Difficult field strip

[spirit4earth]

I got my 2.0 9 compact Friday. Field stripped, lubed, shot 200 rounds with no problems. Came home, field stripped, lubed. Today I’m having a really hard time disassembling the gun. First, the slide got stuck and wouldn’t come off the frame. Finally got it off, but there was a lot of difficulty removing and reassembling the slide on a few more tries. Also, the RSA was a little out of position after the slide came off. Do you any ideas about this?

 

[WR Moore]

Was the sear release lever all the way down in both cases? Yes, the recoil spring has to be in the right place to install the slide assembly and the take down lever held in the down position while installing the slide assembly.

You might take a close look at the retaining spring on the take down lever. Apparently the end of this spring can work out of place and cause these issues by interfering with slide travel. Correction is easy.

 

[spirit4earth]

Was the sear release lever all the way down in both cases? Yes, the recoil spring has to be in the right place to install the slide assembly and the take down lever held in the down position while installing the slide assembly.

You might take a close look at the retaining spring on the take down lever. Apparently the end of this spring can work out of place and cause these issues by interfering with slide travel. Correction is easy.

I thought the release lever was all the way down. The recoil spring was slightly out of place after removing the slide, but not when reassembling. I’ll check the spring on the takedown lever. Thank you!

 

[spirit4earth]

I just did it two more times. The slide came off pretty easily. The takedown lever, though, is a beast to lower. I looked in there and I didn’t even see a spring. ??
The slide didn’t automatically lock back after reassembly so I raise the takedown lever. Is it supposed to? I thought the takedown lever would pop back up on its own?

 

[WR Moore]

I have to confess I've never stripped a compact. However, the takedown lever usually doesn't pop up by itself.

To strip: remove magazine, lock slide back, move sear release lever to down position. Move the takedown lever to down position and hold it there before releasing slide. The takedown lever should move easily.

The spring in question holds the takedown lever in the frame, if the end of it pops out of it's slot, it'll interfere with the slide movement. Sounds like it's where it's supposed to be.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I thought the takedown lever would pop back up on its own?

Only if you have a magazine inserted. It's the follower that trips the slide stop.

 

[spirit4earth]

The spring must be good because I can’t see anything that looks like a spring! But, the takedown lever doesn’t move easily. It’s difficult to pull it down.

 

[WR Moore]

Only if you have a magazine inserted. It's the follower that trips the slide stop.

The take down lever on a M&P semi isn't the slide stop. It's a separate item.

OP, if your takedown lever is stiff even with the slide off, I'd suggest you contact S&W Customer Service. It shouldn't be stiff even with the slide in place if the slide is locked back.

 

[spirit4earth]

The takedown lever requires pressure, for sure. It’s not floppy. I’m just going to shoot it again as soon as I can, and if that goes well, I won’t worry. Though I might call S&W, as well.

 

[spirit4earth]

Another odd thing was that the audible reset (which I could hear in the FFL), disappeared after the first field strip and lube. ????

 

[spirit4earth]

I called Smith this morning, now my brand new pistol is on its way back. I’m glad to give them a chance to look at it. I think it’s really strange that the reset just disappeared.

 

[spirit4earth]

When field stripping with the pull-the-trigger method, at what point in the slide removal do you pull the trigger? Is the trigger then released, or should it be held down until the slide is totally removed?

 

[WR Moore]

Per the manual, the pull the trigger system isn't to be used. Granted this is your choice, but PLEASE do things the way the bleeping manual says for once! They developed the system and wrote the manual for darned good reason.

 

[kthom]

With some of my M&Ps, the take down lever was very stiff at first. I found it was easier if I pushed it down with my right thumb from over the top of the slide. After a few sessions of doing so, it became easier. Some of mine also have the take down lever popping back up on it's own during slide movement either while removing or returning it to the frame. On those, I usually capture the take down lever in the down position with my left thumb as I remove or replace the slide to the frame.