I was all set to order Galloway's wide takedown lever until I ran across this video:

http://youtu.be/FN9NqRhMYoo

I always struggle when trying to remove the slide as per the instructions because there's not enough lever sticking out to grab comfortably with my big left fingers while trying to hold the slide back with my weak right hand.

Now, I use my knee instead of my hand as shown in the video.

If all the S&W's use the same method, then this trick might work for them as well.

I appreciate your approach but still use the hand-thumb method. What made a major difference for me was to install an NDZ Performance bar. It well made (stainless, laser cut) and, as it turns out, only 1mm longer than stock. No taper, just identical to stock except for length.

It was only after I had used it for a while that I measured it to find out how much difference that 1mm made. Comes in black and stainless. I would recommend it even if using the method in the video.

Thumb and finger of one hand on takedown levers. Apply only slight downward pressure. Slight, no need for any more than that.

Grasp frame and slide in other hand with fingers on top of slide as pictured. Rock slide back maybe an eighth of an inch. The takedown levers will fall. As soon as they do, release and remove slide. Easy peasy.

No need for any discomfort or gymnastics.

My takedown lever/barrel stop is spring loaded (flat green spring inside) and doesn't just fall. Before I got the extended piece I had to put a towel on the ends of the bar to protect my fingers. Now it's a piece of cake and I can do it in a couple of seconds.

Do you mean that your lever simply falls when you remove the pressure from the barrel?

Well I never cried about it but that was the worst part of cleaning this weapon.
Thank you. IT WORKS all this time I've been pulling it back then trying to pull the levers down at the same time.
Dang that is so easy

Not by itself, but the slight downward pressure is more than enough to overcome the spring pressure on the lever once the resistance applied by slide is removed.

Agree.

In my case, even when the barrel was moved away from the takedown/blocker that slight spring pressure was hurting my fingers, not sure why. I think maybe my fingers were already bruised but whatever the reason, the 1mm longer barrel stop makes it something I can do in a couple of seconds.

I did it a lot when I first got the SD9 because it's a CA model and requires some extra steps to remove the slide. I wanted to see exactly what the internals were doing so I had it open and closed many times.

No, not at all. The lever still has to be held down until the slide passes over it precisely because the green leaf spring inside is pushing up on the convuluted lever.

Now, where it drops off by itself is in Glock's animation.

I don't know why S&W didn't use the same shape and orientation of Glock's L-shaped leaf spring instead of that U=shape. Maybe it would have violated a Glock copyright if they did.

The way it is now, the lever operates like a seesaw with the ends of the takedown lever/slide stop (I like the name "tabs") like the seats at either end of the board. When I push down on one end, it seems to push up on the other end. It really does take more work than necessary to pull down on both tabs to where they both reach the bottom of their respective slots.

I don't know about anyone else's gun, but on mine, the takedown lever has a tendency to want to stay in place. If you look at the Sd manual and try to replicate what is shown, it cannot be done - unless you leave out the recoil spring.

If people lightened up their striker string as per an Apex swap, then, I expect it might be easier to hold the slide back while pulling on the tabs. The rear sight also digs into my forefinger.

It might also help if responders mentioned which iteration of Sigma/SW/SD they had.

Well, if you had my gun, you'd find it needs a lot more than a "slight downward pressure." As I just noted in a prior post, my lever has a tendency to pivot like the board on a seesaw - almost like each of the level ends or tabs were independently spring-loaded.

I must have a "U" spring with a shallower curve than factory spec or maybe the "L"-shaped lever is bent at a shallower
angle. Whatever the deal is, the work required to overcome the loading on the lever is more than other might have.

Not every gun comes out exactly the same as every other. But, I'm not alone on this. At least I know that now.

To clarify, I have an SD9VE.

With your slide off, is it still hard to depress the takedown lever?

Slide off or on, the only thing affecting the barrel stop is the barrel and the spring.

And yes, the barrel stop does need to be held down on both ends because it does pivot around that spring which rids in a notch on the bar and holds it from sliding out sideways

I dremeled the frame like the original sigma's had by the takedown lever and I can get alot better grip.

But like I said in an earlier post warranty out the window for the frame.

Just my opinion, but that 1mm longer piece from NDZ performance makes an incredible difference. I was surprised at how much difference it made, and even more surprised when I measured it and found it was only 1mm longer than stock.

Even more important, you can put the original back in if you need to send the gun back to S&W under warranty.

