1911 - Letting The Slide Slam Home On An Empty Chamber

[Rigrat]

I wouldn't think it to be a real issue. But I'm no 1911 guru by any sight. I do believe that if this was a real issue then the design wouldn't of lasted this long. Sounds like a more of a CYA sort of thing fro the manufactures.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Sarge45]

I see it as undue stress on the parts. Name a valid reason why a person would need to drop the slide on an empty chamber. That unimpeded, metal-to-metal impact can be harsh on the system.

[Rigrat]

I may be off base here, so correct me if I am wrong. But every time the slide goes home there is unimpeded metal to metal contact. I would think if the head space is correct the cartridge would really not offer much cushion effect. If it did wouldn't the cartridge show damage when removed without firing?

[QKShooter]

The action of the slide moving the top cartridge forward and out of the magazine (which is under mag spring pressure pressing it into the underside of the mag feed lips) & up into the barrel chamber & also moving the cartridge up into the extractor slows the forward momentum of the slide.

But, the only real "metal to metal" impact that occurs when the slide is running forward (at no matter what speed) is the barrel pivoting up and the top barrel lugs engaging into the slide lug recesses. There is no slide to frame impact when the slide slams forward.

[QKShooter]

It's actually OK to slam your car doors also.

All vehicle doors - trunks - hoods etc...from all car makers need to pass rigorious design "slam tests" for every newly designed make and model.

The Chevy VOLT did 25,000 Lift Gate hard slams and abusive slams three times that's 75,000 slams with no damage.

The door slam test is 62,000 slams per door divided into sub-zero, hot, & high humidity environments.

So don't get mad if your kid slams the car door every once in a while.

Now...let's all run out and buy a VOLT so that we can slam the trunk.

[Rigrat]

Thanks for explaining that, well except for the car door, LOL.

[Cosmo]

1911 to 2011...World Wars, Korea, Viet Nam, thousands upon thousands of GIs using them, thousands upon thousands of civilians using them...I'm thinking there have been quite a lot of slides slamming an empty chamber over the last 100 years...my common sense will not allow me to put a lot of faith in the "forum experts" and gun magazine "authors" that have decided that dropping a slide on a 1911 is a horrible thing. If you buy the 1911, you obviously have the right to treat it anyway you like...personally, I don't drop the slide on an empty chamber...but if/when I do, I think both me and my Mil-Spec will survive the ordeal.

[sheepdog]

Though I'm pretty convinced that dropping the slide won't hurt anything, I don't do it because of the car door/screen door comparison. When I was growing up, my grand dad would yell at me if I slammed a door on anything. He told me that when I got old enough to pay for the (expletive deleted) door, I could slam the (different colorful expletive deleted) door. It most probably won't hurt anything if I drop the slide on my 1911, but I got tired of RO's (who were by no means old enough to be my grandfather) cocking one eyebrow at me and telling me it would ruin the gun after I showed clear and dropped the slide that I just quit. I should have just told them, "I'm old enough to pay for the expletive deleted gun now, Paw."
I would like to know exactly how much speed or force is lost by the slide stripping a round off the magazine en route to battery, though. I have a feeling it's not much.

[Rigrat]

[kudzu]

It's clear that we aren't all going to agree on this subject, but why exactly would you need/want to drop the slide on an empty chamber? To me, this is a non-problem.