Releasing the slide with which thumb? Neither?

How do you release the slide after a slide lock reload?

  • Firing hand thumb

    Votes: 25 55.6%
  • Support hand thumb

    Votes: 6 13.3%
  • slingshot, overhand, something else

    Votes: 14 31.1%

  • Total voters
    45

Jayne

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When doing a slide lock reload, I used to use my firing hand thumb to release the slide using the slide release, but have been professionally instructed to use the support hand thumb to hit the release. I keep trying both, and see pros/cons to each approach.

With your competition gun, when doing a slide lock reload, how do you drop the slide and why do you use that method?
 
Strong hand. Because it works and that’s how I’ve always done it. Might try support hand now that I know it’s a thing. Makes sense to me because your probably saving time because you support hand is on the gun and you can get on target faster?


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Slingshot, cause I'm a lefty, and only shoot 1911s, I tried some of my buddies plastic fantastics with ambi controls, but they weren't my cup of tea. Plus that's the way I was taught when I started shooting all those years ago
 
Strong thumb.
Most of my junk auto forwards, but I sweep fast enough I only know by whether or not pressure gets applied.
Running empty is bad.
 
I assume right handed.

Why just one way?

Who ever told you one way because of X was not thinking of Y,W,And Z.

I tell people to Do all of them, because knowing every technique is faster in the right situation.

If you want to see fast for fast sake, left handed shooter, drops slide with fingers from the right hand after inserting the magazine.
 
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The VP9 I used would release once the mag was installed with a slight bump to the bottom of the magwell
 
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It depends on what gun I'm shooting, and for me the habit is not easily broken.

1911's , support hand.

Striker fire, strong hand.
Ditto. Just makes sense. On a 1911 weak hand thumb is already there.
 
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... With your competition gun, when doing a slide lock reload, how do you drop the slide and why do you use that method?

I don't have a competition gun, but when doing a slide lock reload I use my support hand (which is already in the vicinity feeding the magwell) and slingshot the slide because I like to generate the extra momentum as a form of insurance. Necessary? No. Comforting? Yes. I claim no magic knowledge, but I'm just answering the questions asked.
 
Practice all of them. Depending on which weapon I am shooting I’ll do any of the above. Just don’t end up dicking around trying to find the release. If you don’t immediately send the slide Home go over the top. The ghost bullet forward release puts it in perfect position for support hand when shooting right handed for most people shooting glocks.
 
Gun and situation dictates this for me.

I generally prefer support hand because it works with most guns.

Hand over for my main gun because it has no slide release. But, IMO, running the gun dry is not ideal and should be avoided if possible.
 
I use my support hand thumb to depress the slide lock as I roll back into my 2 handed firing grip.
 
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Its a freaking handgun, IE designed to be used with only ONE hand. All controls should be able to be operated by the shooting hand which ever it maybe.

CD

I do all of my shooting one-handed. But I use 2 hands to reload and my support hand (left) is right there at the slide release so that is the easiest and quickest way for me.
 
I assume right handed.

Why just one way?
In regards to competition, because you need to practice one way and do it well. Switching back and forth will never ingrain it in your mind like doing it one way all the time will.

I use my strong hand thumb. For me personally, I don't feel that my support thumb would be any faster. In fact, I've at times thought that maybe I hit it too quickly with my strong thumb and missed chambering the round - not happened yet though.

That said, pick one way (whichever), and practice it into the ground.
 
Good video addressing the issue by Taran. I think he disagrees with me on which thumb, but I stand my ground! ;) Good thoughts though.

 
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Personally, I release it whatever feels most comfortable/convenient at the time.
 
In regards to competition, because you need to practice one way and do it well. Switching back and forth will never ingrain it in your mind like doing it one way all the time will.

I use my strong hand thumb. For me personally, I don't feel that my support thumb would be any faster. In fact, I've at times thought that maybe I hit it too quickly with my strong thumb and missed chambering the round - not happened yet though.

That said, pick one way (whichever), and practice it into the ground.

Learning only one way to do anything never shakes out when added stress. If the manipulation of a slide catch is tricky to anyone, practice, practice, practice. ITs simple to know all four techniques.
 
Learning only one way to do anything never shakes out when added stress. If the manipulation of a slide catch is tricky to anyone, practice, practice, practice. ITs simple to know all four techniques.
Of course know the techniques! No one is arguing that. But in regards to competition, when wanting to shave hundredths of a second off your score (missed out on first by .04 last time at H2O), you absolutely want to have made up your mind on what techniques to use and drill them into your brain. Slingshot, etc., is just a backup in case something goes wrong.

Edit: And I have to say learning one technique does in fact help during added stress. No decisions, no thinking, just reacting with what you've already built into muscle memory. I've personally had all kinds of problems during matches, but none of them resulted because I practiced one technique correctly too many times.
 
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I just went looking for this video to post in the thread! You beat me to it.


For everyone else in the thread, the opinions in the video do a good job of covering different reasons for choosing each method.
I saw another video of his where he touched on it in the middle, but in that one he advocated the strong thumb release technique. Guess he changed his mind along the way...not sure which one is more recent.
 
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First and foremost: slide lock reload is no bueno. Everyone has their own style, but I can't for the life of me figure out why you wouldn't tweak your gun to auto forward if it is only serving as comp gun. Slam mag home and continue spraying. I understand that there is a slight chance that you bind the mag and don't get it in there hard enough to release the slide, but hopefully this is rare enough that whatever method you use to release it will be unimportant.
 
I personally like to seat the mag pretty aggressively and let the momentum release the slide, for competition guns this is the fastest way.

If by chance it doesn't release on its own, Im a strong hand thumb guy since my thumb is basically on the slide release anyway. But other than IDPA, if you are at slide lock you didn't plan your stage correctly. :D:D
 
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How is it done?

I have lived my life with no slide-lock on anything but a 1911, as my thumb rides the top of a slide release. It never dawned on me to remove the release. More info, please.

It’s just a pin. The slide lock does not function and you can not lock it to the rear.

You’re already used to not having one, so might as well just get that crap out of your way! Very common in competition guns for USPSA Limited, Open, & 3gun etc.

As @slow is slow noted, running the gun dry is about the dumbest thing you can do in most competition.

One of the few things I have mastered in competition: losing what little head I have and running the gun dry, then coming in last place!
 
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If like my CZ50s and Walther PP series, drop mag, pull slide to rear and insert finger into ejection port and lift up on slide lock.
CD

I’m unfamiliar with either gun. Although I have shot a couple PP’s.

But I am completely unsurprised you are intimately familiar with them, haha.
 
Looks like I'm going to just do it multiple ways. With the new gun I tried last night, I practiced a bunch reloads each way and then let the "heat of the moment" decide what I would do. In every case I hit the slide release, so for this gun that's the answer. It's too small to get my support hand in there reliably quickly when reloading on the move.

When running a gun that's at 15+ rounds in the mag you don't really hit slide lock all that often, there is usually somewhere to plan the reload. Last night there were a lot of strings of 6 shots back to back with almost no movement if you planned it right so on a 12+1 gun I was pretty much going to hit slide lock at the end of a string (assuming I would throw at least one make-up shot in there somewhere). The new gun has new mags and they reliably lock the slide open so this wasn't an issue, but my tired old Glock mags are needing some springs to get back to reliably locking the slide (which as noted doesn't usually happen).

I'm going to pay more attention at the IDPA match on Saturday, I suspect more people go to lock there because its' faster to reload an empty gun vs. trying to hang on to that partial magazine and do a "tactical reload" on the run, and SSP is limited to 10 in the mag. But that's just a theory.
 
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