Press check hell

[Chubbs103]

I think it is fair to say that the pinch check method is best left in the past. I remember when holsters rarely covered the trigger / trigger guard. Before my time, guys used to "Fitz" their pistols and cut the trigger guard off. Shooting a handgun used to be strictly a one-handed ordeal.

On the other hand, some things just plain work and do not need fixed. There are TTPs I probably think are stupid, but in reality I just don't have the knowledge base to understand them.

[WillBrink]

I think it is fair to say that the pinch check method is best left in the past. I remember when holsters rarely covered the trigger / trigger guard. Before my time, guys used to "Fitz" their pistols and cut the trigger guard off. Shooting a handgun used to be strictly a one-handed ordeal.

On the other hand, some things just plain work and do not need fixed. There are TTPs I probably think are stupid, but in reality I just don't have the knowledge base to understand them.

Pinch method of a press check, regardless of pistol in question (for those who try the "it's a 1911 thing" comments) aint one of them however.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

I actually brought that up in a 1911 class with Larry. He had just demoed the currently acceptable press check and I said, "hey, what about a badass James Caan style press-check from "Thief." He knew exactly what I was referring to and told me not do do that dumb shit.

[Bret]

Berettas have the loaded chamber indicator (your extractor) and one does not have to pull back anything to be able to tell if they have something in the chamber. That 'indicator' can be felt in the dark using trigger finger without even breaking your grip - No need to be 'looking' at anything.

+1 If you're not confident enough to bet your life on having loaded your gun, then just buy a gun that externally indicates whether it's loaded or not. Perhaps things are different in the military, but I never carry a loaded magazine in a gun that's not chambered. I've been carrying for thirty years and have never found that a gun I was carrying wasn't actually loaded. It seems to me that this press check thing is just unnecessary fidgeting, like baseball batters retightening their gloves between each pitch.

[WillBrink]

+1 If you're not confident enough to bet your life on having loaded your gun, then just buy a gun that externally indicates whether it's loaded or not. Perhaps things are different in the military, but I never carry a loaded magazine in a gun that's not chambered. I've been carrying for thirty years and have never found that a gun I was carrying wasn't actually loaded. It seems to me that this press check thing is just unnecessary fidgeting, like baseball batters retightening their gloves between each pitch.

Me either. Only time I do a press check is if I have fully unloaded the pistol (for say cleaning, etc) and then reloaded it. I will check the one time to make sure one was seated properly, and then I will not look at it again afterward personally. In the movies, seems like they do a press check every time they enter a dwelling with suspected bad guys, leave their car, etc.

[titsonritz]

Me either. Only time I do a press check is if I have fully unloaded the pistol (for say cleaning, etc) and then reloaded it. I will check the one time to make sure one was seated properly, and then I will not look at it again afterward personally. In the movies, seems like they do a press check every time they enter a dwelling with suspected bad guys, leave their car, etc.

That's after they load a round into the chamber.

[WillBrink]

That's after they load a round into the chamber.

Indeed! Or open the cylinder on a wheel gun, spin it, and slap it back in with one hand.

[joedirt199]

I have watched a lot of guys in gun games get that first round click because they did not seat the mag all the way when they "load and make ready." A simple press check would have caught that. Plus they use super high cap mags with no extra room for the round to give when it hits the bottom of the slide when seated.

[WillBrink]

I have watched a lot of guys in gun games get that first round click because they did not seat the mag all the way when they "load and make ready." A simple press check would have caught that. Plus they use super high cap mags with no extra room for the round to give when it hits the bottom of the slide when seated.

I always did a press check in IDPA before a stage.

[dwhitehorne]

I have watched a lot of guys in gun games get that first round click because they did not seat the mag all the way when they "load and make ready."

Seen this more times than I would like to admit with uniformed officers during quals also. We also frowned on those same officers from doing a press check because of the out of battery issues they created. Just getting them to always put their thumb on the back of the slide when holstering was enough of a challenge. David.