Massad Ayoob discusses the wear and tear that can result from snapping a cylinder shut on a revolver or letting a slide slam shut on an empty chamber of a semi-auto pistol. With the semi-auto pistols, the problem generally arises in regard to pistols with metal frames using cross pins:
A cross-pin pistol is something like a 1911, CZ-75, Browning Hi-Power, or Beretta 92. All of these use a transverse pin or slide stop that passes through the frame and often supports the barrel. Sometimes by way of a swinging link, like in the 1911. In these systems, the pin is under some direct stress when the slide slams forward.
Snapping the slide once probably won’t hurt anything. But snapping it every day over time can start to peen that pin or oval out the holes it rides in.
On a 1911, especially, you might start to see premature wear in areas that weren’t meant to be load-bearing in that way. Eventually, that damage spreads. I’ve seen peened frames, cracked locking lugs, and loose lockups; all from repeated “dry slamming” of a 1911.
Thus, "[a]s a rule, when running a cross-pin gun, drop the slide only when you’re feeding a round off a magazine. Otherwise, ease it forward and respect the mechanical design."
As for revolvers, he writes, "[w]hen you snap a cylinder shut, what you’re doing is forcing a rotating, precision-fit piece of metal into a detent by inertia. Every time that cylinder slams home, something has to absorb the shock. And depending on your revolver’s action, different parts are taking the hit." The parts that take that shock or start to wear depend on the type of revolver: Colt, S&W, and Ruger are all a bit different in how they lock up and so the impact of snapping the cylinder shut depends on which design we're talking about. He explains it all, so read the whole thing.
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