Chambering Semiauto First Shots

[Xargos]

Laser, have you had any firearm training, because it is very clear that you have not.

[lasersailor184]

Originally posted by Halo
Good point, lasersailor.  I'll have to wait to get back to the range to check that again.  I practice feeding loaded magazines at home, but I won't chamber a shell at home.

If the gun show is ever in town, pick yourself up a couple (2-3) dry firing shells.  They are these neat little plastic red shells that have a spring loaded fake primer that doesn't wear out your firing pin nearly as quickly as dry firing does.


Anyway, the catch to hold the slide back is just a little lever (at least on the 1911 and pt99) that protrudes into the magazine.  When the follower of the magazine gets to the top, it pushes that lever up, which pushes up the mechanical action on the outside in to a little dent which physically holds open the slide.

Again, I'm assuming the XD action is the same (I've never even held one), but if there is even one bullet in the magazine, it shouldn't catch unless you use a finger to push the latch to keep it open.

Laser, have you had any firearm training, because it is very clear that you have not.

No.  No firearm training at all.  In fact, I've never even fired a gun.  I just like to collect them to look at them occasionally.  And also to clean them.  Even though they aren't dirty, the smell of Hoppes #9 is just divine.

[Xargos]

That is probably the truth and your just trying to sound sarcastic.

[Dago]

Originally posted by Xargos
keeping a spring loaded does not wear it out, loading and unloading it does.

That is correct.

And pistols DO NOT USE CLIPS!  They use magazines.

A clip is a small piece of metal that holds rounds by the base of the cartridge that are fed into a rifle or into a magazine.

For Gods sakes people, get it right.  It isn't hard.

And no, I don't have trouble loading the first round into a semi-auto.  Pull the slide all the back until it stops, then let go.    Do not slowly close the action, let it slam forward as designed.  If you can't get the slide all the way back, have your wife chamber the first round for you, since you are too weak.

[Xargos]

Clip is easier to spell.  

[Viking]

Originally posted by Halo
I really like my Springfield XD .45, but I have to admit I occasionally  botch the first shell chambering by not pulling the slide back far enough.  Or sometimes in various drills I get too exuberant and pull the slide back too far, locking it open.  

That sounds like a serious design flaw to me. As long as there are rounds left in the mag the slide should never lock open unless you manually do so using the thumb release. I would get a better designed gun.

[Halo]

The XD has never locked open when I'm firing it.  Only when I'm doing home drill with an UNLOADED magazine.  

Yet the manual does say if there is a feeding problem, the slide can be pulled back and locked.  

This is the same for all pistols, isn't it?

[Xargos]

It should only lock if you push that little lever up or when it's empty.  I've owned some pistols that don't lock open at all regardless.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

It is 2AM, it is dark, you are sound asleep. You are awakened from this sound sleep by an intruder, in your home. You retrieve your weapon from the safe place of your choosing. It is not loaded. So, you attempt to load it and you...........

Originally posted by Halo
 yank the slide back too far and lock it open.  That requires jettisoning the magazine, pulling the slide back and letting it go so it closes, then reinserting the magazine and recocking the slide to load the first cartridge.

[/B]

You do this as you try to clear your head from a sound sleep, in the dark. Or at least you try. And MAYBE succeed.

Generally the XD seems to work fine.  The only shells that didn't feed were the first time I used each of the first two magazines.  But then one didn't feed right the other day.  

You need the services of a professional gunsmith. And a competent firearms instructor. I'm not trying to be harsh, I just want you (and your family) to come out alive and unharmed in the event you should ever actually NEED a weapon.

[Halo]

(quote)  For Gods sakes people, get it right. It isn't hard.

If you can't get the slide all the way back, have your wife chamber the first round for you, since you are too weak.  (unquote)


Dago, can you spell    s u p e r i o r i t y     c o m p l e x  ?

[Xargos]

The Captain is right, take it to a gunsmith.

[Halo]

Hmmm, okay, I'm hearing none of you has ever experienced this problem.    I appreciate the insight and will take the XD over for consultation with local gun experts.  Thanks for the perspective.

I'm sure the problem is me and not the XD.  It's a great gun, and if any of you have not yet taken a good look at it, you'd be doing yourselves a favor if you would.

[lasersailor184]

I don't think he needs to get it to a gunsmith.  He just needs to understand how it works.

A few times at the gun range should clear this all up.  He tried to do something with an empty mag and panicked when it didn't respond the way he thought it would.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by Halo
The XD has never locked open when I'm firing it.  Only when I'm doing home drill with an UNLOADED magazine.  

Yet the manual does say if there is a feeding problem, the slide can be pulled back and locked.  

This is the same for all pistols, isn't it?

The slide should ONLY lock open if you shoot the magazine dry. Or pull the slide back over an already empty magazine. Unless there's some sort of bizarre feature on that weapon. If the slide is SUPPOSED to lock if you pull it all the way back, with a full or semi full magazine in the weapon, then that's another reason I'm glad I DID NOT buy one of those things. If you are trying to drill with an empty magazine, and you pull the slide all the way back and it locks back, it is supposed to. You CANNOT drill for "making ready" with an empty magazine. It CANNOT be done. You are teaching yourself VERY bad habits at best, and practicing to get yourself (or someone you love) hurt or killed.

Part of owning a self shucker is learning the manual of arms, the right way. That means practicing loading, unloading, and ALL functions with loaded magazines in a safe place and in a safe manner. There is NO other way to learn to handle that weapon safely and properly. NONE.

The slide on my P-14 ONLY locks back when the magazine is dry (UNLESS I force the slide release lever up manually), because the magazine follower pushes the slide release lever up and locks the slide so you know the weapon is empty, and so you can shove another magazine in, press the slide release, and you again have a loaded, cocked weapon.

I keep my P-14 loaded, with the hammer down on a live round. If I need it, I pull it from it's holster, and pull the hammer back if I need to. My weapon is action ready as soon as I lay my hand on it. Because if I need a weapon, I need it NOW, and NOT after I load it and fumble with it for 15 seconds. I did look at the XD, and several others. I'll keep my 1911 based P-14, thanks,  John Moses Browning was a true genius, and the 1911 is a marvel of simplicity, function, efficiency, and ergonomics.

[Halo]

(quote)  He tried to do something with an empty mag and panicked when it didn't respond the way he thought it would.  (unquote)

aiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!   shhrrrriiieeeeeeeeek!!!!  

That's panic.