A little bit of science fiction in 2019.
Let’s be honest, why don’t we have laser pistols yet? We are getting close to a quarter of the way through the 21st Century and it seems like comic books have lied to me through my youth. But there are incremental advances. One of these was evidenced by RADETEC at SHOT Show 2019. This year they introduced their Smart Slide. It is a high-tech replacement slide for your Glock.
While it may not shoot lasers, it brings the way someone interacts with their pistol to a completely different level. The Smart Slide has an integrated screen in the rear of the slide. This screen displays different pieces of information depending on the setting.
This is the display for a loaded chamber but no magazine inserted.
For starters, it will indicate if there is a round in the chamber. It can also tell you if there is a magazine inserted in the gun. And going beyond that, the Smart Slide will even tell you how many rounds are left in the magazine. Amazed yet?
The display indicates a round in the chamber and 16 rounds in the magazine.
The way the Radetec Smart Slide is able to do this is through, in part, the use of magnets. The Smart Slide comes with a replacement slide for your Glock 17 with a built in screen, a new back strap for your pistol and (2) followers for your stock magazines. These followers talk to the slide in order to tell the slide if the magazine is inserted and if so, how many rounds are in it.
Here the pistol has a magazine of 17 rounds inserted but no round in the chamber.
The unit also acts as a shot counter. Keeping track of the rounds fired through the pistol. While this may not be important for many people, it becomes really important for departments or ranges where a strict maintenance schedule is adhered to. The battery last for 8 hours continuous use or 1 month of standby.
What are my thoughts on this technology? I like that it is pushing the envelope in firearms technology. Do electronics create an additional failure point? Absolutely, and you saw that as the main argument for red dot optics when they were first introduced to carbines back in the day. I think with time this type of technology will find its way into more and more firearms in a less obtrusive and more inexpensive way.
As the technology becomes more common I expect it to shrink in size and come down in price.
The Smart Slide will be available Q4 for around $1,000 (MSRP). That includes the Smart Slide, new back strap and (2) magazine followers. Pretty cool, right?