Front serrations: your preference?

[twofifty]

I like having front slide serrations.

They make it easier to open and lock the slide under certain conditions, such as when safing before putting the gun down on the safety table. (IPSC match environment). Locking the slide open on most semis is awkward otherwise.

Why do you like or dislike front slide serrations?
What role do cosmetics have to play?

 

[Eaglestroker]

I like the option although I never use them. I think a handgun looks better without them but it isn't a deal breaker for me.

 

[Auto426]

I prefer my 1911's without them, much the same way I prefer them without a lot of the "Tacticool" or "Custom" features that everyone seems to think are necessary to be able to shoot a 1911. My favorite handgun right now is my Colt 1991. It's got that "Everything you need, nothing you don't" thing going for it, and I love it's simplicity and functionality.

 

[Strahley]

I never use them, so I don't care to have them

 

[Chindo18Z]

Hate 'em. Grew up on various pistols (and the 1911 in particular) long before they became popular.

I don't perform any manual of arms that requires me to grasp the front of the slide. I clear, load, or conduct slide lock without any necessity to grasp the muzzle end of the weapon.

I don't do "Press Checks" and don't need front serrations for that either. Regard them as silly and a good way to blow a hole through your hand or fingers. I don't put my digits near the muzzle of a loaded weapon. Period.

Lastly, I just don't like how they look. IMHO, a 1911's clean and classic lines are spoiled by front serration cuts to the slide.

I regard slide serrations in the same light as I view full length guide rods and square trigger guards...answers to non-existant problems.

YMMV.

 

[mljdeckard]

I never would have asked for them, but since I have them I do use them.

 

[1911 guy]

I prefer not to have them, but it's really a non-issue.

 

[2wheels]

Hate 'em on 1911s. Don't really care about them on other guns, definitely never needed them.

 

[Winkman822]

I prefer 1911s sans front serrations, right now all of my full size 1911s have them. They are not, however, present on my EDC.

Aesthetically they don't bother me. I'm not totally sold on their functionality/necessity, and as far as carry goes, they do a great job of tearing up the inside of a holster faster.

 

[Dryft]

I'm with everyone else - sometimes they can be aesthetically pleasing but, like Chindo, I don't put my hands near the front of a gun. When I was younger I thought they looked cool, but now my 1911s are classic designs.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Like them and use them (safely), especially on 1911s and other larger autos. On smaller autos, where you can't really grasp the front of the slide without part of your hand either covering the ejection port or getting forward of the muzzle, they make less sense (to me).

 

[TexasRifleman]

Practically they are useful, realistically they chew up a holster like a pit bull would...

 

[rellascout]

I am not a fan but if I like the rest of the configuration on a gun I can live with them.

 

[NG VI]

I wouldn't ever look for front serrations, I don't like them visually, I'm not really clear on how they are supposed to be used practically, unless you are just doing everything you could with the rear serrations with the front ones for fun, but I guess I wouldn't not buy a gun over them.

 

[Zerodefect]

Press checks are important. If you need to move from one piece of cover to another, it would be nice to know that there actually IS a round in your chamber before you run out into the open advertising your location.

Sometimes our "run & guns" include this into a couple stages.

I press check before I reholster allways just out of habit. Or anytime I "admin reload".

I don't need forward serrations on a 5"+ 1911. I can just grap the nose of the slide and bring it back. But smaller 1911's I can't, the frame gets in the way. So the serrations are nice with smaller 1911's.


Now with a Glock, like the G23, serrations would be nice. But Glocks are ugly. So I'd rather have no serrations and use grippier skateboard tape on the slide instead.

I could presscheck from the rear of the slide, but that's an archaic technique and too slow and hard to control, for me at least.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Unattractive, superfluous (I never handle my slide by the muzzle end) and can slice leather holsters.

 

[withdrawn34]

They serve little purpose in larger pistols. For a tiny pistol like my DB380, though, they are necessary since it's the only way to really rack the slide all the way to the back and let it go with sufficient force. The recoil spring is fairly stiff to be able to do that reliably with just the rear serration.

I am not sure what a "press check" is even though I've heard of it before; if I want to check that the chamber has a round in there, I just use the rear serration and pull back just a bit. I can still see. I don't use the front serration for that.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I'm not really clear on how they are supposed to be used practically

They originated from the time when optics were mounted on the 1911 using mounts that covered the rear serrations...and before the use of slide rackers mounted in the rear sight notch. They are meant to be grasped from underneath the the dust cover to chamber a round or chamber check that a round was loaded.

 

[ny32182]

I've tried racking the front of my G34 slide before, and while it is hampered by the fact that I don't have front serrations, I don't believe it would be any faster than using the back of the slide for me. Plus I was worried about getting some part of my hand caught in the ejection port as the slide closed. So at this point I don't believe I'd be specifically looking for them on a new gun.

 

[Manco]

I seem to manage fine with only rear serrations, and as a matter of principle I tend to prefer the least common denominator with regard to operating any kind of machinery. One of the worst things I could do, in my view, is become habituated to using an unnecessary feature that only some of my guns may have, when I could instead use them all in the same manner (as much as possible, anyway). That's just me--I'm not telling anybody else how to use their guns.

 

[yeti]

The look on, my XSE Commander, has kind of grown on me. Appearance wise I had no real feelings for or against them until I got the Commander that has them. So I can't say I dislike them but I sure would not go out of my way to have them on any other gun. And those serrations on Colts are a touch sharper than they need to be, I have knives that didn't come from the factory that sharp, & they're hell on the leather.

Preference? No front slide serrations.

 

[wow6599]

No.........

 

[SoulLessGinger]

Aesthetically, I like them...functionally, I have never used them.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

I like the look of them on 1911s Don't think that I would ever use them but without them the 1911 seems too plain.

 

[XTrooper]

They're like the proverbial "t*ts on a bull."

Whether a pistol of mine hasn't them or not makes no difference to me.