Just a note that, like so many things, it's largely a matter of technique and care. If a gun (I carry 1911s predominantly) has been out of my sight for any period of time and I subsequently intend to carry it, I always check the magazine and perform a press-check...even if I put it in a safe the night before and know that no one else has had access to the safe since.tbryanh wrote:Press checking pistols in these conditions is extremely dangerous.
Training and habit. It's essentially the reverse of making sure a firearm is empty and cleared and no ammo present prior to cleaning or maintaining the gun. The latter, you want to be absolutely, positively certain nothing will go bang unexpectedly; the former, you want to be absolutely, positively certain something will go bang when expected.
A proper pistol press-check does not involve the same manipulation as an abbreviated slide rack. You don't try to do a combat slide rack and just stop it halfway. Done correctly, your dominant hand is not in its master grip; there are no fingers anywhere near the trigger guard. Just FWIW, along with a caveat that some tiny pocket pistols, like my Seecamp, are simply too small for correct press-check technique, and you do have to resort to a partial slide rack.