Don't do this to your guns

[Sergio Natali]

I've found a recent video made by two of my favourite gurus in the firearms world.
I think it's quite interesting to watch ... so sit back, relax, and enjoy!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AuVd0qycrc

[MuyModesto]

Your Honor, I plead guilty as charged! My first semi-auto was a Colt Combat Commander. I bought it brand new at a gun shop in San Francisco in 1976. Not knowing any better I "dropped the slide" repeatedly over the years until I learned of this exact problem at a class in 1983. I stopped doing it, but the problem had not yet manifested. One day at the range around 1986 or so I did an out-of-battery reload and hit the slide release. The slide went a little too far forward. One of the barrel lugs had broken off and the other one was cracked. Guess who had caused his own problem by not knowing about the info in that video.

[DocWyatt]

Thanks, that was a good video. And Mia Culpa, many years ago I abused a S&W K frame .38 with the cylinder swinging trick.

[megafiddle]

Good video.

I would like to see a similar expert discussion about 1911, 1911A1, and modern non competition models.

Weren't slides routinely dropped on empty chambers during military guard mount inspections?

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[brickeyee]

Your Honor, I plead guilty as charged! My first semi-auto was a Colt Combat Commander. I bought it brand new at a gun shop in San Francisco in 1976. Not knowing any better I "dropped the slide" repeatedly over the years until I learned of this exact problem at a class in 1983. I stopped doing it, but the problem had not yet manifested. One day at the range around 1986 or so I did an out-of-battery reload and hit the slide release. The slide went a little too far forward. One of the barrel lugs had broken off and the other one was cracked. Guess who had caused his own problem by not knowing about the info in that video.

It is not exactly gentle on the slide stop pin either.

I have seen bent pins and wallowed out (elliptical) frame holes.

Part of the problem is the whole tolerance things.
Unless the slide stop pin is a nearly perfect match to the frame holes the contact area (pin to hole) is very small.

Nearly a line approaching zero area.

Metal strength is measured in force per unit area.
Pounds of force over an area to deform the metal.

With a tiny contact area the actual loading can become extremely high.
The metal then starts to be deformed.
You are above its yield strength.

[DavidO]

Ken and Bill’s videos are always excellent. I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to sit and talk with both of them a few times. Both are very down to earth, good people in real life.

[Sergio Natali]

I'm quite envious, they are among my biggest gun gurus.

[230HB]

Thanks for the post, a lot of info in a very basic video. Just subscribed to their site.

[Spyros]

Years ago, when I was about to buy a 1911, I was inspecting it at the shop and decided to function-check it. This of course involves dropping the slide on an empty chamber (while pressing the trigger, to test that the hammer stays cocked). It was being sold as a brand-new pistol and looked that way, but I was taking the belt & braces approach.

Before dropping the slide, I asked the shopkeeper if he was OK with me doing so, for function-checking purposes. He had no idea what I was talking about. Another guy walking by, cut in to explain it to him...