Benicio Del Toro performs a one-handed press-check in a scene from Way of the Gun. Veteran LAPD SWAT Officer and firearms trainer Scott Reitz provided the technical direction for the firearms in this film.
Recently, I’ve read some discussion on the Press Check, with some firearms instructors stating that it is unnecessary, that instead of a Press Check, one should simply conduct a tactical reload. Let’s start by defining what it is. A Press Check is, quite simply, the act of verifying that the weapon has a chambered cartridge and is ready to fire. On a semi-automatic pistol, this usually involves moving the slide rearward by about 3/4 of an inch and either visually or physically confirming that there is indeed a round in the chamber. In this article, I will discuss whether or not I feel this action is ever necessary to perform.
Before I go any further, let me state that my opinion comes from a very specific perspective, which may or may not be consistent with yours. My frame of reference comes from having been (and continue to be) an armed professional, for the better part of a decade-and-a-half. During this time, I carried on and off the job. I prepared for tactical missions by loading up prior to, and downloading afterward. As with most domestic law enforcement officers (and probably not enough of us do this), I carried a gun when I left work, during my off hours, and when I went back to work. These were not always the same gun. This can present issues that may not exist if one simply carries for a mission and then goes unarmed afterward; also, these issues may or may not exist in your world if you are looking at this as an armed, prepared citizen. Every tactic has a time and place, and it is always important to understand from what perspective someone is speaking from when evaluating the point being made.
On the issue of the Press Check, as I understand it, an argument against it goes something like this: the press check creates the habit of looking at the gun and decreases the user’s situational awareness. Having attended and taught one or two shooting courses in my career, I have indeed seen students ritualistically perform press checks between each and every shooting drill, so I can understand where this theory comes from. (I have also seen people ritualistically wave the gun left and right like a talisman warding away evil instead of conducting an actual assessment of their surroundings – but that article is for another day.) The anti-press-check argument continues by stating if you are unsure of the condition of your weapon due to storage issues, you should simply clear the weapon, and then reload it.
These arguments appear to stem from strict dogma that all weapon manipulations should be “tactical” and none should be simply administrative. The problem with these arguments is that they does not account for human nature and the reality of working with and being around firearms all the time. For example, I store my duty weapon in my locked locker at work. It remains loaded and ready. From time to time, someone may either go into my locker to retrieve or borrow unrelated equipment (there are master keys available to supervisors and others.) Since I am not the one and only person with potential access to my duty weapon, before I go on shift, I perform a quick press check to confirm my weapon has a chambered round and is fully loaded.
The anti-Press Check argument is to simply unload and reload every time. This can be done, but knowing policemen, many will simply not check rather than have to load and unload every time they go in service. Secondly, this advice is impractical. The big three ammunition makers (Remington, Federal and Winchester) all recommend discarding a round after it has been run through an action twice due to possible bullet setback issues and primer degradation. I don’t see cops or citizens embracing an SOP that requires them to discard or take out of service a $1-2 service cartridge every day or two.
In the case of long guns, most departments have SOP’s that dictate long guns be carried or stored in the following fashion: Chamber empty, full magazine in the gun. When preparing for a Search Warrant (for example), I will chamber a round just prior to going to the location. As many know, during the workup, there are many things that can distract you and take your attention elsewhere. While on the way, if I am unsure, I will conduct a quick press check to ensure I indeed chambered a round and am not carrying a long gun in “patrol ready”. It is cheap insurance and not done as some kind of mindless ritual.
In an ideal world, you need to know the condition of your weapon at all times. But what do you do when you realize you are unsure of the condition of your weapon? Clearing and reloading it every time is impractical, and people WILL NOT DO IT.
The Press Check is a simple and practical way to confirm your equipment is ready.
Good explanation and examples, Tim.
To press check, or not to press check is one part of this question. The other part is, does the user know how to perform one correctly? Can the user perform such an action in a smooth and rapid motion without taking their eyes off of the situation for any longer than that which is necessary? Can the user complete the check without inadvertently creating the potential for a malfunction? Has the user trained to do press checks on a regular basis so they are as natural as reloading or finding the front sight? Finally, does the user know when is an appropriate time to perform this function, or has it become so ritualistic that they just got through the motions as Tim indicated. Just because they went through the motions doesn’t mean they actually saw a round in that chamber.
We need to train how to properly perform press checks and we need to know when they are appropriate. In many situations, a press check is either necessary, prudent or both. I am all for them as long as the user does it correctly.