Good tip!!! I came really close to buying the Galloway Precisions takedown lever because of this. I may have saved myself some more money...that could be used for more ammo

Not sure if some still don't get it.
Start by putting some , not a lot , downward pressure on both sides of the take down lever. pull the slide back like the instructions show , you will feel the lever give way & freely go down that is when you just push the slide forward.
easypeasy.
I do it over & over just cause I can

I believe the name (and function) of that bar is actually "Barrel stop". It takes a heck of a beating when the slide returns to battery after the gun is fired. You will notice that it's in a pretty hefty part of the frame.

Actually I also usually call it the "Take Down Lever", or some such name because that's what most folks call it.

The barrel only engages it by about a millimeter, maybe less, so you only have to move the slide (with barrel) back a tiny amount to release the stop. [I exaggerate . . . I measured the depth of the groove in mine and it's only .59mm deep.]

It's an important part because it positions the height of the barrel before the gun is fired.

I prefer calling the takedown lever a "plate" that functions as a "slide lock" as Glock calls it because the "lever" is not the plate at all - but the leaf spring that contacts the plate and makes the arrangement a "lever" as in a mechanical device that outputs more work than is input.

So, it's not really a lever without the leaf spring which Glock appropriately calls, the "slide spring."

It's true that it takes very little backwards movement of the slide (at least 3mm on my slide) to get to that .59mm gap betwen the plate and the barrel notch. There is some free play here.

Glock's "slide lock" does not engage the slide - so that is a bit of a misnomer, too, since it engages the barrel. On the SDxVE, the leaf spring is not mentioned EXCEPT when swapping out the stock plate for a 4mm wider one.

The Glock does not have the stupid U-shaped spring in the SDxVE (if it is a spring since I don't see it functioning as one). IMO, it serves as a resting place for an S-shaped leaf spring where, in my case, it does not rest, but slides when you work the takedown plate/lever edges.

The takedown plate has a tendency to slide from from one side of the frame to the other - making the gripping edge nearly flush with the frame instead of sticking out far enough to get a good grip on it.

It is the reason why Galloway Precision sells a lot of wide takedown levers.

When the lever plate slides side to side, the leaf spring moves, too, from being absolutely perpendicular to the plate where it fits into the notch above it to the spring tilting when the bottom slides towards the side that was pushed inwards.

The result is, when you press down on the opposite side - the one now protruding further than the other side, you are not compressing the leaf spring fully but only partially as the bottom of the leaf spring slides to down side and makes it harder to drop the plate evenly with the other end still sticking up.

So, in effect, my takedown lever is not being moved out of the way of the barrel and allowing the recoil spring to move the slide forward simply by uncoiling and not requiring any push on the slide.

So, besides the slide only needing a minimal movement rearwards to drop the top surface of the plate below the barrel lock, and a quick release on the slide will propel it forward - especially if the front of the gun is tilted down.

Unless you swapped out the stock recoil spring, i've never had the slide fly off like I did with my Sig P250. Of course, I could work the takedown level the same way as on my Walther PPX; i.e., lock the slide back, pull the trigger, rotate the takedown lever to vertical, and release the slide catch.

Since the slide is held halfway back by the catch, if you don't hold onto the slide when you press down on the lever, you can launch it into space.

Since the Glock uses a stationary L-spring that never moves from side-to-side, it is possible to pull the entire takedown lever by only pressing down on one edge - if you do it fast enough. But, the slide removal is aided by having a wider plate, and if you look at the photos Galloway has on tis website, the wide takedown lever for the SDxVE looks identical to the Glock series 17, 19, 21, 22, etc. (Gen 1-3)

In fact, the same seems to be the case for the SS guide rod/recoil spring unit unless Galloway is using the same photos for expediency sake. I find it hard to believe that the springs and rods would be interchangeable. I hpe they are because the Glock rod/spring units sell for $18 versus $30 for the SDxVE.

Even so, I'm supremely happy with the NDZ performance "Extended Slide Lock Lever, Stainless Steel". It's laser cut and comes in black or clear. Since it's only 1mm longer than stock, there is no issue about moving sideways during takedown. [I still call it a Barrel Stop since that's it's true function.]

In any case, with the NDZ part installed I no longer bruise my fingers during takedown.

I suppose various folks will have their own opinion, and whatever works is fine. I do believe that if you go to the "Concealed Carry & Self Defense Forum" you will see they prefer a shorter bar to avoid hanging on their holster. (I have an Oklahoma license but no holster and no serious intent to carry a gun under ordinary circumstances.)

Can't find this item on NDZperformance site. I Used all kinds of namings but ...........
Galloway doesn't export to Canada.
I found it in NDZ under Extended Slide Lock Lever.

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NFA CSSA CCFR (Canada), NRA