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Costa CC back with new slide; Potential new problem

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  SW CQB 45 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, it looks good, looks like they refinished the frame also...It is an official Costa-CC-slide so they likely had some in stock or cut a new one...Didn't put on the G2 grip as requested (on my dime) - no explanation provided.

I'll strip it and provide a few pics tomorrow (hopefully there are no other surprises under the hood), and re-lube it. Likely shoot it next week.

One potential new problem so far:
Stick an empty mag in the gun, try to lock back the slide (without manually raising the slide stop) and the mags do not lock the slide back on their own. Have to force the slide stop up by hand as if no mag is in the gun...This may be a bad sign of things to come at the range, meaning no lock-back after last round fires.

I have no idea (because the CS rep doesn't know much about any particular gun, and the person(s) who worked on the gun never called) if they fitted a new slide stop or not. An improperly fitted s-stop could cause this.

The other idea I have is that the new finish is providing too much friction. Not really sure if DLC finish can do this or not (like say a new Armour-tuff job).

Anyway, I hope to heck I don't have to send this gun back for a 4th time in 2 years, that would really tick-me-off. I'll shoot it first before I consider this of course, maybe the vibration of 230Gr will help (along with the follower) induce the slide stop to move up.

Any other ideas or thoughts on why the slide stop isn't acting normal?

thanks.
C.A.
 
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#3 ·
Interesting, my Infinity mags don't lock back worth a crap ever since they converted them to 10 R (new NJ law). Probably weak springs (when they were 15r mags they locked back fine)...

But these mags for this STI in question have been locking back 100% of the time (purchased new for 10R). Hence, something with the gun may have changed.
 
#6 ·
I'll give it a look, thanks for the tip, Ken.
 
#7 ·
Start with the basics. Have you oiled the slide stop and jugs yet? DLC is a microporous finish that holds oil and provides lubricity. The flip side is if it’s dry it might give a little friction. If they refinished the entire gun and didn’t oil it that might be your problem.

There’s a good chance that they refinished the entire gun to get the finish to match. When they were producing the CCC’s they were outsourcing DLC. Now they do it in house and may have a different chemical composition of the cocktail they use.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yes, just finished striping, inspecting...Didn't really need to lube much, surprisingly they did a great job of it, often guns come back from factory somewhat dry...I can't be sure but it looks like the main-spring and the recoil master are new. The slide stop might be new also but can't be sure. Yep, DLC residue everywhere...

I put extra lube on the slide stop and even just a little on the outsude part which goes up into the slide notch. This has helped a little it seems as some of the empty mags are starting to lock back the slide if I very-slowly pull the slide back...

I'm thinking it has a decent chance of working after breakin...But,

I am also thinking if it doesn't break-in ok, I may be able to shave the slide stop "tab" part that goes into the slide notch, just a little so it goes up easier...Any suggestions if this idea makes sense and what kind of file/sandpaper (?) I should use?
 
#9 ·
I would leave it.

Better to not have it lock open when empty that "sometimes."

I have been shooting STIs since the mid 90s and I have a bunch of them, some factory guns and some customs. None of them lock open and I really like that.

In fact, most of my semi-autos fail to lock open because of where my right thumb rides when shooting. And none of my revolvers lock open when empty. Just the typical click that says reload.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Well, some of the followers are designed (not) to lock-back for competition use, the notion being that fastest way to reload is to count-rounds and reload with last one in the chamber, just replace mag and shoot again (no "recharging"). Indeed, at the range, whether my guns lock back or not ;-) I'm almost always "counting" rounds (subconsciously-kinda) when firing.

However, the popular notion about SD is different (I say popular because I obviously have never been in a SD event with a handgun, and there isn't exactly many SD incidents which go to empty-magazines, so the data set is small and not much to go on to get objective conclusion's). "They say", in SD one likely will not count rounds, and shoot either till the threat is stopped or the slide locks back requiring a reload (in which case, there is a slight advantage with the slide locked back vs having to draw the slide back first in order to recharge)...Can you make the case (for a SD-gun) to go with a non-locking-back set up over the standard lockback operation?

(One "could" even make the argument, especially if shooting light 9mm loads with little recoil, that during a noisy SD encounter, one might not even notice or hear a click-no-bang on empty (I will not have that issue with 230gr though ;-)). Whereas, it would be pretty hard not see one's slide locked back).
 
#14 · (Edited)
Thanks for the tip!

I've pretty much IDed the spot where the slide-stop is hanging up - on the most rear part of it when it is in the gun (where it rubs against the rear-part of the slide-stop (notch) on the slide). I did some dry-firing with the gun yesterday and messed around with mag changes and it seemed to loosen up some more. One mag (they will all have different amounts of spring tension pushing up the SS) is starting to lock the slide consistently. I'll shoot it next week (weather permitting) and take more drastic action after that if still needed. Pairing it up with my annual winter Shot-Gun shoot, I like to shoot SG in the winter to get the aid of the heavy winter coat (in addition to the recoil-pad underneath :)).
 
#13 · (Edited)
STI 2011 and Para Ordnance double stack mags....

I have very good success with getting all of my STI 2011's and one Para Ordnance hi-cap to go to slide lock after the last round is fired...…

Granted, for USPSA, I did not want the slide to lock back, and at one time, I even disabled the slide stop so it would no go to slide lock.....

IMHO, slide lock-back is not always as consistent with 9mm or .38s super guns as compared to those double stack guns in .45acp. The reason is the slide stop itself.....often times the slide stop is not long enough on the interior ledge to consistently allow the mag follower to push the slide stop upward after the last round is fired...… This may be caused by:

1) The nose of the interior slide stop nub is too short, and perhaps a .45 slide stop was placed in the gun...… I will usually add metal by welding.

2) The plastic or steel mag followers do not raise upward as far as needed and need to be modified.....this is a magazine issue

3) The slide stop is binding slightly when the barrel is at lock down and/or cycling.....

4) Using shock buffs on a recoil guide rod may not allow the slide stop notch on the slide to properly engage...….

I fine tune all of my mags, whether single stack or doublestack to allow the slide to lock back after the last round is fired..... Even my USPSA Open race gun will lock the slide stop back now, but I always plan my reload so I drop a mag before going to slide lock in USPSA competition......

For action steel shooting, I use my STI 2011 race gun, but welded up a 4" lower portion of an STI 2011 mag to a full 170mm mag, and now have a great working 35 round mag.....the weld for the extra long mag is well below the bottom of the modular grip, and does not interfere with loading or dropping the mag...… I only use the 35 round mag if it seems like an advantage for the particular stage set up.....otherwise, I use two 140mm mags and/or one 170mm mag and conduct a reload on the move....:rock:
 
#15 ·
with the pistol together....

does the slide stop "lug" (if that is the correct term) fit in the slide top notch all the way by hand with only spring tension from the plunger tube?

Interference with the frame window cutout is best viewed with the slide off, slide stop installed and a flashlight from the backside. Check for full movement and contact with the window. See where the contact is and dress down.

while I never messed with a 2011, its the same process for a single stack which I had to do a couple of times when installing a new slide stop.
 
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