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Can I Drop a 1911 Slide on an Empty Chamber?

Annihilator said:
Good article on can you drop the slide on an empty chamber on a 1911, I was always told no, my Sig 1911 manual says not to, good information on this subject that has been discussed on this forum several times.

drop-1911-slide-empty-chamber
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Thanks for article Anni,

"When people talk about “dropping” a 1911 slide (or any slide), they’re not talking about letting it fall to the ground."
- You mean it isn't and throwing to the ground doesn't count twice? Yes, am kidding! :)

"In the case of whether to ride the slide or drop it like it’s hot…well, as with most things in firearms, the truth lies somewhere in the middle."
- Most things are like an Oreo cookie. Good stuff's generally in middle ....tempered by either side. Otherwise the middle's too sweet by itself?
 
I don’t think it matters as much on striker pistols like it does on 1911’s. It’s like on the Beretta 92 series, manual states do not dry fire, why I’m not sure, but that’s how it goes.
 
Annihilator said:
I don’t think it matters as much on striker pistols like it does on 1911’s. It’s like on the Beretta 92 series, manual states do not dry fire, why I’m not sure, but that’s how it goes.
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I think most strikers aren't affected by dry firing, but I still only do it if it is necessary when stripping the gun. I was taught not to. Dropping the slide on an empty chamber isn't something I do much either, but during training courses I am often instructed to leave the slide locked on the range so it can be visually inspected to see it's not loaded and then instructed to release the slide and holster the weapon, before everyone on the line can bend down and pick up empty magazines. And during this, I have very occasionally gotten lazy and hit the release instead of riding the slide down, which is what I usually do.
 
The resistance of stripping a round from the magazine buffers the recoil spring's force driving the slide forward. Therefore "dropping" the slide on an empty chamber is beating the pistol unnecessarily.
Here is where I would add, never, I repeat never drop a loaded round into the chamber and allow the slide to close freely or otherwise. The extractor on an original design 1911 is fixed and meant to grab the rim in the same way a Mauser 98 controls the rim/shell. While the extractor is made of spring steel, it is not designed to pop over the rim of a chambered shell.
The pivoting type extractor like the SIG type may be OK; however, I would verify with SIG to see if that practice is indeed OK.
In fact, it may be advisable to have a pre-fit original extractor in your range bag in the event it breaks. While it has never happened to me, I tend to be a "Belt and Suspenders" kinda guy.

Be Prepared!
 
iklwa said:
The resistance of stripping a round from the magazine buffers the recoil spring's force driving the slide forward. Therefore "dropping" the slide on an empty chamber is beating the pistol unnecessarily.
Here is where I would add, never, I repeat never drop a loaded round into the chamber and allow the slide to close freely or otherwise. The extractor on an original design 1911 is fixed and meant to grab the rim in the same way a Mauser 98 controls the rim/shell. While the extractor is made of spring steel, it is not designed to pop over the rim of a chambered shell.
The pivoting type extractor like the SIG type may be OK; however, I would verify with SIG to see if that practice is indeed OK.
In fact, it may be advisable to have a pre-fit original extractor in your range bag in the event it breaks. While it has never happened to me, I tend to be a "Belt and Suspenders" kinda guy.

Be Prepared!
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Yea, definitely a no no, there was a deputy at my sheriffs dept when I worked there that had to keep replacing his extractor on his 1911, I asked why so many till I found him dropping a round in chamber and letting the slide slam closed, told him, there’s your problem, here’s your sign….,
 
HansGruber said:
No, just only use it when chambering a round.
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People in this thread are saying never drop the slide, period. At least one person specifically said never drop it on a live round, making the argument that the act of stripping a round off the mag buffers it from the effect of the slide battering closed. Which I am no engineer, but buffering or no there is no way manually dropping a slide comes anywhere close to the force the slide receives after every round is fired.

People elsewhere almost universally say dropping the slide on an empty chamber can be bad for well tuned 1911s, but are basically harmless for most of them.

Supposedly the Beretta 92S was routinely subjected to a machine that drops the slide 700 times at the factory before it was sold. Now that sounds like BS to me, but who knows.


Never drop the slide, always drop the slide. I think as with most things the truth lies in the middle.
 
iklwa said:
The resistance of stripping a round from the magazine buffers the recoil spring's force driving the slide forward. Therefore "dropping" the slide on an empty chamber is beating the pistol unnecessarily.
Here is where I would add, never, I repeat never drop a loaded round into the chamber and allow the slide to close freely or otherwise. The extractor on an original design 1911 is fixed and meant to grab the rim in the same way a Mauser 98 controls the rim/shell. While the extractor is made of spring steel, it is not designed to pop over the rim of a chambered shell.
The pivoting type extractor like the SIG type may be OK; however, I would verify with SIG to see if that practice is indeed OK.
In fact, it may be advisable to have a pre-fit original extractor in your range bag in the event it breaks. While it has never happened to me, I tend to be a "Belt and Suspenders" kinda guy.

Be Prepared!
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Just for clarity when you say
“drop a round into the chamber” I’m sure you don’t mean chamber a round by hand as I don’t believe there is manufacturer that says it is ok for any semi automatic firearm.
Correct me if I’m wrong please.
 
Bassbob said:
People in this thread are saying never drop the slide, period. At least one person specifically said never drop it on a live round, making the argument that the act of stripping a round off the mag buffers it from the effect of the slide battering closed. Which I am no engineer, but buffering or no there is no way manually dropping a slide comes anywhere close to the force the slide receives after every round is fired.

People elsewhere almost universally say dropping the slide on an empty chamber can be bad for well tuned 1911s, but are basically harmless for most of them.

Supposedly the Beretta 92S was routinely subjected to a machine that drops the slide 700 times at the factory before it was sold. Now that sounds like BS to me, but who knows.


Never drop the slide, always drop the slide. I think as with most things the truth lies in the middle.
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It’s “never drop the slide on an empty chamber”…and as far as dropping it on a live round, I believe that was in direct reference to dropping it on a round that had been manually chambered, not stripped out of the mag (dropping the slide on an already chambered round is a great way to bust an extractor on a 1911–or an XD with an internal extractor, for that matter).

The proper way to load 99%+ of autos is to lock the slide to the rear, insert a loaded mag, and drop the slide, either by the slide stop release or by retracting the slide and fully releasing it.

And, considering that the top 1911 gunsmiths are all in agreement in this…I’ll put money they know a little bit more on the subject than most folks—myself included. Which is why I take their advice.
 
HansGruber said:
It’s “never drop the slide on an empty chamber”…and as far as dropping it on a live round, I believe that was in direct reference to dropping it on a round that had been manually chambered, not stripped out of the mag (dropping the slide on an already chambered round is a great way to bust an extractor on a 1911–or an XD with an internal extractor, for that matter).

The proper way to load 99%+ of autos is to lock the slide to the rear, insert a loaded mag, and drop the slide, either by the slide stop release or by retracting the slide and fully releasing it.

And, considering that the top 1911 gunsmiths are all in agreement in this…I’ll put money they know a little bit more on the subject than most folks—myself included. Which is why I take their advice.
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Agree 100%. 👆👆
 
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