Slide release or rack the slide??

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Not true. You can use objective testing to see which is better. And the results have been in for some time.

Take a shooting class with a Grand Master or former member of a tier 1 military unit. Take several. You'll see a pattern as to which the best shooters in the world utilize, and their decisions are not based on feelings.

Actually, it is true that there is no right/wrong answer when the question is one of preference.

Insofar as 'objective' testing, one needs to ask what the assigned priorities are; e.g., speed, gross motor skill vs. fine motor skill, the firearm(s) in question, the context of use, size of hands/length of fingers/thumb, et al. So... Yes. There is an objective answer, but it depends on myriad variables.

That doesn't mean you don't practice BOTH methods. But, again, if the question is which you PREFER, every individual has a different alignment of priorities. Which is precisely what you're seeing in this poll. Thus, we all have differing preferences and preferences aren't all about 'feelings' or 'my instructor said, so your instructor is wrong' or 'my Dad can beat up your Dad.'

Bottom line is, there is no-one-size-fits-all answer that is 100% correct, 100% of the time, for 100% of people/circumstances. That is the objective reality. Any instructor worth their salt will acknowledge the truth of that.

Hey. You don't have to believe me. Here's a guy you might have heard of who says, almost verbatim, the same thing...

[Ron-Solo]

Great comments from everyone. I think because my handgun training came from competition rather than military or law enforcement might explain why I always used the slide release. Seems like a common theme here is competition shooters tend to use the slide stop more than combat trained shooters. Always interesting to see my fellow shooters thoughts on things like this.

All of my training was for combat shooting. I was trained to use the slide release/lock/booger cleaner/whatever you want to call it. I easily have 50,000 rounds thru my two berettas combined. Ive never had a malfunction with either pistol

Slide release everything that has one.

[Jimvh2]

Most available in CA.

That said, I've adapted to using my trigger finger on the slide stop, as the mag goes in the gun, my hand slams it home and the slide stop releases the slide.

Easier on 1911 than most plastic guns, but sometimes you gotta adapt, improvise and overcome.

I like the M&P cause the slide goes home of its own accord when you slam the magazine home.

Glocks do that sometimes, though not reliably enough to expect it so I just slingshot them.

Like Robert said most guns have the slide stop on the left side only, making a left handed shooter use the trigger finger or slingshot to release the slide. Even though I can use my trigger finger on some i've adopted slingshotting all to keep my training consistent.

[Kurgan]

Slide release with support hand. Sling shot it too slow when fractions of a second count.

[SG29736]

[QUOTE=walmart_ar15;22611580]Depending on what you are training for:

• Speed shooting, slingshot with support hand thumb on slide release
• Combat shooting, over hand rack with support hand.

In competition, missed release just cause you time. In combat missed chamber may cause your life.

Or. In competition, taking the extra time to rack the slide just costs you extra time. In combat, the extra time racking requires may cost you your life.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Sorry, the tac timmies lied to you.

If you want to play semantics with a weak or fallacious understanding of the physiology involved, we could go with use of the thumb being a finer motor skill than use of the hand to grasp the slide and rack/slingshot if that makes you feel more comfortable. However, it's not as broadly disparate and a bit more nuanced than you'd like to suggest...

...Gross motor skills depend upon muscle tone, the contraction of muscles and their strength for positioning movements... Fine motor skills coordinate precise, small movements involving the hands, wrists, feet, toes, lips and tongue. Features of fine motor control include handwriting, drawing, grasping objects, cutting and controlling a computer mouse...

Put another way, fine motor skills don't so much involve strength or larger movements. When using the slide release, you are using a fine motor skill; i.e., small, precise movement which doesn't involve strength per se. When racking/slingshoting a slide, you may be 'grasping,' but it's not a 'delicate' or small movement and requires much larger muscle groups be utilized beyond the hand, where the strength and leverage of those muscle groups (including the arm, shoulder, and chest muscles) is engaged to make/complete the motion.

