When I played cop @ Peterson AFB several years back we weren't allowed to drop the round and were instructed to release the round from the M9 into our hand at the clearing barrel (cupping the ejection port). With one hand on the pistol grip and the cupping hand racking the slide, this wasn't a very comfortable setup and at least daily I saw folks groping for the round while still trying to get the slide lock applied. I had a lot of difficulty myself since I'm a lefty and racking the slide and trying to catch the round with my right hand was a clumsy process. Of course, we had a few hotdogs who'd rack the slide hard and fast enough to cause the round to shoot up into the air where they'd catch it.