1911 Slide Stop Drops Too Easily

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Treylis

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I'm looking at this Colt Series 70 right now that has a bit of a problem--with the slide locked back, I inserted a full mag and slapped it in (not even hard). This will cause the slide stop to disengage and the gun will chamber a round. This will also happen with no mag inserted. Is there anything I can do about this or is it gunsmith time?
 
Slap and Drop

Howdy Treylis,

Maybe gunsmith time...but probably not. The causes could be:

A worn, or out of spec slidestop

Worn notch in the slide.

Weak plunger spring, or worn pin.

Stop lug not engaging the notch completely. (Weak magazine spring or incorrect angle on the follower and/or shelf)

All or any combination of the above.

Check for obvious wear and get back to us.

Standin' by...
 
Hmm, should be any use-related wear, it's brand-new. I'll bring over some different mags and see if I have the same problem.
 
Hmm, I swapped out the slide stop with the one from my Springfield which seems to have a larger stop lug and it seems to have mostly cured the problem. It was a bit scary the first time when I just regularly loaded a mag into the gun and the action of doing that closed the slide.

The smaller Colt stop, interestingly enough, doesn't seem to have impeded the function of the Springfield any.

You know, I've never really thought about this all that much--how hard should I be able to slap mags in before the slide closes? Should it be a "fairly hard" thing or a "banging the gun against a tabletop" thing?

If it's new, it might need a small dimple on the slide stop where it meets the plunger.
Click to expand...

How would I ding something like that in, or should that be better left to more skilled individuals?
 
Just for fun,
Look on the back of the Colt slide stop for a number "2".
That is the number that is on the back of one for an Ace or a 38 Special Midrange.
I'm told the notch is not as deep on those,for whatever reason.
And if it is a #2,I'll be glad to swap you a new one and pay the postaqe both ways,'cause I need a couple more of them!
Regards,Robert.
 
Brand new and the slide drops upon insertion of a mag? Make sure the stop is fully engaging the slide first. If it is, check the slide notch, make sure it has a reasonable sharp edge and is not rounded or angled so as to allow the slide to push down the stop. Now check the stop and make sure it has fairly sharp corners, if it is rounded off or the stop is short it will not properly engage the slide notch.
 
I recently had the same problem with an even easier fix.

The 1911 would sometime slam into battery just from having a magazine inserted.

After several minutes of looking, I found the culprit.

It was one of my magazines.

The spring in that magazine was old and weak, and thus would not push the slide stop all the way up.

The slide stop was barely into the notch on the slide, and thus when I popped a new mag in, it would let the slide slam shut.

A different magazine with a strong spring pushed the slide stop all the way up every time, and never caused the problem to happen.

hillbilly
 
The 1911 would sometime slam into battery just from having a magazine inserted.

After several minutes of looking, I found the culprit.

It was one of my magazines.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it will do this with a magazine inserted or not. I tried with two brand new Colt mags, eight different Wilson 47Ds, some of which are virtually new, two Metalforms and a CMC PowerMag. It will not do it with an empty mag, though, just one with rounds inserted.

I'll check to see if there's a "2" on the slide stop, I don't recall one being there, though.
 
Unfortunately, it will do this with a magazine inserted or not . . . It will not do it with an empty mag, though, just one with rounds inserted.
Click to expand...

The key is when an empty mag is inserted on a closed slide is the spring strong enough to push up the slide top enough to fully engage in the slide. We're looking if anything is preventing the slide stop from fully engaging the slide notch or the stop or notch being out of spec.

Since you swapped for a known good slide stop, and the one from this gun is working fine on the other that should be able to be eliminated as a part of the issue. Since you've tried many magazines that shouldn't be an issue.

That pretty much leaves the frame, slide, plunger, and plunger springs as possible culprets.

Good luck :)
 
Just for fun,
Look on the back of the Colt slide stop for a number "2".
That is the number that is on the back of one for an Ace or a 38 Special Midrange.
I'm told the notch is not as deep on those,for whatever reason.
And if it is a #2,I'll be glad to swap you a new one and pay the postaqe both ways,'cause I need a couple more of them!
Click to expand...

Looks like it has a 1 stamped into it, sorry.
 
Since you swapped for a known good slide stop, and the one from this gun is working fine on the other that should be able to be eliminated as a part of the issue. Since you've tried many magazines that shouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...

OK, weird, I played slide-stop-swap again just now and it looks like the Colt stop is causing the Springer to drop just like the Colt now, perhaps I did something weird last night or the stars are in the wrong alignment now.

Hmmph, can anybody recommend any Phoenix, AZ area gunsmiths that aren't backed up for ages? I might as well throw on some night sights and put a long trigger on this thing if it's going to be away. Or perhaps I should call Colt? I haven't even shot it yet.

EDIT: Also looks like there's a bit of up-down play in the slide that I didn't notice when checking the thing out, I can actually see through the gap between the slide and frame and check out the recoil spring. Bah, looked fine at the shop.
 
Last edited:
Am I missing something?

Slidestop C malfunctioned in two different pistols.

Slidestop S works perfectly in two different pistols.


Seems to me that Slidestop C is defective and needs to be replaced.

Call Colt and I'll wager they'll send you a new one.

Is it really that easy or did I misread something?
 
Slidestop C malfunctioned in two different pistols.

Slidestop S works perfectly in two different pistols.

Seems to me that Slidestop C is defective and needs to be replaced.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it was like that at first, and then I did it again just to test and perhaps the first time was some weird fluke, because Slidestop S didn't work the second time in the Colt. So I guess there's some other issue there that I'm not knowledgeable enough to really check for.

Of course, it'll have to be taken in due to the up/down gap and play between the slide and frame (like I said, I can see the recoil spring and everything), I assume Colt will be able to handle that as well? I'm just kind of bummed because I'd prefer not to deal with a long turnaround time. Anybody know how long that would be about now?
 
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