Shield with blocked slide

[ChuteFar]

I'm new here, and like my grandmother used to tell me, I never call her unless I want something. Well, I signed up for the forum because I have a problem. Sorry for curtailing the amenities, but:
I've managed to lock the slide on my new, unfired Shield, so that it's about 1mm from all the way to battery, with a snapcap in the chamber. It'll only go back about 1mm before it hits something hard and positive, that keeps it from going back any further. Since it won't go back, I can't work the slide stop lever or the takedown lever, so I can't take the slide off to see what the problem is. I moved the sear deactivation lever back to its up position before I replaced the slide the last time I fieldstripped the gun (and I can't see it through the mag well, so it's up, where it's supposed to be). I've been dry firing, racking slide, fieldstripping, reading up, and just generally getting used to the gun, and I've got myself a brand new, never-at-the-range paperweight at this point. Any and all comments welcome.

 

[Smoke52]

Never had that problem with my Shield, but in Ruger MK 111 land, putting in an empty magazine, pulling the trigger and dropping the mag fixes a multitude of sins.

 

[Houser52]

It could be that the snap cap is stuck in the chamber not letting you retract the slide.

 

[Saudade]

Take the mag out.

Does the barrel hood appear to drop all the way to clear the slide? Try pushing it down with your thumb while trying to pull up on the slide. You should see a small gap at the front of the barrel hood and the slide.

 

[PirateJim]

You say you were dry firing. Is the snap-cap the sort that will eject or is it rimless? IF it is the snap cap stuck and not letting you open the slide, you might try a wooden dowel of the correct size up the barrel and pushing against a solid surface to see if you can force it loose.

 

[ChuteFar]

Never had that problem with my Shield, but in Ruger MK 111 land, putting in an empty magazine, pulling the trigger and dropping the mag fixes a multitude of sins.

Thanks, Smoke52, turns out that doesn't work in Shieldland.

 

[ChuteFar]

It could be that the snap cap is stuck in the chamber not letting you retract the slide.

I'm not sure how that could be but then, my only view is through the mag well. I have a second Shield, also new and unfired. I'm comparing the view through the well, and all the parts I can see are in the same places on both guns. I can see the rims of the snapcaps and both guns look the same. That doesn't mean the stuck gun's snapcap isn't stuck, but if it is I can't see it.

 

[ChuteFar]

Take the mag out.

Does the barrel hood appear to drop all the way to clear the slide? Try pushing it down with your thumb while trying to pull up on the slide. You should see a small gap at the front of the barrel hood and the slide.

Not seeing the gap, but: with both guns not cocked, mags out, and snapcaps chambered, pushing down on the barrel hood gets me no play at all in the stuck gun, but it puts the good gun in exactly the same condition as the stuck gun: slide back about 1mm, which means muzzle and guide rod protrude 1mm, barrel hood is depressed 1mm, and rear of slide overhanging the back of the frame by 1mm. But what's in there that's keeping the slide from going that 1mm to full battery?

 

[ChuteFar]

You say you were dry firing. Is the snap-cap the sort that will eject or is it rimless? IF it is the snap cap stuck and not letting you open the slide, you might try a wooden dowel of the correct size up the barrel and pushing against a solid surface to see if you can force it loose.

It's an A-Zoom, they've been ejecting fine. The Dowel Push Test (you've invented a new technique, "DPT") pushes snapcap, barrel, and slide back about 1mm, then they spring forward that same 1mm when I stop pushing. The good gun does exactly the same thing.

 

[Bad_Andy]

I am just guessing that maybe the guide rod was not installed exactly on center? Could be causing the slide to not fully retract, but wouldn't explain that the slide wouldn't fully close.

 

[ChuteFar]

I am just guessing that maybe the guide rod was not installed exactly on center? Could be causing the slide to not fully retract, but wouldn't explain that the slide wouldn't fully close.

