Sear deactivation lever (yellow)...why?

I was RSO for an officer who had an issue with a bad department reload that was improperly resized.

Which meant that the live round would not go fully into battery and would not extract. I wasn't willing to try firing the round since I had no confidence it was loaded properly.

The solution was to use a tool to disengage the extractor, then rack the slide back and use the yellow lever to enable disassembly of the pistol without firing the round. I could then use a squib rod on the removed barrel to hammer the (still unfired) round out.

For me, the lever saved the day.
 
I also have the problem where the slide will sometimes not release when using the yellow sear deactivation lever. I have the newer version of this lever, and no magazine safety. I have searched many forums and did not find an answer. I may have figured this out.

Take the slide off. Move the yellow lever up and down. You will see it moving the "firing pin release lever" up and down. Now pull the trigger. You will see that the firing pin release lever now moves "further". What is happening, is that the yellow lever is not moving the firing pin release lever far enough, and the "slide" is catching on the firing pin release lever. (It doesn't help to try and push the yellow lever further than it wants to easily go, and can result in it getting stuck, as some people have mentioned.)

I have found that if I pull up on the back of the slide, while it slides forward, it will usually then clear the firing pin release lever.

I think this is a design flaw on an otherwise very fine gun.
I think more people will have this problem as the sear activation lever wears on its pivot pin. Over time it will get "sloppy" and push the firing pin release lever even less.
I am disappointed that S&W does not appear to have addressed this problem yet.
 
Using the trigger to break down a gun violates one of the cardinal rules of gun safety.


1) All guns are always loaded.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (see rule #1)
3) Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. (see rule #1)
4) Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. (see rule #1)
 
I am not sure what the point of your post was Bluejax01; when you say:

"Using the trigger to break down a gun violates one of the cardinal rules of gun safety."

First I was not advocating using the trigger. I was explaining why some people are having trouble using the sear activation lever.

Secondly, I find it hard to understand your position that using the trigger would break a "cardinal rule", when this is the only method available on a lot of guns.

I did just realize the original poster was referring to the Shield model. Mine is the M&P model. They may not have the same problem.
 
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I was responding to the poster who said to use the trigger.

And most guns do not require that the trigger be pulled to remove the slide. Only a notable few. And I didn't write the rules, I'm simply passing on that which millions of us have learned over half a century.

I did notice that you have posted 5 times on the forum and 4 were resurrecting old threads to repeat your original post verbatim 4 times. If you think it a design flaw, you will get a more comprehensive answer by writing to S&W once.
 
Flipping the lever came naturally for me, since I had read the manual through several times while waiting to pick up my pistol, and that was the procedure outlined there. It never occurred to me to use the trigger, and only discovered that it was possible to field strip by pulling the trigger to release the slide when I was told about it by another shooter. I always carry a small screwdriver with a pen clip in my shirt pocket for just this purpose (my fat fingers don't fit into the magwell very easily).
 
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Yea I posted in several forums because I could see many people were having the same problem as me. And no one knew what the heck was going on. I wanted to reach as many people as possible with the answer. I have no intention of contacting S&W. I have already figured out the problem and can resolve it on my own. Again it annoys me that no one at S&W has addressed this problem for the many others out there who are still most likely having this problem, as it could indeed be a safety issue.

I dont know man, I a noobie. But it is my understanding that the "sear deactivation lever" has been out less than a decade, not half a century. And further, I disagree about the "notable few". Again, most handguns were designed and made without this special release lever that has only been implemented in the last few years.
 
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jdh said:
Put mag in, pull trigger, take mag out. Simple, asking for trouble, but simple
Click to expand...
This won't work. Once the trigger has been pulled, you must pull the slide back far enough to move the take down lever. This will reset the action and negate the pulling of the trigger and you'll still have to use the yellow lever.
 
Whatgorilla said:
Found it in my Shield--had to look it up in the manual to figure out what it was. Is the sole purpose of this thing to allow disassembly without pulling the trigger OR does it serve any other, real purpose?
I broke the gun down without pushing it (just pulling the trigger). Is that a problem?
Click to expand...

It is not a problem as long as the pistol is NOT LOADED. :)
 
I never, ever post in forums. I made an exception this time because I thought I could help others.

In my zeal, I posted in the wrong forum. I apologize for that.

I then managed to get sidetracked into discussing matters totally unrelated to the original post. I apologize for that also.
 
Rastoff said:
This won't work. Once the trigger has been pulled, you must pull the slide back far enough to move the take down lever. This will reset the action and negate the pulling of the trigger and you'll still have to use the yellow lever.
Click to expand...


I was assuming (yes I know) the take down lever had been moved already.

Pull slide back
Rotate take down lever
ease slide forward
insert mag (you may have to pull the slide back far enough to ensure the disconnector is aligned)
Pull trigger
remove slide.

Better?
 
jdh said:
I was assuming (yes I know) the take down lever had been moved already.

Pull slide back
Rotate take down lever
ease slide forward
insert mag (you may have to pull the slide back far enough to ensure the disconnector is aligned)
Pull trigger
remove slide.

Better?
Click to expand...

Well technically..... :p

You have to remove the magazine after you pull the trigger and before you remove the slide. :D

Just sayin'. I know someone was gonna jump on ya and say your way doesn't work, so I figured I better clarify just a touch...

And for the record, I've stuck a pencil in the mag well and held the mag safety back so I could pull the trigger to release the slide. Why? Because I could! :D
 
Me personally, I just buy the one without the mag safety. A lot easier to make the RSO who wants to hear a CLICK at an IDPA match happy then having to carry and empty mag.
 
Lost Lake said:
Well technically..... :p

You have to remove the magazine after you pull the trigger and before you remove the slide. :D
Click to expand...
Nope. I just tried it and you don't have to remove the mag to take the slide off.

Here's what I did:
Insert empty mag.
Lock slide back.
Move take down lever.
Ease slide forward.
Pull trigger.
Remove slide.

At least it works for me.
 
I like the yellow lever, it's just another safety feature. I was taught that you can never be too safe with firearms. You really shouldn't need the lever if you follow safe gun handling. I was always told to double and triple check to make sure the weapon is empty. It always amazes me when I see people being so reckless with firearms.
 
I dig it too.... we have a very good SWAT officer here in town that had a ND with his Glock 22 duty gun one night (he was distracted while putting the gun on the bench, but after removing mag). He came back short stroked to get the takedown lever set, and put one through his reloading bench into his leg. All is well, and he recovered fully, but his mistake taught me to FULLY lock back the slide and VISUALLY check the chamber/magwell.... I am sure there are some high speed guys here that feel thats silly, but it is the only foolproof way with a gun that must have the trigger tripped....

OP-- breakdown while pulling the trigger may damage your gun... after 50K cycles or so.... :D:D its like dry firing.... you are not going to do it enough to see significant wear....
 
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