I just went out and bought a new Springfield SS 1911 in 9mm. After I brought it home I noticed that the slide stop barely engages the hold open notch when the action is opened on a empty mag. I tried working it back and forth with oil but it will not loosen up. I took a slide stop out of my Kimber .45 and it works perfectly in the springfield. I intend to call Springfield on Monday and see if I can exchange the part for a good one. I really want to shoot the gun tomorrow. What is the difference between a 9mm, & a .45 slide stop and can the gun be safely shot with the .45 SS?
The external dimensions of the slide stops are the same for 9 MM and .45 .
The difference is inside the slide where the ledge has to be contacted by the mag follower to lock the slide back when the mag is empty. The .45 slide stop is not going to align with the mag follower so the lock back probably wont occur.
I have 3 slides for my 1911, 9mm, 10mm, and .45ACP plus extra barrels in .38 Super and .40 S&W. I have 4 mags in each of the 5 cartridges. I have 1 slide stop, I use it with all 5 cartridges, all lock open on the last shot with no problems. I did, however, replace all of the mag followers with Pachmayr units and all the mag springs with Wolff springs.
A .45 side stop reaches in about .199
A 9mm / .38 Super reaches in about .220
That is the difference
geo - www.egw-guns.com
Thanks to you all. Now I know that I can shoot the gun with a .45 stop installed without doing any damage. The original stop was just barely catching the hold open notch and I was afraid of damaging the slide.