A really dumb semi-auto question.

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Cal44

Bearcat
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Mar 27, 2013
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How do you tell if your pistol is in battery?

I have a Ruger LC9 -- the original model, not the S.

I didn't list it on my CCW license because I'm not confident in it yet.

So it's been in my safe for a year, and I'm using revolvers I'm more familiar with.

The problem is, when I load the LC9 and cycle the slide, sometimes it doesn't go into battery. This is when I do it by hand. After the first shot it works reliably.

At first, I found myself guiding the slide the whole way with my hand, and that was causing it to not return fast enough to get fully into battery.

But, even without that obvious mistake, It still sometimes isn't ready to shoot.

At the range I can test to see if it's in battery by pointing it at the target and then pulling the trigger.

But at home, before putting it into my holster, how do I tell it's ready to shoot? I can't exactly try a test shot in the bedroom.

I'm afraid I'll get into a SD situation, pull the trigger, and nothing will happen.

Dave
 

groberts

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I have a leather holster that has a similar issue. It's new so when I re-holster I often have to wiggle my pistol in to get it all the way down. That sometimes causes the slide to move back around an 1/8 of an inch.
 

loaded round

Hunter
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You should never ''ride the slide'' into battery. That's what the slide release is for, just use the release to drop the slide. Your pistol should lock into battery assuming you don't have bad ammo or a gunked up pistol.
 

Mike J

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loaded round said:
You should never ''ride the slide'' into battery. That's what the slide release is for, just use the release to drop the slide. Your pistol should lock into battery assuming you don't have bad ammo or a gunked up pistol.

This is right.
 

roylt

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Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.
 

loaded round

Hunter
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What are you trying to say in your 2nd and 3rd sentences? They don't make any sense.




quote="roylt"]Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.[/quote]
 

Cal44

Bearcat
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5of7 said:
If the slide is flush with the back of the frame, it is in battery. 8)

OK, that is the type of comment I was looking for.

So, if it's not quite flush, can I just push the slider forward until it's flush and then it will be ready to shoot?

After the first shot, the gun works fine for subsequent shots.
 

jnichols2

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 5, 2012
Messages
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Cal44,

The LC9 has a very short barrel, and a very light slide. Unless the slide is pulled ALL the way back, it WILL NOT have enough momentum to strip and load the round.

It always loads properly when firing, that's because the round going off forces the slide ALL THE WAY back before letting it go forward.

DO NOT use the slide release. Pull the slide ALL THE WAY BACK, then release it. Don't follow it forward with your hand, that will slow the slide down.\

Rack the slide like you mean it. Then the LC9 will do it's part.

Happy shooting.
 

pjvrefugee

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it is never a dumb question if it might mean the difference between your duty weapon functioning or not. with a short action pistol like that one, slingshot the slide.
 

Mike J

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roylt said:
Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.

You are right Roylt. I don't own one of the Rugers that specify a slide stop to only be a slide stop. My old P series & SR 1911 will let me do it either way. I forgot that some of the newer Rugers wont let you do it that way. Slingshotting is better anyway. The biggest thing is not to ride the slide.
 

mysquishy

Bearcat
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dont forget to get the new recoil spring and rod for the lc9s not sure if the lc9 has the same issue, if the guide rod and spring are not fully lined up it can prevent the gun from going into battery fully, the new guide rod fixes this issue.
 

pjvrefugee

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kbm6893 said:
Doesn't the red chamber loaded flag tell you what you need to know?
NO! it tells you there is a round under it holding the LCI up. round in chamber does not mean in battery, your pistol could still be slightly out of battery and that flag be up. I had a few out of battery situations with my SR45 before I broke her in and polished the chamber a little. click no bang and when I examined the weapon the slide was ever so slightly back, just barely out of battery. then (pre polish) during the balance of that session I would pay extra attention to the slide after each round. a couple required a little movement foreward to obtain battery.
 

MountainWalker

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Cal44 said:
How do you tell if your pistol is in battery?
The problem is, when I load the LC9 and cycle the slide, sometimes it doesn't go into battery. This is when I do it by hand. After the first shot it works reliably.
Dave
Dave, Not a dumb question at all!
1. The advice of using the slide stop is not good. It is much better to get into the habit of pulling the slide back all the way till it won't go any further and suddenly release the slide to feed the cartridge into the chamber and lock the pistol into battery. To double check that you are fully in battery all you have to do is push on the back of the slide with your thumb. This assumes that your using factory spec ammo and have a light coat of lube on moving parts.
2. Ruger refers to the slide stop as the "Slide Hold Open" for good reason. You should be aware that the Slide Hold Open is made of a harder steel than the slide. When you release the slide, using the slide hold open, that hard steel presses against the notch in the slide under spring tension. Each time you do that, you wear/polish/round off that little notch area in the slide. When this area is worn or rounded, it will be less reliable in securely holding the slide open. The lever on the slide release is really there so you can rack the slide back and press up on the hold open to lock the pistol in an open "T" position. Good for clearing jams or malfunctions. If you insert a fresh mag into a locked open LC9, just pull back on the slide and release the slide to prepare the gun for firing. See the section on Page 17 of your manual. I almost never use the slide hold open(slide top) as a loading release, but it is there in rare or unusual circumstances if needed. I am so programed to racking the slide back and suddenly releasing it, that I find it just as fast and convenient as using the slide hold open.
3. IMO the LC9 is an excellent little pistol given it's nice small size, very light 17o oz., and good construction. The trigger can be mastered just like a revolver to achieve very good results.
 

MountainWalker

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roylt said:
Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.
This is exactly correct and well stated.
 

MountainWalker

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loaded round said:
What are you trying to say in your 2nd and 3rd sentences? They don't make any sense.




quote="roylt"]Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.
[/quote] IMO the 2nd & 3rd sentences make perfect sense. I think the communication problem might be that you are calling the slide hold open(slide stop) a "release" when it is not intended to be used that way.
 

loaded round

Hunter
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To each his own, I was not an English major.



MountainWalker said:
loaded round said:
What are you trying to say in your 2nd and 3rd sentences? They don't make any sense.




quote="roylt"]Actually the slide stop is just that. A STOP. The Ruger manuals I have read say to slig shot the slide. The slide stop is not a release. So read you manual and then if it says that the slide has a release, use that.

Now with that said, I have used my stop as a release too but not as a rule.

The simplest way to do it is to load a mag in the gun and pull the slide back as far as you can and then let go. The slide will go to battery under spring pressure just like if a round had been fired.
IMO the 2nd & 3rd sentences make perfect sense. I think the communication problem might be that you are calling the slide hold open(slide stop) a "release" when it is not intended to be used that way.[/quote]
 
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