Press check

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I have a couple of colleagues who disagree on something and I’m curious to hear the input of this forum on the two points of view.

The question revolves around the following practice: After loading a semiauto handgun, do a “press check” (pull the slide back a smidge) and visually confirm that a round has indeed loaded into the chamber.

The points of disagreement are:

Point #1: This is a good practice to ensure that the gun does have a round in the chamber.

Versus

Point #2: This is a bad practice because pulling the slide back like this will cause the gun to go out of battery and potentially cause a malfunction.

Those are the points of debate. How do you all respond? Thanks for your input.

I never check because mine is always hot. Theoretically position of next cartridge in magazine could shift causing a malfunction.
 
... but cycling over a full magazine I would think could change the position of the second round....

Theoretically position of next cartridge in magazine could shift causing a malfunction.
I was just going to ignore the first time this was commented on, but since two of you (both, perhaps coincidentally, who have joined the forum within the past month) have mentioned it, and neither of you seem to ever do "press checks", I'm wondering how you both came upon this information that the next round in the mag could shift?

Is this "theoretical" taught in some shooting school?
 
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Condition of readiness is a safety rule.

Tell me this: to give you a weapon, I clear it. I drop the mag, hold the slide open, inspect the chamber, let the slide go home and dry fire. Weapon's clear.

Then I lay it down between us.

What do you do?
 
Condition of readiness is a safety rule.

Tell me this: to give you a weapon, I clear it. I drop the mag, hold the slide open, inspect the chamber, let the slide go home and dry fire. Weapon's clear.

Then I lay it down between us.

What do you do?

If i pick it up I am still checking it, like I do for every gun, even the ones in my safe I KNOW are unloaded.
 
If I'm at the range I don't check. At work I press check every morning just to make sure I didn't unload it last night and forgot to load it again.

When the rifle comes out I chamber check it after clambering. More to verify the mag was arrested correctly and actually changed the round.

I've seen people bring unchamered guns to a gunfight on a few occasions. I dont want to be that guy.
 
Oh, and on my pistols, gunk can accumulate under the lever of my loaded chamber indicators. Just as I'd never use a loaded chamber indicator to ensure that a gun is unloaded, I'd never use one on my EDC to confirm that it IS loaded.

I run a G19. You can rub your finger up over the extractor to confirm if it’s loaded. Safer than a press check, but not perfect.
 
Condition of readiness is a safety rule.

Tell me this: to give you a weapon, I clear it. I drop the mag, hold the slide open, inspect the chamber, let the slide go home and dry fire. Weapon's clear.

Then I lay it down between us.

What do you do?
I drop the mag first. then clear it. No chance of chambering a round when the mag is out. Almost the first thing I learned about semi autos.
 
Or an Al Pacino thing at around :18 mark



or a Robert Di Nero thing at around the 5:38 mark



However, it leads me to the possible conclusion that perhaps you're only supposed to do a press check while in an elevator.

Brought to you by Hollywood, the same people who rack a shotgun five times in a scene, without firing a shot, to show they're serious.
 
Press check: Hard no.

Oh, chamber checking by normal, not-horribly-dangerous manipulation. Sure. If you want.

Not necessary:
  1. Put full mag in gun.
  2. Cycle slide.
  3. Inspect that slide is fully in battery. No need to touch it. If not forward, with barrel hood up and locked, it's obvious.
  4. Remove magazine. Inspect:
    1. If mag removed is one round down, you loaded it. Round couldn't have gone anywhere else, so the gun is loaded. Replace with full mag (or put gun somewhere safe, top off mag then put that in), holster the entire assembly, and carry on with your day.
    2. If mag removed is totally full, you didn't load it. Gun is not ready to fire. Try again.

Only other variation:
  1. Put mag with one round in gun.
  2. Cycle slide.
  3. Inspect that slide is fully in battery. No need to touch it. If not forward, with barrel hood up and locked, it's obvious.
  4. Remove magazine. Inspect:
    1. If mag removed is empty, you loaded it. Round couldn't have gone anywhere else, so the gun is loaded. Stick a full mag in, holster, and carry on with your day.
    2. If mag removed has a round in it, you didn't load it. Gun is empty. Try again.
 
Press check: Hard no.

Oh, chamber checking by normal, not-horribly-dangerous manipulation. Sure. If you want.

