proper loading of a 1911 BE pistol

siordian1 · Post by **siordian1** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:54 pm

I am a bit confused on the proper technique. For a right handed shooter should I be depressing the trigger and push the slide release with my left hand? I tried this on my Les Baer pistol and the hammer follows the slide. I also tried this on my old 1980's Clark BE pistol and the hammer stays back. Is there something wrong with my Baer pistol? Seems to work just fine. I was loading the pistol by pushing back on the dot and releasing. I was advised that over time that may cause the trigger job to have to be re-done, is that correct? Thanks all.

shaky hands · Post by **shaky hands** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 2:09 am

"Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot".

Remove magazine, pull slide back with your left hand, engage slide stop with your right thumb, insert charged magazine, pull on the slide sharply with your left hand (no need to touch the slide stop), let it go forward by the tension of the recoil spring (do not help it cycle with your hand).

Sixftunda · Post by **Sixftunda** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:55 am

I always work the slide on my 1911 with the trigger pressed fully and the gun pointed in a safe direction. Once the slide has cycled then reset the trigger. Have been told by many that it preserves the trigger job. At the Zins clinic last month Brian said anyone could dry fire his Cabot but he would slap the person who cocked the hammer manually for this reason.

jconrad2754 · Post by **jconrad2754** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:45 am

I am having trouble picturing this. With the disconnector depressed, what difference does the trigger position have on the sear hammer interface?

GunRunner · Post by **GunRunner** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:09 am

The fact is, holding the trigger back is something old time shooters did, and a few people still do it but range officers frown on it these days and its a myth dropping the slide without doing this will damage your sear. If your hammer follows when you drop the slide your gun is UNSAFE!!! You need to have it fixed by a good gunsmith. It could be bad parts or a simple spring adjustment but it needs attention before you shoot it again. The proper and safe way to load is insert mag with slide locked back and with finger away from trigger use slide stop to drop slide if your gun is in good shape you will not have a problem.

RandomShotz · Post by **RandomShotz** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 11:36 am

I'll go with "shaky hands" on this one. I was taught that with any semi-auto, pulling the slide back and letting it slingshot into battery is best. This allows it to move forward with the full force of the recoil spring the way it would after a shot and doesn't wear the slide stop/notch engagement.

My tuppence, for what it's worth.

Roger

Rover · Post by **Rover** » Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:40 pm

George, just ask me to show how the old farts do it next time you see me.

6string · Post by **6string** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 1:51 am

Another Old-School method is to release the slide using the slide stop while holding the hammer spur fully back with the weak hand thumb.
This is easiest to do if you have the old style grip safety (i.e.: not a beavertail safety) and a spur hammer.

tactserv · Post by **tactserv** » Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:09 pm

Bill Wilson (Wilson Combat) advocated keeping the trigger fully depressed when dropping the slide and since the mid-80s it has been my method. Never an AD and the trigger jobs are still perfect. I see no reason to fix something that isn't broken.
Mike

CR10X · Post by **CR10X** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:48 am

I was hoping this useless thead would die a proper death or someone would do as Rover suggested and just do a search. Apparently not so here I am again.

That Bill Wilson recommendation is probably BS. Bill shot IPSC and you cannot use that loading technique in IPSC. PERIOD. You go home if you do.

And even if it was what he said then, I'll be you can't get Ryan (who runs the business today and pays the insurance) to say that today.

This has been hashed out many times before. The only thing holding the trigger does is keep the trigger from hitting a too light sear when loading (trigger inertia). If there is any "saving" of a trigger job then the disconnector must not be working properly. Otherwise, holding the trigger would keep the sear from engaging when the slide closed. And the part of the sear that rides on the hammer before setting is the secondary cut. The primay cut (where mosts of the trigger "feel" is) only engages the hammer hooks (hooks and the resulting geometry are the rest oif the "feel"). Spending a few minutes with Kuhnhausen and a magnifying glass before making proclamations might help. Setting the overtravel screw so tight screws up most trigger job way before the hammer does.

This is ancient crap from a time of military spec hammers and sears and trying to get under 3.5 or less with crappy parts. Todays 1911's can be charged safely (assuming you have a decent gunsmith) and

If it make you feel better, then hold the hammer back with the thumb if you like. That will actually keep the hammer hooks off the sear until you let go of the hammer.

This is old stuff that needs to quit being repeated. EVERY accidental (read "stupid") discharge I've seen on the bullseye line has been a result of a shooter screwing this load technique up. It's not a matter of if, but when as far as I can tell.

Why not just keep your finger off the trigger and hold the hammer if you like. If you have a AD and the bullet goes flying over the bern or bounces off a frame and hits your toe, your friend on the line or kills a 5 year girl, what would you like to be able to say? My finger was ON or OFF the trigger?

Just a couple of potentially new thoughts for some of you. The rest have probably heard me make this speech before. Just follow Rover's suggestion to do a search and you'll find me there.

Cecil

Isabel1130 · Post by **Isabel1130** » Sun Mar 16, 2014 11:48 pm

I think Cecil is right. This is a habit you should not get into, because it is unnecessary. It adds one more thing to worry about on the line, and complicates your shot process.

If you don't intend to drop the hammer, whether dry firing, or live firing, your finger should not be on the trigger.

shaky hands · Post by **shaky hands** » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:34 pm

Ours is a litigious society. If your procedure goes wrong (your trigger finger relaxes for a millisecond or your gun malfunctions -- mechanical parts break down eventually) and you injure someone you are going to set yourself up for a big big lawsuit and most certainly for a big judgment not in your favor. The only two things that will then need to be proven against you are that you had a duty of care and that you breached that duty. There is no doubt that any judge/jury will rule that you did have that duty of care while handling guns, and any expert from law enforcement will testify that "keep your finger off the trigger" is the standard in the shooting community that you chose to ignore. Zins' or Wilson's opinion will be of little help then.

oldcaster · Post by **oldcaster** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:40 pm

Since I wasn't taught to hold my finger on the trigger in the AMU 50 years ago and I have never had a trigger go bad in all these years, I don't think it is a good idea and like many bologna tales told by people, they last forever and are just as false now as when they were first made.