USP CT OK without rubber o-ring?

[aroundlsu]

I have broken the rubber o-ring twice in a row now when putting the barrel back into the slide after cleaning. I'm down to my last one. I plan to order a pack this week but need to know if its OK to use the pistol without the o-ring in case this last one breaks before the replacements arrive.

[Scooter]

it'll work fine w/o the o-ring. You probably won't see a difference in accuracy.

[Big Bore]

It is still not a good idea to shoot it without the o-ring. The groove will end up either getting burrs on it or causing burrs to be thrown up on the slide. Either way, you can expect very short lives on o-rings after that. If you have less than 20K rounds on the o-ring and have not been removing it for cleaning (that is a no-no, leave it alone until it needs replacing, clean around it and oil it but DO NOT REMOVE IT for normal cleaning) then you may want to make sure there is not a burr already there. I have yet to replace one on my Tac, CT, Expert, or Mark 23 and I have thousands and thousands of rounds through them.
To test take a cotton ball and rub around the areas the o-ring rubs. If any cotton tears off get some super fine Crocus cloth and polish the offending area until it lets the cotton ball glide over without catching.