Not necessary:
  1. Put full mag in gun.
  2. Cycle slide.
  3. Inspect that slide is fully in battery. No need to touch it. If not forward, with barrel hood up and locked, it's obvious.
  4. Remove magazine. Inspect:
    1. If mag removed is one round down, you loaded it. Round couldn't have gone anywhere else, so the gun is loaded. Replace with full mag (or put gun somewhere safe, top off mag then put that in), holster the entire assembly, and carry on with your day.
    2. If mag removed is totally full, you didn't load it. Gun is not ready to fire. Try again.

Only other variation:
  1. Put mag with one round in gun.
  2. Cycle slide.
  3. Inspect that slide is fully in battery. No need to touch it. If not forward, with barrel hood up and locked, it's obvious.
  4. Remove magazine. Inspect:
    1. If mag removed is empty, you loaded it. Round couldn't have gone anywhere else, so the gun is loaded. Stick a full mag in, holster, and carry on with your day.
    2. If mag removed has a round in it, you didn't load it. Gun is empty. Try again.

Interesting, I would contend that your method is less safe than a brief brass check.

Press check, finger off trigger, work slide for a quarter inch or less, done

Your method, drop mag, handle mag presumably with the gun still in the other hand, check mag (and not all mags have witness holes or very easy to see witness holes [looking at you Glock]) then more handling to reinsert the mag and move on.

I don't consider either set particularly dangerous but certainly the one that requires more time and juggling gun and mag more rife for error and certainly not less "horribly dangerous manipulation" like you deem a simple press check.

Then again the most dangerous manipulation, other than actually shooting, is holstering, as far as I am concerned.
 
On those rare occasions that I do feel the need to do an actual Press Check on one of my larger pistols I simply use my single-handed method for releasing my Glock slides during disassembly: right-hand thumb under tang (left to right), fingers wrapped over top-rear of the slide, squeeze hand "closed" and the slide opens just enough to see the rear of the cartridge.
 
On those rare occasions that I do feel the need to do an actual Press Check on one of my larger pistols I simply use my single-handed method for releasing my Glock slides during disassembly: right-hand thumb under tang (left to right), fingers wrapped over top-rear of the slide, squeeze hand "closed" and the slide opens just enough to see the rear of the cartridge.

Could have saved yourself some typing and us some reading by just saying: the John Wick method. :)
 
Interesting, I would contend that your method is less safe than a brief brass check.

Press check, finger off trigger, work slide for a quarter inch or less, done

Your method, drop mag, handle mag presumably with the gun still in the other hand, check mag (and not all mags have witness holes or very easy to see witness holes [looking at you Glock]) then more handling to reinsert the mag and move on.

I don't consider either set particularly dangerous but certainly the one that requires more time and juggling gun and mag more rife for error and certainly not less "horribly dangerous manipulation" like you deem a simple press check.

Then again the most dangerous manipulation, other than actually shooting, is holstering, as far as I am concerned.
You don't top off after loading?

So, already changing mags after loading the chamber. "Juggling"?


What handgun mags have no witness holes for max load?


Press check has a specific meaning. Only works on non-fixed guiderod guns, like original 1911 and BHP. Finger on front of slide where any accident gets it injured. Typically: thumb in the trigger guard. Press the two together. Press: check. That's the very definition of horribly dangerous to me. Seen people warned to stop doing it or get kicked off the range at classes, so this is not a unique POV.

Chamber checks come in multiple flavors. When I did them, I learned the one where you feel for brass with the pinkie. More sure, not always well lit. In principle.
 
You don't top off after loading?

So, already changing mags after loading the chamber. "Juggling"?


What handgun mags have no witness holes for max load?


Press check has a specific meaning. Only works on non-fixed guiderod guns, like original 1911 and BHP. Finger on front of slide where any accident gets it injured. Typically: thumb in the trigger guard. Press the two together. Press: check. That's the very definition of horribly dangerous to me. Seen people warned to stop doing it or get kicked off the range at classes, so this is not a unique POV.

Chamber checks come in multiple flavors. When I did them, I learned the one where you feel for brass with the pinkie. More sure, not always well lit. In principle.

1. I holster, eject mag, then top off. Or I swap my off mag and holster, then top off.
2. I was thinking of Glock mags with such small holes I can't tell if the bullets are in there or not.
3. I always have heard that called a "pinch check" or pinch method and I agree, not very safe. Also the Steven Seagal method, jokingly. So here we have a difference in understanding and agreement.
 
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