Editing M1911 pistol (section)

=== Operation ===
The basic principle of the pistol is recoil operation.<ref name="Manual" /> 

As the expanding combustion gases force the bullet down the barrel, they give reverse momentum to the slide and barrel which are locked together during this portion of the firing cycle. After the bullet has left the barrel, the slide and barrel continue rearward a short distance.<ref name="Manual" />{{page needed|date=March 2021}}

At this point, a link pivots the rear of the barrel down, out of locking recesses in the slide, and the barrel is stopped by making contact with the lower barrel lugs against the frame.   

As the slide continues rearward, a claw extractor pulls the spent casing from the firing chamber and an ejector strikes the rear of the case, pivoting the casing out and away from the pistol through the ejection port.  

The slide stops its rearward motion then, and is propelled forward again by the recoil spring to strip a fresh cartridge from the magazine and feed it into the firing chamber.  

At the forward end of its travel, the slide locks into the barrel and is ready to fire again. 

However, if the fired round was the last in the magazine, the slide will lock in the rearward position, which notifies the shooter to reload by ejecting the empty magazine and inserting a loaded magazine, and facilitates (by being rearwards) reloading the chamber, which is accomplished by either pulling the slide back slightly and releasing, or by pushing down on the slide stop, which releases the slide to move forward under spring pressure, strip a fresh cartridge from the magazine, and feed it into the firing chamber.<ref name="Manual" />