4506-1 problem

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I have a 4506-1. I have found that when I remove the slide to field strip the pistol it wants to stick about 1/2 inch from the hammer as I begin to remove it. Also the hammer does not want to drop as I pull the slide forward. If anyone else has this problem or can offer any ideas as to the cause it would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Sammy
 
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CV, does your weapon function properly when you shoot and decocks correctly when you manipulate the decock lever?

did you buy new/used?
police gun/trade in?


one time on my CQB, one of the levers (the one that actuates the firing pin safety) in the frame was actually sharpened (like a knife blade) and you could feel drag as you field stripped it.

I called SW and they said to send it in. they refitted a new lever but I wonder if it was just weak or non hardened correctly and it caused it get a skin cutting edge.

I bet your issues are going to be in the area of the lever in the frame that decocks your hammer.

there could be some "ruff" areas on the contact points or too soft steel on the lever.

again, this is purely a guess on my part as I dont have the gun in front of me.

FASTBOLT might be able to shed some light.
 
Hard to identify something online without actually handling and examining the gun in question ... ;)

However, it doesn't seem to be uncommon to have folks experience this sort of thing. If the hammer is cocked in single action when you're trying to remove the slide (and many .45 pistols will cock the hammer when you retract the slide for field-stripping), then the hammer will have to be decocked in order to easily remove the slide. This can be done by pulling the slide forward, but that requires the slide press down on the sear release lever and displace the sear nose from under the hammer's single action notches (there are 2 of them, separated by a space). This is ordinarily intended to be done by rotating the manual safety body to push down on the top of the sear release lever, smoothly and by design, but the rear of the slide can do the same thing, although not always as smoothly or as easily as when it's done by the intended part. ;)

Another way is to carefully hold the slide in the 'normal' position, as if still pinned to the frame (meaning the slide stop lever has already been removed), and then decocking the hammer using the decocking lever (down & up, returning the lever to the 'ready-to-fire/off-safe position'), lowering the hammer so the slide can then be pulled forward off the frame.

Sometimes a gun may have an accumulation of fouling inside the frame's fire control parts, usually caused by neglect and improper cleaning practices (sometimes resulting in a congealed goo & sludge which can create interference with the intended movement of the parts).

Sometimes a sear release lever may have become burred or damaged in some manner, too.

Armorers are trained to check the tolerances of the sear release lever periodically to make sure that it remains within normal spec, and replace it if it wears out of normal spec. It's a fitted part, BTW. You can occasionally see among firearms forums where someone unfamiliar with working on S&W pistols may discuss how they have WRONGLY tried to 'smooth' the top of the sear release lever, thinking to make it 'easier to remove the slide' but not realize that this can ruin the tolerance of the fitted part of the lever (at the bottom, where it contacts the sear nose edge) and result in difficult or late decocking, and even take the part out of spec so that the hammer can no longer even be decocked in the intended manner.

Sometimes it's the accumulation of poor cleaning practices, too.

I had someone bring me a relatively new pistol which suddenly wasn't consistently allowing the trigger to reset in SA mode during firing. Not a good thing, obviously. When I disassembled the gun I found I could almost pour excessive lubricant and goo out of the frame, and the parts were literally sticking together inside the frame because of the incredible amount of nasty sludge which had formed. No wonder the gun wasn't running normally. I discussed normal cleaning practices with the fellow to whom the gun was issued. Once the gun was cleaned, reassembled and properly lubricated, it ran just fine.

Sorry I can't know what's happening with your gun. If we lived near each other I'd offer to examine it as a courtesy.

I'm not an 'expert', though. Not a gunsmith, nor a factory technician. Just a LE armorer.
 
4506-1

I did buy the gun used and it's a police trade in. On the left side of the frame it is marked BPD95-0166. I think this is the department markings. Where I live there are several police departments that could possibly fit those letters. I'm not really sure which one it is. The parts are very clean and appear to be installed correctly. When I use the decocking lever as suggested the slide comes off easily. I have examined the parts in question and I can't find any burrs or apparent damage. All of this has no affect on the function of the safety or the firing of the gun. I suppose I can live with this as long as I can remove the slide and clean my gun properly when I need to. Thanks for the input.

Sammy
 
I've always preferred to decock the hammers before trying to remove the slides. Seems like it's kinder on the gun (meaning the top of the sear release lever) to remove the pressure from it before pulling the slide off (because the sear nose has been pushed forward by the actual decocking action, instead of having to be done simultaneously with removing the slide if left cocked).

Since I use the 1-handed 'squeeze method' of retracting the slide for field-stripping (using my strong hand's fingers over the front of the rear sight and the thumb under the grip tang) I've found I can usually avoid the hammer becoming cocked when retracting the slide for cleaning. This avoids the whole "cocked hammer" issue. ;)

Otherwise, remembering to first decock the hammer before pulling the slide off is like remembering to remove the empty magazine before trying to remove the slide from the frame (I can't count the number of our folks who brought me their empty guns at the cleaning stations because they couldn't get the slide off, only to have it pointed out to them that they had left an empty mag in the gun).

The 4506-1 guns are excellent .45's, BTW, but you probably already knew that when you decided to buy one. ;)

You can still order the standard recoil spring and the wadcutter recoil spring from the factory (the latter intended for light power target loads).

If it were me, I'd replace the recoil spring, all magazine springs and even the black plastic followers (in case the slide stop lever has chewed too deeply into the relief notch of the followers, and/or the raised dimple has been worn through on the follower). The factory recommends replacement of the recoil & mag springs every 5,000 rounds or every 5 years (taking into consideration how cops usually leave their mags fully loaded).

Congrats on the .45 ... ;)
 
.45 addiction

Thanks for the input FB. I am going to replace the recoil spring. I have some newer .45 mags that came with my 4566 so I guess they will have to do for now. This is not a carry gun but I will be taking it to the range for a good work out soon. Happy Trails

Sammy
 
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