Mag stop hard to release

[CB3]

Note: The following is meant as educational sarcasm.

Post #1

OP: My mag stop is hard to release. Is there a fix?

Reply: It is not a STOP. The manual clearly labels it a MAG RELEASE. There is no fix because it is not a STOP.

OP: But doesn't it first STOP the magazine in the gun, before it can release it?

Reply: The manual does not say that. The manual only describes that it releases a mag.

OP: Doesn't this lever actually have two functions, both to stop the magazine and then release it?

Reply: You must call it a MAG RELEASE and not refer to any other potential function. It can only work the one way it is labeled in the manual.

Post #2

OP: My slide release is hard to operate. Is there a fix?

Reply: First off, the manual says it is a SLIDE STOP, not a release . . .

And so on.

Get it?

 

[Bob O]

I wish the slide release was larger on the Shield and most other models, like it is on 1911s.

 

[Arik]

I treat them all as slide stops

 

[CB3]

I wish the slide release was larger on the Shield and most other models, like it is on 1911s.

Indeed, the slide release function of the millions and millions of pistols out there with slide stops is a design/function that has not changed for over 100 years.

Millions of shooters, past and present, use the external tab on the slide stop to make it release the slide, as it is designed to do. Thus different shooters call it a stop. Others call it a release. Everyone knows what everyone is talking about. There is no confusion, except for those who get stuck in the world of manual labeling semantics.

I have never seen a high dollar custom pistol with a slide stop that will not function as a release with only finger pressure. Most will also auto-release.

The inability to use the "slingshot" method of closing the slide is one of the primary reasons many people give for preferring revolvers over pistols. The thumb and finger strength required to grasp and retract the slide, especially on a new gun with stiff springs, is more than many people can handle at least some of the time, such as when they wear gloves, or have lotion on their hand, or are just plain weak.

The overhand method was developed to overcome this problem, but it too is not a 100% guarantee to get the slide retracted, locked back, or closed. A gloved hand can foul in the ejection port. The firing hand could have a finger (unknowingly) pressing up on the slide stop lever, preventing it from acting as a release. The lever release spring could be missing and the lever not drop as expected. It's a mechanical device which can break or fail. No one method guarantees proper operation of the slide stop/release. Eliminating good options for operating it with a finger or auto-release can leave a shooter with no options other than a malfunction clearance when least needed.

Small gun; small release tab. Large gun; larger release tab.

I suggest if you want the Shield to have a larger release tab, apply some JB Weld to it. File to shape. Don't like it? Remove the epoxy and you are back where you started.

 

[Saudade]

The great debate rages on!!

 

[Bkreutz]

The great debate rages on!!

I wonder why S&W doesn't number each sentence in the instruction manual so it could be quoted "chapter and verse". And yes, the button on the slide stop/release will eventually break with enough times using it to release the slide. I broke one at 60K rounds (but it still locked the slide back).

 

[PirateJim]

Wait... are you guys talking about the little lever do-hicky or the button thingie on the side?

 

[Saudade]

Wait... are you guys talking about the little lever do-hicky or the button thingie on the side?

It's NOT a do-hicky! It's a thingamabob!!

Sheesh!!!

 

[BigDog48]

from the manual This is what we're talking about.

 

[CB3]

Oh, you mean the watchamacallit?

 

[BigDog48]

Oh, you mean the watchamacallit?

I thought it was a do-hicky

 

[Rastoff]

I gotta admit, this is the first time I've ever heard the term "mag stop". Never heard anyone use that term before, right or wrong.

 

[RJJ 1971]

I call it a slide release when reloaded and ready to go and a slide stop when I'm empty.

 

[CB3]

I gotta admit, this is the first time I've ever heard the term "mag stop". Never heard anyone use that term before, right or wrong.

Me either. Just came to me as an analogy for the slide stop war.

 

[ChuteFar]

Shield's slide stop (that's what S&W calls it) really is really hard to release

Both of my new, unfired Shields have slide stops that are very hard to release. On gun A, I can't do it even with both thumbs and all my strength. I have to hold the slide all the way back thus taking the force off the stop), then pull down the stop and release the slide. I can release the stop on gun B, with both thumbs. Without starting another thread about "Break-in: necessary or not?", I understand how the moving parts might need to move against each other several hundred times to mate properly. But given my (rudimentary) understanding of how the slide stop works, I don't see how that principle can apply to the slide stop. My plan is to just fire them a bunch of times and see if the slide stops get easier to release, unless anybody has a better idea. All comments appreciated.

 

[Ranger98]

My Shield "Do Hickey" did get easier over time..

 

[Rintimtin]

My Slide stop is hard to release it acts like it's all stopped up.

 

[CB3]

Both of my new, unfired Shields have slide stops that are very hard to release. On gun A, I can't do it even with both thumbs and all my strength. I have to hold the slide all the way back thus taking the force off the stop), then pull down the stop and release the slide. I can release the stop on gun B, with both thumbs. Without starting another thread about "Break-in: necessary or not?", I understand how the moving parts might need to move against each other several hundred times to mate properly. But given my (rudimentary) understanding of how the slide stop works, I don't see how that principle can apply to the slide stop. My plan is to just fire them a bunch of times and see if the slide stops get easier to release, unless anybody has a better idea. All comments appreciated.

While firing, your slide stop and slide do not interface. Firing will not produce slide stop wear or improve your ability to close a locked slide more easily.

Each time you manually lock the slide back, or an empty mag does so, the slide stop engages the slide's notch. Swiping the lever down as you have been doing will eventually smooth this interface to some extent, making it easier to close the slide with just finger pressure of the slide stop lever. It may take hundreds of times doing this to get real improvement, no loading or firing necessary, maybe while watching TV, or at the opera.

Or, by reading other threads on this issue, you'll see that you can immediately get the reduced lever pressure you seek by using 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper to smooth the interface surfaces and reduce friction. It takes about 10 minutes. Add a dab of grease. GTG.

All mass manufactured guns need a break-in, IMO, if for no other reason than to prove reliability. Where the goal is to smooth interfacing parts, the gradual break-in of firing hundreds of rounds while the gun slowly changes aggravates me. I would rather take it apart, polish the interfacing parts, lube well and be done with it. Much less time and expense wasted. Custom and hand finished guns do this as part of the original delivery.

 

[Rastoff]

Both of my new, unfired Shields have slide stops that are very hard to release.

Are you trying this with an empty mag inserted?

 

[ChuteFar]

While firing, your slide stop and slide do not interface. Firing will not produce slide stop wear or improve your ability to close a locked slide more easily.

Each time you manually lock the slide back, or an empty mag does so, the slide stop engages the slide's notch. Swiping the lever down as you have been doing will eventually smooth this interface to some extent, making it easier to close the slide with just finger pressure of the slide stop lever. It may take hundreds of times doing this to get real improvement, no loading or firing necessary, maybe while watching TV, or at the opera.

Or, by reading other threads on this issue, you'll see that you can immediately get the reduced lever pressure you seek by using 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper to smooth the interface surfaces and reduce friction. It takes about 10 minutes. Add a dab of grease. GTG.

All mass manufactured guns need a break-in, IMO, if for no other reason than to prove reliability. Where the goal is to smooth interfacing parts, the gradual break-in of firing hundreds of rounds while the gun slowly changes aggravates me. I would rather take it apart, polish the interfacing parts, lube well and be done with it. Much less time and expense wasted. Custom and hand finished guns do this as part of the original delivery.

Thanks CB3, I'll try both those things. Sorry to make you repeat info contained elsewhere, but I still don't have the hang of doing effective searches on forums like this one.