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Putting forward serration on slides seems to be an increasingly popular custom modification to make press checks easier. How many of us do press checks?
To answer the obvious, "What's a press check?" questions:
To visually confirm whether a round is chambered, you bring the slide back just enough to peek inside, but not enough to eject the round.
PS. Dropping the mag and locking the slide back before handing over a pistol is more than just good manners.
My XD's and my S&W Sigma have visual features where you can see if there is a chambered round. I do press checks in them when I'm dry firing with snap caps but that's about it. I definitely press check my 1911 and P3AT.
Unless I'm at the range and about to let my buddy shoot my pistol I will drop the mag and lock the slide back before allowing ANYONE to handle my gun PERIOD. If I'm going to handle my own pistol I will pull the slide back and check. If I put the gun down for a few I'll do it again even if I know it's empty. It's just a plain good practice. Eventually my main squeeze will ALWAYS be loaded as a concealed carry so I made this a personal rule. I really don't want someone to hand me a pistol in any other condition but this one either.
DittoQuote:
Originally Posted by gmaske
In my S&W99 i can see the casing when it is in the gun
I don't press check. My carry gun is always loaded and I go on the assumption that my other guns are always hot as well. I figure it's safer to assume that the guns are always loaded than to try to remember what condition they are in. I don't ever rely on the chamber loaded indicator on my XD.
I look in the test port to check for brass when I get dressed in the morning. If I want it unloaded I lock the slide back and drop the mag or dump the rounds from the cylinder when dealing with the revolver. If I am cleaning, dry firing or have placed them in storage they will be empty otherwise they are ready to go at the flick of a finger.
:smt1099
Not sure what the experts say is best, but I do the same as Todd. I don’t have a indicator on my p226. I have one on my markIII, but I never look at it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd
I voted no.
The system I use is basically this: if the pistol is in a holster, it's loaded (by which I mean fully loaded). Doesn't matter if it's on my hip, in the night table, or in the safe. I handle my weapons daily, and am well aware of their conditions of readiness. I am also the only person who handles my weapons.
Pistols out of holsters (in the safe or ready for the semiannual cleaning session) are clear. These I check, since "unloaded" guns are much more dangerous than loaded one, but this isn't a press check.
At Front Sight, they have you press checking your pistol every damn time time you step to the line, which about drove me nuts. I guess it's okay for newer shooters who need to be constantly reminded about the condition of their weapons.
The main reason I don't press check is that I fondle loaded weapons as little as possible. A press check is an excellent opportunity for an ND.
All of my guns are always loaded. All. Always. No exceptions.
I can understand the competition guys press-checking. They are on cold ranges, and their guns are constantly changing from loaded to unloaded to loaded to unloaded. They need to check. I don't shoot on cold ranges.
Like Mike, I don't like "fiddling." The most dangerous time for airplanes is take-offs and landings. The most dangerous time for guns is loading and unloading. Constant press-checking seems like an invitation to an unexpected loud noise.
+1 Milquetoast
No press checks for me.
My carry gun is always loaded. No need to press check it.
The guns in my safe are always unloaded. I open the cylinder or lock back the slide when I pull them out. No need to press check them.
I have tried the press check, but find on my Kel tec P11 that in order to see the round in the chamber you must pull the slide far enough back that the round is partially ejected, and then when released causes a jam. Maybe it's me or maybe it's the gun, but I can,t seem to work it out. So I just drop the mag and pull the slide to the open position.
Tom
Yep! But only when I get a click,instead of a bang ,when I pull the trigger.It is otherwise Loaded unless I am passing it off at the range...then it is dropped mag and slide locked back.
Ditto ditto... I like to receive or hand off any semi-auto without mag, slide locked open and no chambered round confirmed.Quote:
Originally Posted by tnoisaw
I do it out of habbit but all the guns in my home are always loaded, I have to go with the "A loaded weapon is much more safe than an 'unloaded' weapon" mentality. If I am handing my weapon to someone I drop the Mag and lock the chamber open every time, no exception.
