6906 slide not locking open with empty mag

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I have what looks like a police trade-in 6906 with 3 mags; two are 12-round and one is 15-round. The slide does not lock open with any of them. have replaced mag springs and followers, and slide still does not lock open on empty mags.

Where should I go from here?

Thanks in advance!
 
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First questions: are you using factory/factory duplication ammo? Do you have a firm grip on the firearm?

You also might try pulling the slide to the rear with an empty mag inserted and see if the slide stop will lock the slide then. If not, remove the recoil spring-keeping the guide in place, reassemble the pistol and lock the slide back. Mark the position of the slide. Then put the recoil spring back in and see where the slide stops. The recoil spring might not be the correct one.

OH YEAH! Are you familiar with what the proper position of the side plate is? That's the little widget the plunger on the slide stop presses against. If it's not in the correct place, it'll block the movement of the slide stop. The head of the sear pin is supposed to lock the side plate in the proper location. It's possible while installing the grip to not get the pin in place or even to break the side plate.
 
Using empty mags, with inconsistent results. First go-round, 2 of 3 mags had proper slide lock. Next go-round, none got proper slide lock. Every trial got different results.
Plunger free and apparently working properly.
Noticed inconsistency in how high the end of the slide lock lever came to rest.
Looking down from the top at the left side of the frame at the slide lock lever, the pin end of the lever is at the surface of the frame but the end farthest from the pin has a substantial gap away from the frame. I.e., it appears that the angle between the pin and the lever is more than 90 degrees. It looks like this could affect the point at which the slide lock contacts the mag follower, and thus result in failure to lock on empty.
Does this make any sense? If this is the likely cause of the malfunction, should I just hunt up a new slide lock or is there an easy fix to the existing one?
 
I'd be reluctant to try to bend the existing slide stop. Check Jack First for a replacement. If the new one works correctly, then you might try adjusting the original, but keep it as an emergency spare only.

It could be that some idiot tried prying the slide stop out instead of figuring out what they were doing wrong while removing it.
 
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Slide stops are usually drop-in parts. If the leg on the slide stop that engages the step on the magazine follower has been damaged or filed down or the slide stop is bent, then a new slide stop is the only answer.
 
CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF. THE SLIDE STOP IS A FIT PART. AT THE ARMORERS COURSE IT'S TAUGHT AS A HARD FIT PART. YOU CAN TAKE THE SLIDE STOP AND CLAMP IT INTO A VISE BY THE POST (ROUND PART). LEAVING THE ARM EXTENDED. STRIKE THE ARM WITH A BABBIT BAR (SOFT FACE HAMMER). THAT CLOSES THE ANGLE A BIT. UPON RE-ASSEMBLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE CHANGE IN ANGLE. DON'T WORRY IF YOU CLOSE IT TOO FAR. JUST PLACE THE SLIDE STOP ON THE FLAT OF THE VISE LIKE AND UP SIDE DOWN LETTER "V". AND STRIKE THE TOP OF THE "V" WITH THE BABBIT BAR. THAT WILL OPEN UP THE ANGLE. IT'S A LEARNING CURVE, BUT THE SLIDE STOP IS A FORGIVING PART. JP
 
PPCShooter, thanks much for the explanation and instruction; I'll give that a shot. I have some thick sheet lead which I can put over the part to protect it when I smack it with a hammer, and I can bore a reasonably precise hole in a chunk of steel to hold the pin end. I understand that this is an art, and surmise that there isn't an easy written answer to a question about how hard to hit. Can you estimate the force in terms of comparison to the force to drive a 10-penny nail an inch into a 2 x 4?
Thanks again.
 
PPCShooter, thanks much for the explanation and instruction; I'll give that a shot. I have some thick sheet lead which I can put over the part to protect it when I smack it with a hammer, and I can bore a reasonably precise hole in a chunk of steel to hold the pin end. I understand that this is an art, and surmise that there isn't an easy written answer to a question about how hard to hit. Can you estimate the force in terms of comparison to the force to drive a 10-penny nail an inch into a 2 x 4?
Thanks again.

