Slide Release or Rack It?

[Emptymag]

I thought it was determined 100% that a Glock (or was it another handgun) has a slide lock and not a slide release?

Whatever. Some guns have them obviously designed to be manipulated, while others don't.
I rack the slide since all of mine are different, but racking works equally on all.

[RockIsland]

It depends on the gun, but I mostly use the slide release.

First thing I did to my first 1911 was put a CMC extended release on it.

It feels much more efficient for me to just flick my thumb, than it is to grab the slide with my other hand and rack it. I don't know, it's always just been very natural and instinctive for me.

I think racking alters where your pointing it more than using the release does.

I have to doubt that using the release causes any more wear than firing until the magazine is empty does.

Not all pistols have very usable releases Those are the ones that I pull back on the slide to put them into battery.

[Yoder]

Some of you guys are straight up operators and shit. I understand when you are gun fighting in the hood you aint got time for no slide lock, release thingy. I do not operate but I did stay in a Holiday Inn express once and I have fine motor skills like a mother fucker.

[OF&U]

I always rack. Some pistols (like my P64) don't have an external slide release. It only locks open on an empty mag, and the only way back into battery is racking.

[ar15jules]

I do off hand thumb. Mag in, hand naturally goes up to reassume grip, thumb hits slide release on the way back to the thumbs forward position. That's why I like my USPs. Slide stop is out of the way of my shooting thumb, but the serrated portion is nice and big, basically impossible to miss.

Not that I'm against the rack it method, but there is also the possibility of inducing malfunctions that way by riding the slide slightly as it goes forward. Using the magazine release gives the slide the most consistent velocity when it picks up the next round.

Too many folks don't learn how to properly rack a slide. The pistol should be brought in close to the body from a shooting position. I always use the pickle jar analogy. If you are having trouble opening a jar of pickles, would you attempt to open it with both of your arms extended? No, you bring it in close to your chest. The hand on the grip of the pistol should do all the work. The other hand should overhand grip the slide and apply nothing but a squeeze of the hand. The hand and arm holding the pistol literally punch outward. The hand with the overhand grip has no choice in the matter and will allow the pistol to exit heading toward the target. If need be, firing can commence one handed before regaining a two handed grip. I have shown this method to people with arthritis and small stature women who insisted that they couldn't do it and it works.

[SevenMilePete]

Some people dont like to do it that way because they say it rounds off the end of the release lever.
They say to hold open the slide, then hold down the release lever and then let the slide go home.
I'll do that on expensive pistols, but others I do what you do.

Why would you hold down the release lever? The preferred method for most pistols is to pull back the slide, releasing the stop, and letting it return, without holding on.

[Just1more]

Too many folks don't learn how to properly rack a slide. The pistol should be brought in close to the body from a shooting position. I always use the pickle jar analogy. If you are having trouble opening a jar of pickles, would you attempt to open it with both of your arms extended? No, you bring it in close to your chest. The hand on the grip of the pistol should do all the work. The other hand should overhand grip the slide and apply nothing but a squeeze of the hand. The hand and arm holding the pistol literally punch outward. The hand with the overhand grip has no choice in the matter and will allow the pistol to exit heading toward the target. If need be, firing can commence one handed before regaining a two handed grip. I have shown this method to people with arthritis and small stature women who insisted that they couldn't do it and it works.

You are right on the racking technique - however I tend to do a push /pull - just a little different

[Just1more]

Why would you hold down the release lever? The preferred method for most pistols is to pull back the slide, releasing the stop, and letting it return, without holding on.

If the mag is empty and to release the slide, (which is held back by the follower) that is when I hold slide lock button down to get the slide to ride forward back into battery

[ar15jules]

You are right on the racking technique - however I tend to do a push /pull - just a little different

I do too, but this eliminates any confusion about the overhand grip and the hand that the pistol is in as being the dominant force in the equation. People see the pros doing press checks and clearing their competition pistols with the dreaded pointer finger/thumb slingshot and get confused. If my defensive pistol had a weak ass recoil spring for shooting low power factor rounds in it, I would probably do that too.

[Hodgie]

Some of you guys are straight up operators and shit. I understand when you are gun fighting in the hood you aint got time for no slide lock, release thingy. I do not operate but I did stay in a Holiday Inn express once and I have fine motor skills like a mother fucker.

Real retired operator at 2:40 using slide lock thingy


Much younger more recent real retired operator using that thing too with lighting speed at 21:05 taking one of the hardest courses there currently is.



Retired Sgt Major operator teaching it on two different pistols after tap and rack in order to get your bang.


This current professional operator is so much of an operator he uses both techniques and does one using the RDS.


Travis Haley retired operator and general bad ass demonstrates the slide release and power stroke methods on several pistols and when and why to use each which has been touched on much earlier in this thread.



The moral of my story besides late night boredom is if anyone tells you there is only one correct way to drop the slide after a reload then they are full of shit and might not be worth listening to especially if your paying.