broken barrel link on P-16

[Ed K]

Shooting a stage tonight & the trigger on my Para 16-40 would'nt return to full cocked position. I had to manually rack the slide to chamber a new round (old case ejected fine by doing this). I was told that it was probably the sear/sear pin. When I got home & pulled the slide off, the barrel link was broken.

I'm not comfortable enough to do a complete takedown. Could the barrel link have been the problem, or could the sear have broken the link?

Thanks

Ed

[Action Pistolero]

Ed,

It's sounds to me that your pistol had the wrong size link in it. I think it's a good possibilty that the link was too short so the barrel was unable to sit all the way back into the frame during recoil. Since it was too short, the link, slide stop and foot of the barrel was absorbing all the recoil and the link finally gave up. I would take it to a competent gunsmith to get a new one installed. Your sear pin is not the problem. The reason the hammer was not cocking all the way was because the slide couldn't come back far enough to do the job. I would say that things got in a bind under recoil and stopped the slide. That would be why you could manually chamber another round.

Good luck,

Kevin

[Ed K]

Thanks Kevin. I'll take your advise.

Ed

[Ed K]

Here's a good followup.

I'm supposed to shoot a match today. One of two outdoor matches remaining this winter. (Minnesota) So I drag out the old Springfield L-10 gun. Pull it apart to lube it. On a whim I decided to look at the barrel link on it & compare to the Para. The SA link is smaller overall. Just by a CH.

I did have to change out the slide stop on the Para a couple of months back, because I noticed a crack. After that I noticed that the stop was a little tough going through & seating. I chalked that up to the stop being new.

Anyway, I installed the SA link into the Para, the slide stop seats perfectly.

Ya gotta love the 1911 when some of the parts are interchangable between manufacturers.

Thanks again Kevin.

Ed

[Action Pistolero]

Ed,

I have put many thousands of rounds through my 1911's and have never had a problem with the slide stop or link. My guns were custom built so there was particular attention paid to this area.

I am concerned that something is bad wrong if you found a crack in the slide stop and then broke a link. I believe the problem is your links are too small and you need a longer one. It may last for your last two matches but please have it looked at soon afterward. Be sure to explain to him that you had a cracked slide stop and a broken link. That will steer him in the right direction.

Kevin

[bountyhunter]

I did have to change out the slide stop on the Para a couple of months back, because I noticed a crack. After that I noticed that the stop was a little tough going through & seating. I chalked that up to the stop being new.

Anyway, I installed the SA link into the Para, the slide stop seats perfectly.

Ya gotta love the 1911 when some of the parts are interchangable between manufacturers.

Thanks again Kevin.

Ed

Those parts are not necessarily interchangeable. The cracked slide stop and broken link both point to the same problem (IMO, the barrel is not fitted correctly). Dropping in a longer link from your SA may make the slide stop go in easier but you could be grinding off the edges of the upper barrel lugs. The link is a part of the fitment of the barrel to make it link up and down properly so it engages the lugs into the slide slots as it should. Changing the length of the link at random can cause problems.

Keep an eye on the upper barrel lugs and make sure they are not rounding over at the edges. If they do, eventually the barrel will be destroyed.

[Detlef]

plus, it's real easy to figure out by experimenting what size link you want: Retract the slide fully and wiggle the slide stop. The wiggling should be real easy to do. If not, the link is too short, try again with a longer one...

--Detlef

[Ed K]

Thanks to all. My STI is in, which lets me get the Para to a gunsmith for a good going over.

Ed