My Wilson friends:
Not too long ago we had a discussion on dropping a slide on an empty chamber and the potential damage this can cause to your gun. All over the internet there are opinions on this, and even experts in the field have said this can (over time) damage your gun.
However, I think it's worth questioning. In my limited years on Earth and with my very limited understanding of nearly everything, I have still observed a tendency for "wife's tales" of misinformation to be spread even by very well meaning people.
So on another forum I frequent a guy spent some time looking at the potential damage causes by dropping the 1911 slide on an empty chamber versus stripping a round and chambering the round. He had access to some high speed measurement tools.
I'm not convinced it hurts your gun.
Not too long ago we had a discussion on dropping a slide on an empty chamber and the potential damage this can cause to your gun. All over the internet there are opinions on this, and even experts in the field have said this can (over time) damage your gun.
However, I think it's worth questioning. In my limited years on Earth and with my very limited understanding of nearly everything, I have still observed a tendency for "wife's tales" of misinformation to be spread even by very well meaning people.
So on another forum I frequent a guy spent some time looking at the potential damage causes by dropping the 1911 slide on an empty chamber versus stripping a round and chambering the round. He had access to some high speed measurement tools.
Interesting. I have no idea why the hammer dropped to half cock during one filming or if that's in any way related to the test itself. What surprised me is the relative speed of the slide at the end of the run as it cams into place. The difference between an empty chamber and a 230gr bullet being loaded is basically 1 foot per second in slide speed. While I don't have a degree in metallurgy, that doesn't seem significant (though we know what assumptions do). From a percentage standpoint, it's ~20% faster empty slide versus 230gr bullet. Though the spreads are pretty significant.
I'm not convinced it hurts your gun.