SD9 VE slide won't come off rails.

[LDL in OHIO]

I may be one of the few people around who has had a ND from a single action revolver (or who is dumb enough to admit it.)

When I got out of the Navy in 1973, I treated myself to several handguns, one of which was a Colt SAA. One day I was looking at it, and I "knew" it wasn't loaded, so I pulled back the hammer, aimed it at the floor, and dry fired the gun...except it was loaded, and the fire was anything but dry, just like my pants immediately following the discharge.

What made it so much worse is that I was living in an upstairs apartment (of two levels) and the little old lady who lived below me never went out anywhere. After a bit, I thought I'd better go down and see if the bullet had cracked her ceiling or something. There was no answer when I rang the bell, or when I pounded on the door...so, in a panic, I ran to the apartment manager's office, screaming "I've killed the lady who lives below me!" The manager came and opened the door, and guess what...she wasn't at home. In fact, she arrived home while we were still in her apartment; her daughter had taken her to the doctor. The manager was mad, the little old lady was mad, and I was humiliated and scared. (I was also very lucky that they didn't want to call the police.) There was no damage to her ceiling, and in fact, you couldn't even see where the round had gone into the floor in my apartment...it had that dense 70s shag carpet that was about two feet thick, and I guess between that and the floor itself, it stopped the bullet from penetrating.

Since that day, I check every gun I handle three times...and even then, I still assume it is loaded: I make sure of direction and background before I ever pull a trigger.

Excellent story, thanks for sharing that. It definitely hits home.

A buddy and I were sighting in our shotguns one year for Ohio gun season. Now, I'm an archer and have always been one when it comes to hunting whitetail deer, but I was around 19 or 20 years old and had just purchased a brand new Remington 11-87 12 gauge semi-auto after saving-up for a few months. Perfect bluing, beautiful walnut stock -- an absolute gorgeous gun.

After about 3-4 boxes of Remington 2 3/4" Copper Solids, I put 2 more rounds in "just to make sure" it was dialed in nicely at 75 yards.

Well, I shot, went downfield to check it and the shot was dead nuts perfect -- just like the last three or four before it. I was happy and done for the evening. No reason to keep shooting and wasting ammo.

We packed up, threw our belongings in back of my Plymouth Horizon and made our way back home. After dropping my buddy off I pulled in, grabbed my stuff, and thank God for muscle memory -- while not really paying attention I instinctively pulled back the slide to make sure it was empty before I started to clean it -- and voila! A Remington Copper Solid came flying out of the chamber and into the air.

It wasn't as close of a call as yours, but it was enough to make me realize how close I came to prematurely meeting my maker face-to-face before my time.

And yeah, to this day I too triple check my weapons and still assume and handle them as if they're loaded. Just like we're taught as youngsters.

 

[bpHart]

I've read about this same problem before, and I think it is your recoil rod assembly that is binding. If you didn't get it back in the right position when reassembling it, it can drop down and bind the slide. I've tried searching for the thread that I read before, and I can't find it.

If I remember correctly, the person who had this problem before did several things. One, hold the pistol upside down, and try pulling back on the slide and pulling forward on the barrel, and see if that might free it up. Another thing is to pull down on the take down levers, so that they are in the most downward position, pull the trigger and keep it pulled, and see if you can remove the slide (this takes some manipulation, unless someone can help you.) The thing is, if the recoil rod assembly has come off, it may be wedged between the barrel and frame.

I've also read that one person took out the striker (you can get to it with the slide fully retracted) but that may or may not solve this particular problem.

I hope someone will post some better advice/solutions for you. Good luck and I hope you get it back in working order!

Thank you GKC! I had a similar problem after thoughtlessly removing the trigger pin. After that, I couldn't separate the barrel assembly from the receiver group. I removed the trigger spring and was considering removal of the end plate, but wasn't sure how to pry it out of place. However, your post saved my bacon. Turned it upside down, pulled the trigger, it dry-fired, then the barrel came off the normal way. Thank you!!!

 

[trapper9260]

Rushed/tired/careless. Lol not a good combo. Sometimes you just get used to doing something so many times you get sloppy with it. Main reason why so many accidentally discharge a firearm. If i am feeling to tired or lazy to clean a firearm I'll hold off on doing so to avoid a simple mistake that could cost me a lot.


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I do the same thing also.It is too easy to make mistakes with out trying.Why make things worst. I hold off also. It pays off in the end. When I first work on my SW I had a problem at first .But got it taken care of. Then learn to only work on clean my guns when I am rested.

 

[jbtrucker]

NDZ and Galloway have extended takedown plate that makes disassembly a lot easier