Great topic and article Tim!
To my way of thinking a press check is entirely administrative and its something that I do every single day when I put my duty belt on, or on my days off, when I put my off duty carry on. I don’t do this when i’m afraid something is going to hurt me because then its too late and I should probably be doing a tap/rack if there is any doubt that there is a round chambered.
In fact I started doing press checks every day because of one day that I carried my duty weapon a whole day during my shift without a round chambered because I had cleaned it the day before and had not chambered a round when I put it back in the holster on my duty belt. Since then it has been part of putting my uniform on to check for brass in my chamber and make sure my weapon light works.
I think it behooves everyone who carries an autoloading firearm to conduct a press check anytime a “loaded” firearm is placed out of immediate control of that person and it comes back into that persons control. If your weapon isn’t loaded with a round chambered its a paperweight. I cant see why this is controversial.
Tim, you make good points. On the several handguns I own of various design, I can see the rear of the casing through the small crack at the rear of the ejection port without manipulating the slide. The casing and the weapon are different color, so I can distinguish a loaded round from an empty chamber. Never have needed to press check a handgun to know its loaded. Of course, this is completely admin, and would be more difficult under stress or in low light. But it’s how I confirm in the admin setting. All handguns my not be like this, but Sigs, Glocks, and Kahrs are for sure. ARs and MP-5s and most other long guns are a different story.
How do you press check in low light anyway? A very complicated task where the shooter has to also move a finger up the slide and feel for the round. It’s a slow circus move. If I were unsure, I’d risk the one round and just fully rack the slide again in an emergency.
Call me crazy, but I also expect my guns to work properly, so when I load one, remove the magazine to top off (again admin) and one more round goes nicely in the mag, I have pretty good faith that the last round went to the chamber. No need to take the gun out of battery at that point.
btw, Tim, I’ve really enjoyed this blog after finding it a month ago. Keep it up.
Good points. I am speaking under the assumption that we are trained professionals, and able to perform a press check correctly. I always physically confirm the presence of the round during the press check procedure so low light is not an issue. With a little practice, the technique is neither complicated nor difficult. Pilots and surgeons perform fine motor tasks under extreme pressure all the time. We can certainly learn to operate a simple mechanical device. Again, I speak from a certain frame of reference and this may not apply to your situation.
Ash: Thanks for the kind words regarding the blog. Very happy you like it!
Good article. Of course I would think so since our habits ref press checking and gun carrying seem to be pretty much exactly the same.
Great article, Tim…And thanks especially for mentioning the need to practice performing this operation by feel only…Practice in low light before you need to do it for real…Like all our gun handling procedures, tactical or administative, each has its place, and the one we employ once a year is just as important it be done correctly as another we perform daily if our life or someone else’s depend upon it…We also need to remember it’s necessary to positively insure we return the slide to battery with the support hand, and not just rely on the recoil spring to do that for us…
Good stuff Tim. I am far less of the compulsive press checker in the field that I used to be. My basic rule is that it is off my body or person, then it gets a condition verification check when it goes back on me for carry. For those of us who are working with firearms often, we end up having a far greater chance of doing something stupid.
With that said, it is critical for instructors to properly teach administrative procedures. I have found that many of the negligent discharges are happening during improper loading, unloading, a loaded chamber verification checks. If this becomes part of the routine, then it must be trained an reinforced to do it safely and properly. If that can’t be done, we are better of not having students do this and concentrate on proper loading. I still have some very bad leftover scares of how I “press check” a 1911, so we also have to work on updating what we as instructors to pass on to our students.
Agreed that we must tech the a safe Chambered Round Verification method rather than allowing students to do it in an unsafe manner. That said, I have seen and am aware of far more ND’s due to officers attempting to makie a long gun “patrol ready” than due to an inproper Press Check.
I read, probably the same article(s), and/or thoughts on this debated topic. Proponents generally have pretty sound reasoning. Not always. But read and experience enough of it, and most people can see the logic.
One argument I read against it several months ago in a monthly publication with Cops and armed citizens as it’s target market used some seriously flawed logic, and a narcicistic attitude that was truly mind boggling to me. I, along with just about everyone I have ever shot or trained with have watched the DMG during training. And maybe we have even had it happen to us. The fact that I am human, have witnessed the DMG on numerous occasions during training, and having been victim of a DMG early in my gun-toting career myself is all the proof I need to accept the “Press Check” as part of my responsibility to myself, my family, and those who pay me to carry the gun on their behalf.
