Slide Lock Randomly Engaging

[born-in-45]

I have a SVI LDC 40 that I am having trouble with the slide lock randomly locking the slide back. Some times it will happen every other round 4 or 5 times in a row. Other times it will be a single occurance. Some times the entire mag will run with no problem. Happens on different mags and with different number of rounds left in mags. The kicker is that the gun has been set up for no slide lock back. The slide lock tab has been ground back and the followers have also been relieved. Also, have put enough of a detent in the back of the slide stop that it takes a fair amount of effort to manually engage the slide lock. Can't see where the mag or bullets are hitting the slide stop. Completely mystifies me. All reason says this sucker should never lock back but....

By the way bullets are Precision 185 RNF's with a AOL of 1.190 (may vary as much as .005 either way - 1.185 to 1.195). Gun had been working flawlessly until the past two weeks. Did a Search but didn't find anything that helped. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[TCK]

Its possible that your inadvertantly engaging the slide release (lock) with your thumb while your shooting it.

[born-in-45]

Its possible that your inadvertantly engaging the slide release (lock) with your thumb while your shooting it.

I don't believe so. The slide lock is quite hard (considerable thumb preassure) to manually activate due to detent put in end of slide lock. Just don't see how I could inadvertantly put sufficient preassure on the slide lock during firing since it is so hard to engage manually. This is a real puzzler to me.

[Flexmoney]

Completely mystifies me. All reason says this sucker should never lock back but....

This is a real puzzler to me.

It is either mechanical or it is you. Which is most likely ?

What has changed in the last couple of weeks ?

[Allgoodhits]

Its possible that your inadvertantly engaging the slide release (lock) with your thumb while your shooting it.

I don't believe so. The slide lock is quite hard (considerable thumb preassure) to manually activate due to detent put in end of slide lock. Just don't see how I could inadvertantly put sufficient preassure on the slide lock during firing since it is so hard to engage manually. This is a real puzzler to me.

Shoot it with the other hand, or have someone else shoot it. If it doesn't lock back then you may know it was shooter induced. Firm detent should prevent it from "bouncing" up. How tight a fit is the slide lock pin in the link? How tight fit is the slide lock pin in the link at the lugs?

MJ

[dirtypool40]

Look at your slide stop to see if there's rubbings from your bullets. That's a trick TJ showed me.

I had a black slide stop with traces of copper on it....

Now I have the slide stops trimmed so they CANNOT activate, ESPECIALLY on a high cap. I NEVER want that thing locking open in a stage. If I run it dry it's my fault and the stage is trashed anyway, but if it locks open two or three times, YUK!!!

Skinny gun or production, I could see the need, but not on a high cap, not for IPSC. (You did say LDC, so I'm guess you're not an IDPA'er)

Edited March 26, 2007 by dirtypool40

[born-in-45]

Nothing has changed in setup since before problem started.

The Slide Lock/Link Pin fit seems to be OK. This gun only has about 2,000 rounds thru it.

Don't see any evidence of bullet rubbing on inside of the slide lock.

Slide lock is trimmed way back. Gun is SVI HiCap 40 used in limited.

My next 2 steps barring a bolt of lightening from someone on the forum is 1) remove the slide stop plunger and cycle a few mags by hand thru the gun to see if at some point the slide lock attempts to move up into slide lock - if it happens, investigate what was transpiring at the time; 2) have another person shoot a few mags to see if problem persists with a different shooter.

Question: is there some point in cycling where a slide stop becomes easier to move (resistance reduced)? Since the slide lock is so hard to move up manually, I am finding it hard to belive that the shooter could inadvertantly be causing the problem during live fire.

I guess step 3 would be to swap slide locks. I feel I am "shooting" in the dark as nothing seems to make sense as to the cause.

[dirtypool40]

A real gunsmith, which I am NOT would be of more help, but you're going to want to check the detent in your slide stop, the face where the bullets might be hitting (I think you said you already did that) and your grip.

You're on the right track....