Racking slide on 1911

[jcaoloveshine]

Newbie friend of mine was shooting my Les Baer TRS today running CMC Shooting Star 7 rd mags and here's what happened. I went to another lane while he was shooting so I didn't see.

1. He loaded a full 7 round magazine, racked slide, slide went forward, round went into the chamber. he pulled the trigger, gun went click. Cartridge had no firing pin dent on it or any sign of being hit by firing pin, so was not weak primer or weak firing pin.

After further investigation turns out his hand was riding the slide as it racked forward rather than releasing the slide and letting it "slam" home into the round.

Could this have caused the issue?

The gun had no other issues when I was shooting or my other experienced friends.

[email]

Yes

[JTROKS]

Out of battery and the hammer did not make full contact with the firing pin. Hmmmm...

It can happen.

[jcaoloveshine]

Out of battery and the hammer did not make full contact with the firing pin. Hmmmm...

It can happen.

Due to easing the slide?

After doing some online reading ,seems like him easing the slide on a full mag was probably the culprit.

[chim-chim7]

Yep, operator error.

[negolien]

in short...

Yes, I had this issue with my Kimber when it was new. This is one reason when I use Gold Dots I either have it in the chamber or load the round using the slide stop. It's ok at the range if this happens but when I have my weapon around for HD or other protection it's condition 1 or slide stop as to not take a chance. It's a sort of limp wrist if you follow. It seems IMHO that good weapons like yours and other "custom" 1911's are very tight fitting which isn't a bad thing for accuaracy but may cause issues like you described if not careful. I hope this helps answer your question.

[REPR]

Always cracks me up watching a noobie at the range riding his charging handle or slide forward. Trying to explain to them you just release it and let it slam full speed ahead always gets a blank stare. They always seem to get that look on their face that says, but I paid hundreds of dollars for this and I don't want to hurt it, lol.

[jcaoloveshine]

Thanks everyone, yeah, looks like he just babied a bit much.

He told me prolly got it mixed up with how hard I emphasized to NOT drop the slide on an empty chamber so as to not rattle the crap out of the insides.

Gonna run about 200 rounds through the LB in the desert today, should be fun.

[PRCABR4Christ]

Out of battery and the hammer did not make full contact with the firing pin. Hmmmm...

It can happen.

this...except a 1911 usually won't fire out of battery

[jcaoloveshine]

Yes, I had this issue with my Kimber when it was new. This is one reason when I use Gold Dots I either have it in the chamber or load the round using the slide stop. It's ok at the range if this happens but when I have my weapon around for HD or other protection it's condition 1 or slide stop as to not take a chance. It's a sort of limp wrist if you follow. It seems IMHO that good weapons like yours and other "custom" 1911's are very tight fitting which isn't a bad thing for accuaracy but may cause issues like you described if not careful. I hope this helps answer your question.

Ah, so when you loaded the 1911 at home you tried easing the slide when you racked on a full mag so you could keep the safety on?

[negolien]

?

Ah, so when you loaded the 1911 at home you tried easing the slide when you racked on a full mag so you could keep the safety on?

You lost me there bud. I only had this issue at the range when I first got the weapon because I eased the slide like the guys friend did. It left me with an uneasy felling so I try to always be condition 1 when at home so I don't have to worry about it. hope this clears up any misunderstanding :<).

[jcaoloveshine]

You lost me there bud. I only had this issue at the range when I first got the weapon because I eased the slide like the guys friend did. It left me with an uneasy felling so I try to always be condition 1 when at home so I don't have to worry about it. hope this clears up any misunderstanding :<).

Gotcha, sorry. Makes total sense now. Thought for some reason you would ease the slide on a full mag when you were at home, haha

He's going to shoot with me again tomorrow, this time he should know exactly what to do now

[walmart_ar15]

Hmm

this...except a 1911 usually won't fire out of battery

The disconnecter should prevent that Or for some reason the hammer was caught by the hammer hook (trigger released before the hammers clears the hook)

To OP. I ease slide on a full mag all the time, as matter of fact, that's how I check to make sure the gun will load properly. When everything is aligned and tuned correctly, there should not be high resistance to load a round in the chamber. When easing the slide to load, one just need to check to make sure the slide is in full battery.

If the round won't load unless you slam the slide after the break-in period, I would be wary.

[jcaoloveshine]

The disconnecter should prevent that Or for some reason the hammer was caught by the hammer hook (trigger released before the hammers clears the hook)

To OP. I ease slide on a full mag all the time, as matter of fact, that's how I check to make sure the gun will load properly. When everything is aligned and tuned correctly, there should not be high resistance to load a round in the chamber. When easing the slide to load, one just need to check to make sure the slide is in full battery.

If the round won't load unless you slam the slide after the break-in period, I would be wary.

Weird, why is it that general consensus says you shouldn't ease the slide shut on a full mag in a 1911?

[redcliff]

Weird, why is it that general consensus says you shouldn't ease the slide shut on a full mag in a 1911?

Because many 1911's arent that smooth and the slide may not go fully into battery be easing it forward. Generally speaking, if the thumb safety will go on you're in battery.