Whoever has the argument against it, has obviously never witnessed the DMG phenomenen on the training range, or experienced it themselves, thereby creating a sense of superiority over those of us who have erred along our paths.
Finally, having had the unfortunate opportunity to witness, and hear first hand, the “Loudest sound in a gunfight”, I know for a fact the anti-press checkers have never experienced the same. If the training exampes aren’t enough to make one believe that we are all human, and capable of mistakes, the live action version will. If it doesn’t, then there is nothing anyone can do to convince them otherwise, and I personally will put myself as far from that person as physically possible. Obviously, I am not perfect enough to be in their presence.
And I don’t want to get killed because of their arrogance.
The reality is that most don’t press check. That is why I added it in with the other administrative procedures that they muck up regularly. The sad thing is that the folks who REALLY need to be doing press checks aren’t because they are the same people who are dangerous simply loading their firearm.
I never find myself checking a pistol in soo little light that I can’t use the LCI on top(M&P).
I see your point about press checking a gun left unattended- like your locker example. From my personal experience (30 + years with guns including combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan) once you become truly in tune to how your gun works, it is very easy to hear (even with chronic ringing ears I have and with muffs on) and feel the difference in your guns behavior between it chambering a round and not. no need for any sort of press check during fast under duress reloads. In admin mode I simply bring the pistol below eye level retract the slide and as I release it watch the round get chambered.
also makes sense in a long gun that has been bouncing around in a vehicle or sitting in a rack for a period of time to do a check.
There is NO reason to not presscheck.
I habitually presscheck even before re holstering between drills, just extra sure that my weapon gets holstered is ready to go in the event I need it again asap.
In competition its part of my ritual, on duty and off duty I presscheck everyday.
Too many distractions in life, phone ringing, Fed Ex knocking on the door, whatever.
Presscheck for your own health
Great read Tim. Unbelievable. I can’t believe there are actually people arguing against a chamber check?! I look at it like this. It’s like tying your shoes or not. It only takes a second, and you damn well better do it unless you want to trip yourself. Seriously, it just is not that difficult. Every single time I put my gun on, I do a mag check and a chamber check. The technique doesn’t really matter (although I use a consistent one every time), I just check the ammo source and check the chamber, because that is the one way I know I can be absolutely sure everything is as ready to go as possible, and all within a split second.
People seem to continually try to reinvent the wheel, effectively doing everything possible to avoid the reality. The reality is, if you check your mag and you check your chamber, you will ALWAYS know the status of your weapon. Why fight it?
Another problem I find people suffering from is basically acting like braindead drones with their manipulations. They may do a chamber check or “admin load” process, but are they really AWARE, or are their minds blank and they’re just going through the motions? I’ve seen people do this a bunch at the local IDPA matches. They go through what appears to be their habitual admin load process, and they look great at it, and I may see them do something incorrectly (like not fully seating a mag) but they fail to realize it themselves because their mind is not in it. When I am handling or manipulating my gun, wherever possible, my mental awareness is focused on that task. Take the necessary steps, then move on knowing for a fact the status of your weapon.
I get the proverbial slap on the wrist when I press-check between drills. It’s a habit I’ve had since I started shooting. I see both sides of the “ok” and “not ok” argument, so I’ve decided to save the press-checking to before I holster my CCW and walk out my front door each morning, but try not to do it anymore while in a group instruction setting on the firing line. -A
The only issue with press checks is the difference between rifle and pistol. Pistol as you stated should be done by retracting the slide. However, a rifle press check is much better carried out (administratively only, I agree that’s the only time) by looking at where the top round is seated- I have 28 rds in an AR, so the round will be on the right- and then working the round into the chamber. Then the mag is removed, and if the top round is now on the other side- AND the bolt is in battery- then the top round was chambered.
The issue with bringing the bolt back on an AR is that it can cause it to stop out of battery- I have seen this on multiple occasions- and even with the forward assist (which is full of it’s own problems) the bolt is designed to seat with full pressure from the buffer spring, not after being only pulled back an inch or so.
Press checks are a great way of checking chambers.on or off duty,training or not training.learn the different variance that you can do.two handed,one handed,feel type due to low light conditions and my favorite weak hand press checks.
Stay safe,stay low and always reload.
Thank you m.s.w.