I agree with this argument to a point. Most of us on this board handle fire arms enough to be able to learn to use a slide release proficiently. However, there are lots of people who buy guns and don’t train. Whether or not they should train, the fact of the matter is that some people won’t. They’ll take their gun to the range on occasion and throw it in a drawer or a safe and wait for the day they need it (I’ve done this for periods in the past myself). Those people would be better off learning over the top because they already have the disadvantage of lack of fine motor skills for trigger, lack of skills for the mag release, not to mention if they have a Manuel safety.
Those of us who are familiar and practice are much less likely to lose all sense of fine motor skills. The gun is just a tool we know how to operate automatically. It just becomes instinct. operating a slide release won’t be an obstacle like it could be for someone who is not proficient with their fire arm.
It can be done, I’m just saying that if the lock/release is easy, why not use it.
I do own some that take significant effort to rack. As folks get older and their hands weaker, there’s no reason not to keep enjoying shooting what they own, if not for protection.
I’m not religious about it. I explained my reasons from switching away from using the stop/release above, but I’d probably still use it (at least on a 1911) if I were competing. But the reason wouldn’t be because I can’t manipulate the slide as there are just too many reasons you have to be able to do that when the slide isn’t locked back.
Just to muddy the waters a little more IMO we should be comfortable doing either
We never know what kind of situation we may find ourselves in and one may be more advantageous than the other in some instances
Or put more simply train for any possible situation and hope and pray it never happens
It is a tactical advantage to be able to have the slide come home automatically and be ready in battery but like most things gun it takes practice to make use of it
When I am at the range or at home, loading the gun in an unhurried manner, I will rack the slide. However, if I am shooting and hit slide lock, or doing a reload drill, I hit the slide stop/slide release. I am a right handed shooter and hit the slide stop with my left thumb. Left hand/support hand inserts the mag and as it comes back to firing position, the left thumb hits the slide stop.
FYI, it is not advisable to drop the slide on an unloaded 1911. If you’re not stripping a cartridge, ease the slide down.
As a very young child my father, one of my first safety rules I recall, he told me to never rely on safeties because they can fail. He then told me about a friend of his that was constantly playing with the safety and testing it, until one day it failed. Fast forward to my first handgun training several decades later, and in addition to that same admonition about safeties, the instructor stated that a slide lock, if used as a release can become worn and fail to lock the slide back. That sounds like reasonable advice to me.
I am sure that we all agree that all firearm parts do wear out eventually. It is just a matter of how much use each part gets and how well it is able to take the use. Some parts last longer than others. Would not the same be true of slide locks? The next question is, how many times does that take before failure occurs? Then next is how expensive or easily replaced/available will the part be when it finally fails?
Those are good points. That’s a good reason to inspect firearms and function check everything frequently. Most things don’t just suddenly fail, many things could be avoided.
One of the things that’s funny to me is parts on guns break at the range. What if that was in the middle of a fight ? But at least it gets replaced. That’s one of the reasons I’m a big fan of polymer striker fired guns. Parts break, but they’re usually found to be extremely reliable under high round counts and adverse condition. This is also an argument for buying a gun that’s been around for a long time. You can learn from other people’s experience (Before it happens to you), and it gives manufactures time to improve.
? But at least it gets replaced. That’s one of the reasons I’m a big fan of polymer striker fired guns. Parts break, but they’re usually found to be extremely reliable under high round counts and adverse condition. This is also an argument for buying a gun that’s been around for a long time. You can learn from other people’s experience (Before it happens to you), and it gives manufactures time to improve.