My slide stop lever pops out while shooting my Colt .45.
It just popped to the floor. I though I did not put it in right, so I reassembled and went back to the range and after five shots it got loose and almost popper right out again. It clicks in fine when reassembling.
Any suggestions? My .45 is in good shape and in no way worn and torn.
A couple of things can cause the slidestop to walk out of the frame when firing. A left-handed shooter may be applying pressure to the opposite side of the pin without knowing it. This is pretty common. Shoot the gun one-handed to see if it still walks out. The lower lug feet may be bearing on the pin unevenly, and working it toward the left side of the gun. The hole in the frame may be angled, and having the same effect. The slidestop itself may be damaged or out of spec at the top of the lug. Check to see if you can push it out with the slide in battery... even with a little effort.
The plunger spring and plunger that hold the lever in may be missing also.
Some slide stops on the market seem to be made without the little tab that goes behind the slide and keeps the stop in place except at the one precise point used for takedown. If the stop is made wrong, it will come out in firing, and it should not (unless the shooter pushes on it from the right, and even then it is hard to get it to come out).
Check out the slide stop and if it can move at any point other than the takedown notch, get a new slide stop. Cutting a notch for the slide stop plunger is a "fix" to a problem that should not exist in the first place. (Sort of like using suspenders to hold your pants up because the maker forgot to put on belt loops.)
Note for El Hombre: The slide stop plunger and spring serve only to keep the slide stop down until it is pushed up by the magazine follower; the plunger has nada to do with keeping the slide stop in the frame.