Came out a 1/32" in the middle of a magazine and jammed the slide open in the disassembly notch. Maybe I bumped the end of the pin in the firing process at just the right time for it to not have tension on it and move? Didn't do it again rest of the day. Ideas?
Assemble the gun without the recoil spring, recoil spring guide and plug. Turn the gun upside down and try to push the slide stop out (aft end of SS arm pushed toward the trigger) while slowly moving the slide back & forth.
If the SS can be moved out at any point other than the disassembly/take-down notch, either the SS is out of whack or the slide can move up too far on the frame. There's a blueprint of the SS in our Tech Issues section and this may help you see what it's like when all put together:
Should there be a divot in the slide stop for the plunger to "lock" into...?
A plunger detent isn't part of the original design but is included on some more expensive slide stops like Wilson.
How many times has this problem occurred?
Several now. Hadn't done it in a while and then did it twice last night. I definitely have copper tracks on the slide stop.
It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to not have a divot so that the plunger actually has something to grip.
I've had my wadcutter gun since about 1964 and the slide stop has never, ever worked itself out in 10's of thousands of rounds. In my opinion slide stop divots are bandaids for some other problem - and I've heard they can lead to problems of their own.
How much pressure does your plunger exert on the back of the slide stop (mine's about 2lbs)?
What were the results of the test mentioned in Post #6?
Passed the slide test.
I will check the plunger pressure, thanks, good idea.
It only does it with certain ammo and magazines. If I take the slide off and insert different combinations, some bullets touch the SS and some don't. Fat 230 grainers and more open style feed lips.
It only stuck in the disassembly notch once, rest of them has been the slide stop notch.
The aft face of the slide stop lever is not perpendicular to the plunger, it's at an angle. Normally, the angle alone is sufficient. If that's not working, a slight dimple may help. However, if you are seeing copper tracks, you have a bullet-to-lug interference problem that needs to be addressed. The bullets should not make contact with the slide stop lug when feeding. Either the slide stop lug is too "fat," or the magazine(s) isn't/aren't holding the bullets to the rear. (Or a combination of both.)
Hmm. I need to examine that angle.
I noticed that where the SS engages it's notch, it's a bit worn off. I think it would make it a bit easier for it to jump up into the notch.
The main reason I haven't modified anything yet is I haven't determined if the stop is protruding too far or if my mags are too loose. Two are brand new SS Colts and one is a McCormick 10 round. Rest of my mags are one unmarked that came with it and some mil or happy pandas, no prob.
I'll keep checking and playing with it, thanks for the input.
For future reference and to maybe help someone else later... after comparison and part-swapping with my friend's '70 that doesn't have this problem, I trimmed down the inside of my slide stop so the bullets wouldn't hit it.
The back of the SS and nose of the plunger are also worn very smooth and there was little or no friction between them, (this gun has been used a lot) so I used a small scratch awl and put a few tiny scratches where the plunger ride, crosswise to it's travel, so now it's no free-riding.
I have had no more premature lockbacks, etc. in the last 300 rounds.
Also, as kind of a side note, I started wondering if I was bumping the SS with my left thumb, so I started paying more attention to my grip, and couldn't find a position for my left thumb where I felt it was safe to not accidentally bump the SS, mag release, or interfere with the tip of my trigger finger. I didn't like just leaving the left thumb out in the air or on top of the SS or near the slide. I have about medium size hands, BTW.
Ironically, I ended up pulling out the old Pachmayrs that were on the gun when I got it that have the thumb swells on them. I didn't like them at all when I first got my 1911 and have a couple other grips I've tried. I didn't like the swells before, but now there's a place for that pesky thumb.
I also didn't like how they made the grip feel too big, but now that I've gone to a flat MSH, it wasn't as bad, but it still felt a little long front to back, so I cut the checkered wraparound web off the front... and my hands said, "Aaaaahhhh".
