, has never founded a shooting sport, and has never established a shooting school thinks that they have the standing to denigrate Jeff Cooper. Everybody is amused by different things.

 

[spacemanspiff]

so my method of peering down the muzzle to see if theres a shiny round in the chamber is not a good idea?

 

[zahc]

Nobody mentioned that even if you manage to shoot yourself with the pinch-check, all you are going to lose is the end of your finger and/or get some burns. Sure nobody likes to get shot but your probably only risking your fingers, not life. Something to mention.

 

[StrikeEagle]

One More Thing...

Yeah... I really love Jeff Cooper's writing. But please... even this great man can screw up.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_144_24/ai_57886968

StrikeEagle

 

[Titus]

Who screwed up? What would Cooper say about that guy's "didn't know it was loaded" excuse?

 

[SAWBONES]

"And I love it when some anonymous wise guy behind a keyboard who has never written a book on shooting, has never founded a shooting sport, and has never established a shooting school thinks that they have the standing to denigrate Jeff Cooper."

This is my thought too.
There's altogether too much of a tendency for young, relatively inexperienced know-it-alls who've contributed nothing of note, done nothing of note in life, and know nothing except what they've read in books or been taught in classes, to pontificate on gun BBs.

Do what you want.
Just don't assume that your lightweight opinions should carry any authority with anybody.