If the arm of the slide stop is close and parallel to the side of the frame it doesn't need to be "bent". Doing so will only cause it to drag on the frame side and damage to the frame finish.
 
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If the arm of the slide stop is close and parallel to the side of the frame it doesn't need to be "bent". Doing so will only cause it to drag on the frame side and damage to the frame finish.

Thank you.

The arm is not parallel to the side of the frame; it is in contact with the frame at the pin end and not close at the end farthest from the pin. The result is excess clearance between the magazine follower and the follower-contact point on the arm.
 
OK, the interior part of the slide stop end has a lip. This lip is supposed to keep the end of the slide stop in place, it's supposed to run up on the inside of the frame to keep the end of the stop from bowing outward. If this part is catching on the inside of the frame slot, the friction will keep the slide stop from engaging.
 
Took me a while to get back to this, as I have been diverted by all the pleasantries of the fallout from my divorce.
Anyhoo, did some more inspection and thinking. The frame holes for the slide stop are oversized [or the slide stop pin is undersized] enough for the slop in the fit to allow the portion of the slide stop that engages the mag follower to back out of contact. This leaves the arm out of parallel to to the frame. I can push it into proper contact easily, but it does not stay there.
I am thinking that bending the arm as suggested above by PPC Shooter will cure the lack of contact with the mag follower, but will move any friction and stress between the pin and frame holes to a limited part of the circumference.
Queries:
Does my thinking about causation seem logical?

Am I overlooking some down side or unintended consequences of the proposed fix?

TIA
 
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Some good, close up photos of the slide stop, sideplate etc. might help us diagnose what's wrong, and the best course of action.

In the photo below, the arrow indicates a slotted cavity in the top of the slide stop. The raised portion at the back of this slot locks the slide stop in place (by the slide) after it is inserted and the slide in lowered. If it's undamaged and installed properly, your slide stop shouldn't be camming out away from the frame as you indicated.

Does your slide stop look and function this way? Perhaps the slide stop has been altered?

Also, remove the grip, and confirm that the sideplate is in the proper position and is undamaged and unaltered. The sideplate plays a crucial roll in the proper function of the slide stop.







Carter
 
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Took me a while to get back to this, as I have been diverted by all the pleasantries of the fallout from my divorce.
Anyhoo, did some more inspection and thinking. The frame holes for the slide stop are oversized [or the slide stop pin is undersized] enough for the slop in the fit to allow the portion of the slide stop that engages the mag follower to back out of contact. This leaves the arm out of parallel to to the frame. I can push it into proper contact easily, but it does not stay there.
I am thinking that bending the arm as suggested above by PPC Shooter will cure the lack of contact with the mag follower, but will move any friction and stress between the pin and frame holes to a limited part of the circumference.
Queries:
Does my thinking about causation seem logical?

Am I overlooking some down side or unintended consequences of the proposed fix?

TIA
and holes
Sorry to hear of the divorce, hopefully there are far better days ahead for you. As for the slide stop pin hole, if it really is wallowed out, I'd say the receiver's life is coming to an end. If that is the case, the really bad part is that S&W is no longer replacing worn out or broken receivers. I measured the diameter of the slide stop pin in my 6906. The pin diameter in mine varies from 0.201" to 0.203". I do not have a pin gauge set, so I cannot measure the pin hole in my receiver.
 
Feelin' like an idiot here.
My lack of knowledge led me to some misleading observations in my prior post. The observations of sloppy fit were made with the slide stop assembled on the frame WITHOUT THE SLIDE. With the slide in place and the pistol fully assembled, there is no perceptible slop--everything is tightly held. In that condition, the slide stop arm is not quite parallel to the frame and slide, being a bit farther away from the frame at the end away from the pin--by eyeball the discrepancy looks to be about the same distance as the where the slide stop misses the magazine follower.
The slot in the pin, pictured above by Armorer 951, has a shiny spot at the top of the interior edge, and seems to be doing its job.
My apologies for any confusion.
Looks like I am back to whacking w/ a soft hammer to fit.

Film at 11.
 
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