"Idiot mark," but No Idiocy

[Pterodactyl]

I gave in to temptation (couldn't wait for a rebate) and bought a new Commander-size 1911, #108283, last Friday. It looked great and has shot reliably.

However, Sunday morning I noticed the dreaded "idiot mark" scratch below the slide release--and I have not yet disassembled the pistol, so I have no idea how it got there. The owner of the shop where I bought it agrees with me that it wasn't there Friday, and I have full confidence in his eyesight and honesty.

So far as I know, the slide stop should never travel downwards to make that sort of scratch during normal operation.

I hope that someone has an idea about what's caused it--and how to fix and prevent it! It's going back to the gun store Saturday for an inspection, but I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I gave in to temptation (couldn't wait for a rebate) and bought a new Commander-size 1911, #108283, last Friday. It looked great and has shot reliably.

However, Sunday morning I noticed the dreaded "idiot mark" scratch below the slide release--and I have not yet disassembled the pistol, so I have no idea how it got there. The owner of the shop where I bought it agrees with me that it wasn't there Friday, and I have full confidence in his eyesight and honesty.

So far as I know, the slide stop should never travel downwards to make that sort of scratch during normal operation.

I hope that someone has an idea about what's caused it--and how to fix and prevent it! It's going back to the gun store Saturday for an inspection, but I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[500 Magnum Nut]

Well to fix it it needs to be re glass beaded. The fix is never to drag it on the frame. You take the slide stop from the bottom edge and press up and in to get it home. Practice putting it in, then get the gun re beaded if the mark bothers you.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I may have been unclear: in stating that I've never disassembled the pistol, I meant to indicate that I have never removed or replaced the slide stop. The scratch just showed up.

I have, however, done it dozens of times with my Kimber 1911 over the last couple of years, and I've put no scratches at all on that.

 

[haggis]

You may not have. Somebody else did. That's the only way the mark can get there.

Buck

 

[torrejon224]

The scartch was obviously caused by an "idiot" who messed with it before you bought it. No other possible way for it to happen. Too bad you didn't notice it before you got it home as the shop is probably going to put the blame on you!

 

[tlen]

A little dab of ALUMINUM BLACK might help...

 

[Pterodactyl]

The "other idiot" theory certainly sounds plausible, but I'm still reluctant to believe that the shop owner and I both missed it, and that I continued to miss it for two days. I'll see what the smith says when I take it back in to the shop on Saturday.

I'll definitely look into the Aluminum Black. Thanks for that suggestion!

 

[cobra44]

Many people cover those marks up with whatever will cover the mark and make it not visible.
All one has to do is wipe the pistol down, and there it is. I have seen many of those marks hidden.
Most/many autos have the mark.

 

[PMalloy]

Does the shop perform an inspection on the pistol once it's sold but before it's delivered to the customer?

Something like this happened to me when I bought a Springfield 1911. On the day that I was supposed to pick up the pistol, I showed up and there was a store employee "inspecting" the pistol to get it ready to go home with me. Except the employee was cranking on the front bushing with a bushing tool, not realizing that the Springfield had a solid, two-piece guide rod that had to be unscrewed first.

All I heard was this horrible metal on metal grinding sound, and I asked rather strongly what the employee was doing... If that wasn't bad enough, he answered "wait, I'll get it..."

I was shocked, and told him to go "get it" on his own $900 pistol, not on mine. Anyway, there were no marks or permanent damage, but I haven't been back to that store since. It sucks, because good gun shops are few and far between.

Long story short-someone had to see that your pistol was going home with you, and played around with it....

 

[Pterodactyl]

The shop owner checked it out, and I looked it over pretty thoroughly myself before starting the NICS paperwork. If there had been a scratch, one of us should have seen it.

I never use the stop lever to release the slide on reloads, and no one else has handled it. Barring some sort of bizarre, unprecedented manufacturing defect or malfunction, I'm baffled. Do pistols get stigmata?

 

[10ring]

Do pistols get stigmata?

Only a very few, and they have to be pretty special.

 

[Dot_mdb]

I think gun shops have special lighting that keeps the defects from showing up until you get home.

Bill

 

[gmchenry]

My 1911SC Billboard has some minor wear on the frame from slide stop movement within its small range of motion. The slide stop was worked by S&W on the backside to make it flatter which left some sharp edges which wore the black finish.

In my mind, a 1911 idiot mark is the arced scratch that one gets across the slab-sided slide from a botched reassembly.

The only way for a scratch to appear is to have had something make the scratch since you saw it last. (I am master of the obvious) It's not impossible that the scratch could have come from handling the pistol. How did you transport the pistol to/from the range?

 

[Pterodactyl]

I've carried it only in a padded, zippered bag inside my range bag. Nothing else--magazine, ammo, etc.--has been in the bag with it.

I did actually think to check the bag, and it's got no debris or anything stuck to, or embedded in, the fabric. Nothing in the range bag is sharp or hard enough to penetrate the pistol bag, let alone create the very distinct scratch.

I do appreciate your bringing up the obvious (in a masterful way!), because the obvious is sometimes the easiest to overlook.

 

[PPCSHOOTER]

HERE'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER. DO YOU HAVE A WAITING PERIOD IN YOUR STATE ? IF YES. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE AT THE SHOP DID IT AFTER YOU BOUGHT IT AND BEFORE YOU PICKED IT UP

 

[Jim Watson]

Send it to me and I will connect it to the ChronoScanner in my secret laboratory. I will trace its history back to identify the idiot.
Unfortunately, the ChronoScanner is expensive to operate, please include cash in the amount of a hundred dollars per second elapsed since you first selected the gun.

Otherwise, speculation is sense free. The gun has an idiot mark, therefore there is an idiot in its past. Paint it over or ignore it and go shooting.

 

[Pterodactyl]

PPCSHOOTER, that's a sensible conjecture, but my state has no waiting period, and the pistol was ordered specifically for me by the gun shop, so nobody else would have found it lying around in a display case.

Jim, that's a very kind offer, but I plan to scan the gun's past myself as soon as my wife gets done with the interociter. Although my sense of perspective regarding the scratch is pretty much like yours, the matter has become a sort of puzzle.

If I learn anything else I'll post back; if I don't, I won't. Either way, though, I'm taking it shooting. A lot!

 

[10ring]

You will never get over the shame and anxiety. Every time you look at the gun it will haunt you. Others will see the mark and give you that look. You know the one. Oh sure, you can claim it wasn't you, but they will just smile and look away.

You could refinish it, but everyone will know why you did so and worse, you will know. You will always know.

Give it to me and go get a replacement. I will say I'm the one that buggered it up and you will once again be able to sleep at night. I know, it is a noble deed, but if I can ease your suffering it is worth it.

How many mags did you you say you have? Oh never mind. Send me an email and I'll get my address to you.

P.S. You should pay for shipping; it will help you get past this sad event.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Although deeply touched by the kind and sympathetic offers here, I know that I must deal with this situation as a man.

My pistol and I, now scarred and shamed, must together face the future and resolve to become stronger through adversity. What we are, we are.