That's an excellent point. A person handling a gun that's been in his hands after loading or unloading should typically have the presence of mind about him to know the status of the weapon, I'd imagine. (disclaimer of considering any every and all as loaded with muzzle-point appropriately managed at all times as per the rules)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Barham
Makes me think, if you're not breaking down the weapon for service or handing it off to someone or voluntarily setting the gun down on table or work bench, why mess with it? Consider it LOADED, whether you know it is or isn't, unless you're field stripping the weapon. So if you're handing it off to someone, just one proper check should be sufficient, correct? Same with receiving the weapon from someone else... Which goes back to my first statement about liking to lock the slide, remove mag and check chambe for that.
My question is, "during a press check, the slide is drawn slightly back to check for a chambered round, if the round is confirmed for firing, can the action of performing the press check cause an FTF because the slide might not correctly lock closed?" I know I like the reassurance of that slide banging closed as a round is being chambered.
There is a chance of failing to return to battery as a result of a press check in non-1911s. Putting the safety on with a 1911 pushes the safety lever into a corresponding V-notch in the slide that ensures RTB (return to battery). Safety on, hammer back, is condition one - the way a 1911 was meant to be carried. I've heard of some folks with non-1911s press the slide forward after a press check to ensure RTB.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dsig1
I'm really interested in the responses to this question as I'm increasingly seeing forward serrations as a popular customization - obstensibly for press checks - on all guns, 1911, glocks, XDs, even PPKs.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Barham
If you've ever seen what happens to a finger located just below the muzzle when a centerfire pistol goes off (how some press-check a 1911), then you will be cured of the habit. If you don't know what happens, take a piece of fruit along when you next go shooting. Rest the muzzle of your pistol on top of the tomato or whatever and let a round go.
I have two kinds of handguns - one set is for defense and are always loaded. The other is for range/fun use, and are never kept loaded. There's no in between, so I always know if a round is chambered.
PhilR.
If one uses the forward serrations to slightly draw the slide backwards, can you still call it a "press check"?Quote:
Originally Posted by submoa
I think that maneuver would need to be called a "push check (or pull, depending on the orientation of the hand)", in order to distinguish it from a true press check......
PhilR.
I am of the mentality that handing loaded guns to people is a bad idea.
1. If you are just showing it to someone, make it safe. Drop the mag and lock it back.
2. If you are allowing someone to shoot it, teach them the function of the gun from mag insertion clear thru to firing and clearing, why start a lesson in the middle?
3. If I set a gun down (no kids in my house) I assume any number of things could have happened to it if it were out of my site, I check the loaded chamber indicator on my Glock, then "press check" it using the rear serrations, and ensure return to battery. Keep in mind, I don't set my gun down just anywhere, but still I always check.
One other thing to consider, when you do press check a weapon, it can pull a round forward in the magazine just enough to cause a potential issue, so I always drop the mag, reseat the round and reinsert the mag. I noticed this especially in my Kahr K98 Elite. This may sound like a bit much, but hell, if I have to depend on my gun working the first time everytime, I'm not going to give it any reason to malfunction.
One time, I got pulled over in Utah for speeding (just a little) and I informed the Trooper that I had a permit and weapon. He asked that I hand it over while he conducts his stop. I asked if he minded if I cleared the weapon. When he asked why, I said "Because I never hand a loaded weapon to anyone." He about crapped his pants laughing. He said that was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that. He also said I probably wasn't the kind of person he needed to concern himself with. He gave me a smile and a wave and said "get outta here, and keep it under 90 please!"
Zhur
I voted yes. I wear my pistol all day. I take it off, as I get ready for bed. I generally take it out of the holster and put it on the nightstand. When I get dressed the next day I put the holster on do a quick check and put it in the holster.
I don’t put my finger in front of the barrel of my 1911 (yikes), and I point the gun in a safe direction. I am forgetful. I may have unloaded it the night before for a dry practice, cleaning, other maintenance or any of many reasons. I am sure it is loaded when I check it.
I don't take my pistol out of the holster. I take the whole kit and caboodle off my belt and put it in the night table drawer.
I am also far too lazy to do much dry firing with pistols anymore. :mrgreen:
Doing an old-style press-check with a 1911 isn't as dangerous as it sounds at first blush. If you pinch thumb and forefinger together before you release the thumb safety, it's actually quite safe, since the slide comes out of battery the instant the safety comes off.
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd
Also, in my XD .45acp the chamber loaded indicator can "stick" in the loaded position sometimes. I always assume any gun handed to me is loaded until I check it.