First off Joe, I was not attacking your character. I was responding to being called a Hard A$$ and looking to award penalties that I never mentioned and never even thought of awarding. I also don't like comments of what my assumptions are, when none were ever implied.
back to the situation......
What I was looking for was a proper clarification. The problem with the simpler way to interpret this rule, it is a rule that states a specific occurrence. To make it a no call would be great, but that is not what we have. I know we're not cowboys shooting 1911's, but our rules are sure going the same way as the cowboys.
I see you're reasoning on if the slide is forward, on a reload, and shooter racks the slide and no round is ejected it's a no call. There was nothing in the chamber during the reload, therefore it cannot be a tactical reload. But then can we not also apply this same logic/thinking to the model 12 shotgun? Why must the shooter declare a model 12, and then pull the trigger and show the TO the weapon is not cocked? If he fails to do this menial task it's a SDQ. If by chance the gun is cocked as soon as the buzzer goes off and he attempts to rack it, guess what happens. He's got egg on his face and just earned a SDQ.
Since the slide forward is only a MS maybe we should go the route of the finger in the trigger guard? It is also a MS yet in the rule book it states that "Typically a shooter is given a verbal warning, FINGER! the first time. Then a repeat earns the penalty. So maybe we should make the slide forward a warning the first time, as the shooter has gained no advantage, it's actually a dis-advantage. Naturally this is only if there is no movement of the shooter with the slide forward.
Cardboard Cowboy