Stuck slide stop pin

[marky]

Hello all:

I use to be a member here but stopped carrying my PM9 and put it way well over a year ago. Last week I decided to get it out and give it another try. After cleaning it I managed to install the slide stop pin in front of the barrel lug instead of through the hole in the lug. Needless to say the slide and barrel are locked up and I can't get the pin back out. I can move the slide back about a half inch and that's it.

I emailed Jay at the company and he says there's nothing for it but to send it in. How much is that, $50? I can't believe this pistol can be made unusable so easily!

I've tried to find some ideas on the internet but they mostly consist of whacking the exposed end of the pin with a dowel and hammer. I instead slowly put pressure on the pin end with a vise and can see the other end of the pin move out but it goes right back in when I release the pressure. I guess there's a flange on the lever end of the pin that is trapped behind the slide?

Has anyone else experienced this? Right now I can't justify spending anything like $50 and have nothing to show for it so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
marky

[Bawanna]

Seems like Greg? had a fix for this but I'm not certain. I'll hunt around some. Maybe others with a better memory than mine can recall it?

[TucsonMTB]

Hey Bawanna! This might be the thread you are thinking of? http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?p=136963

[gb6491]

Seems like Greg? had a fix for this but I'm not certain. I'll hunt around some. Maybe others with a better memory than mine can recall it?

I did have a suggestion that helped a member get a stuck slide off. If the OP is interested. it's located here: http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7485&page=3 I would suggest reading the whole thread to see if that member's problem mirrors the one here.
regards,
Greg

[muggsy]

Hello all:

I use to be a member here but stopped carrying my PM9 and put it way well over a year ago. Last week I decided to get it out and give it another try. After cleaning it I managed to install the slide stop pin in front of the barrel lug instead of through the hole in the lug. Needless to say the slide and barrel are locked up and I can't get the pin back out. I can move the slide back about a half inch and that's it.

I emailed Jay at the company and he says there's nothing for it but to send it in. How much is that, $50? I can't believe this pistol can be made unusable so easily!

I've tried to find some ideas on the internet but they mostly consist of whacking the exposed end of the pin with a dowel and hammer. I instead slowly put pressure on the pin end with a vise and can see the other end of the pin move out but it goes right back in when I release the pressure. I guess there's a flange on the lever end of the pin that is trapped behind the slide?

Has anyone else experienced this? Right now I can't justify spending anything like $50 and have nothing to show for it so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
marky

It's quite common for people with ten thumbs to make this reassembly error. I'm surprised that Bawanna hasn't done it yet. You're not the first to do it and won't be the last. If you played with your PM9 a little more often it wouldn't be such a stranger. Have you tried pulling the trigger to enable you to move the slide?

[marky]

Thanks for the ideas but have they helped people with this problem of the pin in front of the barrel lug? The barrel is pretty much wedged into the slide and will move with the slide but not at all separately. I can't get something between the barrel and the front of the slide. I suppose the pin has the barrel held up against the breech face. The trigger is uncocked and the little I can move the slide doesn't affect it. There was a suggestion about the slide pin spring. Could it possibly be strong enough to pull the pin back in when I push from the other side? I'd much rather pay to replace the spring than send it in but it seems the spring would give before the slide stop pin starts to "bend" in like it does in the vise. Does the slide stop lever actually lock in behind the slide or am I wrong about that? Thanks for the help!

[Bawanna]

Both of those two links are what I was looking for. One or the other should get that slide off. I think I'd try the paper clip method, Gregs first since it's the least likely to do any harm.

Failing that it's time for the chopsticks and mallet. Be patient, go easy, if you get frustrated set it aside and tackle it again a bit later.

We've all been in similar predicaments. Keep us posted. We're here to cheer or help if we can.

[marky]

Guys, I really do appreciate the help but I don't think the two suggestions are for my problem. I may not have been clear about the pin position. The slide is now almost all the way back and in fact is in the position it would be in if the slide lever were holding it in place. I can move the lever up and down into the the half moon cutout. Greg's problem gun had the slide sticking out towards the front of the gun. So I guess the pin can go in on either side of the lug as well as through it! I should have mentioned that I asked Jay about the slide stop spring but he stated the spring is fine but the barrel is locked into the slide (which it is) and can only be fixed by a gunsmith. I'm just hoping that's not necessarily the only option. Could someone maybe look at how the slide stop works on their gun and see if it is indeed locked behind the slide? Thanks so much!

[CJB]

pictures of what you have will make responses a lot easier!

[tv_racin_fan]

Dunno where you are but if you are close enough to me (Atlanta GA) I'll take a look at it.

[yqtszhj]

If you can get the slide stop lined up with the half moon cut out I'd take a punch to the right side and try to tap it out.

If not, one other thing is can you operate the trigger at all at various points of the trigger range while trying to move the slide back a bit more to loosen it up? Either way you may end up using a punch and mallet. Go for it. A slide stop is only $16 I think.

[CJB]

If you can get the slide stop lined up with the half moon cut out I'd take a punch to the right side and try to tap it out.

My thoughts exactly

[gb6491]

Guys, I really do appreciate the help but I don't think the two suggestions are for my problem. I may not have been clear about the pin position. The slide is now almost all the way back and in fact is in the position it would be in if the slide lever were holding it in place. I can move the lever up and down into the the half moon cutout. Greg's problem gun had the slide sticking out towards the front of the gun. So I guess the pin can go in on either side of the lug as well as through it! I should have mentioned that I asked Jay about the slide stop spring but he stated the spring is fine but the barrel is locked into the slide (which it is) and can only be fixed by a gunsmith. I'm just hoping that's not necessarily the only option. Could someone maybe look at how the slide stop works on their gun and see if it is indeed locked behind the slide? Thanks so much!

If you can get the slide stop lined up with the half moon cut out I'd take a punch to the right side and try to tap it out.

If not, one other thing is can you operate the trigger at all at various points of the trigger range while trying to move the slide back a bit more to loosen it up? Either way you may end up using a punch and mallet. Go for it. A slide stop is only $16 I think.

Marky,
As ygtszhi has pointed out "If you can get the slide stop lined up with the half moon cut out I'd take a punch to the right side and try to tap it out."
Here are the conditions you are looking for:
1. There is a tab on the slide stop that helps keep it behind the slide.
2. That tab is what you have to line up with one of the cut outs on the slide. It must be aligned side to side in the cut out and the slide stop must be held down far enough for the top of the tab to clear the cut out.
The tab can be in either cutout, as illustrated below:

The photo on the far right shows the stop partially removed from the frame, note that the stop is down so that the tab clears the take down notch/cut out:
If these conditions are met, the only things that can hold the stop in the frame would be tension from the barrel lug on the stop pin and/or the slide stop spring. You should be able to overcome either tapping on the end of the slide stop pin.
Regards,
Greg

[marky]

Greg: Your pictures show exactly what the problem is. I was wrong about the position of the tab. I thought the tab and notch must be lined up because the lever moves up and down a little but your pictures show me the half moon is actually farther to the right of the tab, almost to the end of the lever, so the tab is completely behind the slide. This is why when I pushed out the pin in the vise the pin end came out but the tab didn't budge. I can only move the slide back, moving the cutout further away.

So this is what happens when you put the pin in front of the barrel lug! I now have to figure a way to move the slide forward a little or to get the pin out in this position. Am I the only one dumb enough to have done this?

[JFootin]

Am I the only one dumb enough to have done this

No. It happens. That's why Jay knew the standard response, which is send it back to the Mothership. Their gunsmiths know the trick, but they don't want to share it. Sorry you have experienced this.