TexasCHLforum.com

I got a Springfield XD not too long ago and it came with a gun lock that requires you to take the magazine out, lock open the slide and string a cable down through the handle. I have a safe so I don't bother with that but I was just wondering if that's really a good solution for anyone. Having the slide locked open like that during storage seems like it would 1) wear out the spring from constantly being compressed and 2) make it that much easier for dirt & dust to get inside to possibly cause a malfunction.

I find it hard to believe they would ship such a lock if these outcomes where realistic but at the same time they just seem like common sense to me. Anyone know anything about that one way or the other?

The dust & dirt issue is easy to attend. The gun should be cleaned periodically anyway.
Always before heading to the range if it has been a long time.

I do not like to leave my recoil springs compressed for long periods of time.
My oppinion only. YMMV

For the record the Springfield documentation recommends you carefully release the slide forward after inserting the lock. So I guess the spring would only be slightly compressed during storage.

Springs do not get damaged by remaining compressed. Every spring in your pistol is already compressed, even at rest, just to a lesser extent.

Just the same as magazine springs.

KBCraig wrote:

Springs do not get damaged by remaining compressed. Every spring in your pistol is already compressed, even at rest, just to a lesser extent.

Just the same as magazine springs.

Coil springs wearout from cycles not from being compressed.

I've never cared much for any kind of gun lock. If I need to secure a gun, I'd rather put it in some kind of lockable box or safe.

The absolute worst are trigger locks. On some guns, revolvers especially, if they are not installed correctly, the gun can still be fired.

And for a gun kept for home defense - forget it!

I regard trigger locks and gun locks as a way for gun banners to hoodwink people into rendering guns useless for home defense so that they can argue later on that they should be banned (because they are both "dangerous" and "useless").

Never forget that the road to banning guns is to first limit their legitimate use to "sporting purposes" and then declare that it is simply too "costly" to society to allow people to possess them "for mere sport".

Here in the USA we own guns for protection. The sport part of it, the fact that it happens to be fun to shoot guns, is just a bonus.

atxgun wrote:I got a Springfield XD not too long ago and it came with a gun lock that requires you to take the magazine out, lock open the slide and string a cable down through the handle.

I avoid these just because I don't like the idea of having something stuck through the gun's action. It just feels wrong.