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Solution (?) Mark pistols not locking back on last round

1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Redleg 
#1 · (Edited)
Several of my Mark III pistols function absolutely perfectly excepting that they do not lock back after the last round in the magazine. I know it is not the magazines because a) the same thing happens with over 15 different magazines; and b) the same thing does not happen with a couple of my Mark pistols using the same magazines. I cannot detect any wear on the slide lock levers, and I never use the slide lock lever as a loading lever -- I always slingshot my first round.

Well, I went to the range with my Mark III Hunter yesterday and as usual it was not locking back. So I slathered some lube on the slide release lever and worked it a bunch of times to work the lube in. Suddenly the gun started locking back properly after the last round. Could this have been the problem? Under lubricating the slide release lever? Generally my Marks are "gunstore clean" as I strip each one after every range outing and clean and lube the gun. But I have not focused much on lubing the slide release lever which appears to have been a mistake by me.

I am hopeful that this is the answer to the issue. Yesterday I performed the same maintenance on the rest of my Marks, and I will try to get them to the range to see if this was the solution. Guns are so much fun.
 
#2 ·
Yes, insufficient lube and/or polishing can certainly cause this. Another cause I've seen is the left grip having too much clearance to the hammer pin. The thumb release can then become loose, tip, and rub on the grip and/or frame.

A small shim added to the grip fixes this, and prevents the thumb piece from scratching the frame. Something else to check.
 
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