We could argue this for awhile, but the bottom line is that it comes down to a relative comparison that is more nuanced than "walking" vs. "grasping a pencil." It also misses the point as fine vs. gross motor skills is only PART of the discussion; i.e., ONE variable which is, to one degree or another, somewhat dependent upon the individual. (Example: Women don't always have the hand strength to rack the slide as readily/easily as men.) Which leads us to your second declaration...

Strawman argument. Nobody said there was.

That's not gonna work as a deflection. The 'discussion' has been...

The bottom line is that there is no 'right/wrong' answer between the two options. In fact, the OP's question wasn't about right or wrong, but: "Which do you prefer?"

Your, specific, response to that was...

Not true. You can use objective testing to see which is better. And the results have been in for some time.

Take a shooting class with a Grand Master or former member of a tier 1 military unit. Take several. You'll see a pattern as to which the best shooters in the world utilize, and their decisions are not based on feelings.

That indicates you feel there is a right/wrong answer; i.e., a 'correct' answer as derived by 'objective testing' in determining a superior result. As I and others have subsequently suggested... There is an objective answer, but it depends on myriad variables.

Let's just say your responses to those suggested variables has been condescending (at best) to downright rude, dismissive, and, in the specific case of slide releases being disadvantageously located for left-hand shooters... downright obtuse. (I note that you failed to acknowledge that Larry Vickers is the very definition of who you are defining as the type of expert you are referencing and he is saying, almost verbatim, what I have.)

I'm glad you now agree there is no one-size-fits-all answer; which is synonymous with there being no right or wrong answer. Remember, a PREFERENCE is subjectively derived, meaning there is no answer which is going to be 'more correct,' even by objective testing as it is based on a combination of personal experience, feel, and evaluation. That doesn't mean one or the other of the methods (slide release vs. racking/slingshot) isn't going to be a better choice for a given individual, a given firearm, and a given circumstance at a given time.

Which is why you practice both methods.

[EvoXguy]

I've tried the overhand grip method to rack and it just feels unnatural to me. Probably cause I learned the slingshot and that's what I've been doing for the last 25 years. I also use the slide stop from time to time. I say whatever works and is comfortable to you is the way to go.

[FISHNFRANK]

Both my Glock 19s slides will close automatically and load the round when the magazine is slammed into the well, so I just shoot. You could do a press check and probably should as a matter of proper procedure but I don’t since it never, ever fails to chamber the round. I had a Glock 36 which didn’t automatically close and I had to use the slide release

[HooYah]

Racking the slide is lowest common denominator training. It's neither the fastest or most efficient way to chamber a round after a reload.

[Hsu]

You can always spot the gross motor skills people at the range banging the mag release with their palm.

[Preston-CLB]

Yesterday at the range, I racked the slide, as opposed to using the slide stop. Racking definitely took a little more time, but I've had no malfunctions using either method.

I don't need to be heavy handed locking up a mag, or the pressing the mag release.
-P

[Quiet]

HK P7M8. Slide goes to lock on empty. Hit the paddle release with your trigger finger and empty mag shoots out. Insert new magazine with weak hand. Re-squeeze the squeeze cocker and slide closes, chambering a round, and cocking the striker. Resume sending rounds downrange. Perfection.

What he said.

On other pistols...
If it has what the manufacturer calls a "slide stop", then I sling shot it (rack slide).
If it has what the manfuacturer calls a "slide release", then I engage that.

[SCVlongstroke]

Both ways get the same results I guess

[trackcage]

As another lefty, I've chosen that the slingshot makes more sense for me. With the exception to my competition gun below:

The G34 I use in USPSA has been modified by me - in the form on a rounded edge on the slide stop - to go forward when a new magazine is inserted 100% of the time. Without any need to "slam it home" to get it to go. It is faster than either of the two methods being discussed here and works well for me, with that gun, in this situation.

Obviously it wouldn't be realistic to do this to all my guns. For competition it's very practical.

[igs]

What he said.

On other pistols...
If it has what the manufacturer calls a "slide stop", then I sling shot it (rack slide).
If it has what the manfuacturer calls a "slide release", then I engage that.

Manufacturers that make a "slide stop" got it wrong.