Thanks, I'll examine the gun again with that in mind. As Sherlock Holmes told Watson: eliminate the impossible an what's left is the answer, no matter how improbable.

 

[ChuteFar]

Thanks, I'll examine the gun again with that in mind. As Sherlock Holmes told Watson: eliminate the impossible an what's left is the answer, no matter how improbable.

If I misalign the recoil spring assembly on the good gun, I can see that its front end is not parallel to the face of the slide. So I don't think the broke gun's recoil spring assembly is installed crooked.

 

[ChuteFar]

BIG Clue: The point at which the broke gun's slide hits the obstacle (1mm back from battery) is exactly the same point at which the good gun's slide starts encountering resistance (other than that caused by the recoil spring itself). So, what part in the slide hits what part on the frame at about 1mm back from battery?

 

[delphidoc]

From what I've read elsewhere your recoil spring assembly might not be aligned perfectly parallel to the barrel. You might try grabbing the exposed end of the RSA with pliers and pulling on it to see if you can get the RSA aligned correctly.

 

[redwood0_7]

I also think it is the RSA. I would call S&W Monday. Might do a search on this forum for "slide locked up" or "slide stuck etc. I believe this issue has been addressed before.

 

[ChuteFar]

Slide unstuck, but mystery unsolved

I also think it is the RSA. I would call S&W Monday. Might do a search on this forum for "slide locked up" or "slide stuck etc. I believe this issue has been addressed before.

Leave it to a 19-year-old boy. He walked in, asked what was up, I described the problem and by the time I said, Hey, be careful with that, he'd smacked the nose of the slide real hard with heal of his hand and cleared the problem. Now that I can see the insides, I haven't yet found anything wrong. The RSA was in straight. The only clue is that the snap cap has two very similar flat spots, on opposite sides of the rim. I'll dry cycle it some more and see if I reproduce the problem (while that kid is still around in case I need his special talent again). Tomorrow it's out to indoor range.

 

[scooter123]

With use the semi auto Azoom snap caps tend to peen where the edge of a real cartridge lies. It's caused by the snap cap being driven into the corresponding edge in the chamber. Hit one of these snap caps enough and you will eventually have a raised edge all the way around it that is large enough to bind up in the chamber. I suspect that when you check you'll find your snap cap is showing this wear and need some attention with a file. BTW, I only use a file on these 2 or 3 times because eventually the rims get so chewed up they don't feed properly.

 

[Don 73]

Leave it to a 19-year-old boy. He walked in, asked what was up, I described the problem and by the time I said, Hey, be careful with that, he'd smacked the nose of the slide real hard with heal of his hand and cleared the problem. Now that I can see the insides, I haven't yet found anything wrong. The RSA was in straight. The only clue is that the snap cap has two very similar flat spots, on opposite sides of the rim. I'll dry cycle it some more and see if I reproduce the problem (while that kid is still around in case I need his special talent again). Tomorrow it's out to indoor range.

I would get rid of THAT particular snap-cap

 

[ChuteFar]

I would get rid of THAT particular snap-cap

Thanks Scooter123 and Don, I think it was the snap cap. When I got it out, it two fresh, shiny flat spots on the rim 180 degrees apart. That seems consistent with your theory.

 

[Houser52]

Leave it to a 19-year-old boy. He walked in, asked what was up, I described the problem and by the time I said, Hey, be careful with that, he'd smacked the nose of the slide real hard with heal of his hand and cleared the problem. Now that I can see the insides, I haven't yet found anything wrong. The RSA was in straight. The only clue is that the snap cap has two very similar flat spots, on opposite sides of the rim. I'll dry cycle it some more and see if I reproduce the problem (while that kid is still around in case I need his special talent again). Tomorrow it's out to indoor range.

Glad it was something simple. I had run into similar situations before with improperly sized cases that had stuck in the chamber. I had to hold the gun tight and push the muzzle end of the slide against a tree to dislodge the stuck case.