The trigger in my EZ380 has failed to reset. I cannot get it to reset by racking the slide.

I’d like to take the slide off to see what’s going on but with the hammer in the fired position the slide will not move forward to come off (it will move to the rear).

Any suggestions on how to remove the slide?

Are yo depressing the grip safety as you try to pull it off? Can’t depress that and take the slide off.

No, hand is off the grip safety.

Can you manually push the trigger forward to get it to reset?

Did you try to reset with an empty magazine inserted. Also make sure the safety is turned off (if so equipped).

Yes, I tried to reset with an empty magazine.

I recently removed the manual safety. It dry fired fine about 25 times before the trigger failed to reset.

Can you manually push the trigger forward to reset?

The trigger isn’t stuck to the rear. It can be depressed and it moves forward when I take my finger off it. It’s behaving as if the grip safety is always in the safety on position.

First pic is with my hand off the grip safety. Second pic is with hand on the grip safety. It looks like it’s doing what it should (I think).

Try pressing the trigger and holding it pressed back while you try to remove the slide.

If you end up sending it back to S&W they’re likely going to replace the safety. Since you took it off. Does the safety come off as easily as the regular M&P 2.0’s do? I just installed one on my 2.0 Subcompact. Very easy to do.

I tried that and it didn’t work.

Yes, the safety came out easy. It took me a while to get everything back together and it seemed to function correctly for a bit.

I’ll probably take it to my local smith as it may be something I did to it when I reassembled after removing the safety.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

So I was able to get the slide off. I inserted a small screwdriver through the back and pressed down on the hammer it came off.

Still can’t get the trigger to reset.

It sounds like removing the safety is what started the issue. Maybe a piece needed to be inserted to replace the safety. Good luck with it. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

This is a video of disassembly/reassembly of a 9 EZ without the manual safety. It might help you since both it and the 380 EZ are hammer-fired with the grip safety. Lots of little pieces need to go together just right. Sounds like maybe your disconnector and/or plunger may have slipped out of place.

So I’ve disassembled and reassembled several times. It dry fires fine for a short while and then fails to reset. I know what’s causing the problem, I don’t know why.

Below are 2 pictures of the side of the hammer assembly. The first one is what it looks like when it’s working fine, the second is when it malfunctions. The sear pin is working itself out of place when I manually rack and fire the unloaded pistol.

It looks like the disconnector in the up position makes contact right on the sear pin. I’m not sure if it’s pushing the pin out of the frame.

So I found an older thread on this forum where a member had the same problem I’m having. Apparently you can’t remove the safety.

See post 17

.380 ez thumb safety
.380 ez thumb safety

One video showing how to remove the manual thumb safety from a 2.0 (striker fired, so it is not the same but similar in concept) mentions that you must use the frame plugs to hold certain parts in place. It makes sense that the same might apply to the 380. If S&W doesn't sell the plugs, it follows that the manual thumb safety should not be removed.

Thanks for doing the research and finding that thread from 3 years ago.

So have you re-assembled the lower including the safety? Problem solved?

Yes. The trigger consistently resets while dry firing with the safety reinstalled.

So that confirms that without the safety mechanism putting pressure on the sear pin the gun will not function.

So as it turns out, if you have a 380 EZ with the manual thumb safety and the large ledge on the safety interferes with your strong hand grip, there is a solution besides changing your grip or trading it for a model without a thumb safety.

I used my Dremel to remove the paddles on the safety and reinstalled it on the gun in the safety off position. It passed the hand racking and trigger reset test at home so I took it to the range.

Put 110 rounds through it with no issues whatsoever. I bought a spare safety so I can, at any time, restore the gun to stock.

Stock safety

Safety with the paddles removed