proper use of a gun lock
 

I have asked this before elsewhere and gotten various responses. So now I wanna see what you guys think. How do you use a standard pistol cable lock? What I am referring to specifically is whether or not you release the slide slowly on the cable or leave it locked open. Does it harm your recoil spring at all either way?

Well, the "proper" use for a gun-lock is either for securing a bike, or as "childproofing" of your kitchen cabinets. While the cable locks are better than the trigger-gaurd sort, they still slow down your response time if you ever need your gun in a hurry. The trigger-gaurd locks can even cause a gun to fire!

However, in regards to your question, I'm unaware of a problem with the springs. If your lock has the stee cable exposed, as some still do, you will want to drop the slide slowly in order to avoid potentially "peening" something out of spec on the steel cable. If the cable is covered/insulated, I don't -think- you'll have a problem dropping the slide normally.

I would release the slide onto the cable. Leaving it locked open would be ok too, I don't think there would be any noticeable damage to your springs.releasing the slide however will prevent any accidental release that could potentially cause damage.

I release the slide onto the cable.
In any case you're not likely to harm the weapon ... after all, it IS a gun designed to withstand small chemical explosions.

the spring won't care

I have to come down on the side of using it to secure anything but a gun- I grew up with a gun in every room, including the bathroom and neither my brother or i ever got hurt, as we were taught the propper respect- as to visitors to the house, they werent allowed inside till we were teens unless an adult was present- everything I have read says that the lock wont hurt the gun, but it will possibly get me killed if i have to take the time to remove it.......

The springs are not affected by having the slide locked back, cycling wears out springs. A cable lock is a fine deterrent for a gun that you do not intend to use. There is no point in lowering the slide, as long as the cable is coated it won't hurt the slide.

Leaving the slide locked back *shouldn't* harm the pistol. However, letting the slide forward will definately not harm it. Recoil springs wear out, and even though I know that cycling them is supposed to be the main contributing factor to wear I would still not prefer to store my pistol with the slide locked to the rear. If it was a good way to store a firearm the owners manual would probably say so.