Can't engage slide stop on S&W 422

A

ATCAF

Inactive
Just picked up a S&W model 422 and I can't pull the slide back far enough to engage the slide stop or strip a bullet off of the clip. Not shootable. Brand new. Anybody help!
 
Dis-assemble. clean and oil? You said "brand new", so, may be metal shavings, etc hiding in there?
 
I had one 20 years ago, and I seem to remember that it could be assembled wrongly and this would result. It's on the fringe of my memory, but I think a strip down and careful reassembly did the trick, IIRC.
 
Just a side comment that you might well ignore, but sometimes "new" really doesn't mean "new". The horrible truth is that sometimes clerks or customers do take new guns down just to see how they work, and mess up. I would take back a "new" gun that did not work and either make sure it was "fixed" to my satisfaction or replaced. (Of course if you bought sight unseen from a net site and your local dealer is only the shipping point, you might never be able to return the gun or even contact the seller - tough luck, part of getting that great deal!)

Jim
 
I have a couple of S&W 422's. I suggest trying to dis-assemble it. I say "try" because one needs to move the slide rearward enough to put a block between the guide rod and the frame in order to remove the retaining clip so the guide rod, spring and slide can be removed.

I just racked the slide on my four inch barrel model several times. It was harder to do than I recall from about a week ago and noisy. Moving the slide rearward starts the process of extracting, ejecting and cocking the hammer. The cocking mechanism may be jammed. I'm not sure one can insert the standard block before reaching the slide lock. If not, I'd suggest putting a shorter block in there and see if the retaining clip can be removed.

I'm not sure what would result if the retaining clip is backward, other than improper positioning of the guide rod. Perhaps that could prevent full travel of the slide.

Good luck.
 
Last evening, I compared my 422's. The six inch barrel was much, much smoother and quieter when racking the slide. So, I took the four inch barrel one apart, including the grips.

It IS possible to remove the guide rod retaining clip without moving the slide far enough to engage the slide lock. The guide rod block is approx. an inch long. About the length of a .22lr round, but do NOT use a live round as a block; the guide rod may ignite the primer if it slips. The block can be inserted when the slide is LESS than an inch to the rear because the fr. Then, the retaining clip can be removed; and the gun disassembled.

After running my mechanism thru a couple of cycles, cocking and recocking, everything now works OK. However, I can see I need to do a really through cleaning and lube job on the internals. I bought the gun used, did a quick cleaning and lube job. It needs more. At the same time, I'll file and polish everything that needs it. I had already done that for the six inch barrel 422.
 
Sorry about the incomplete sentence in the second paragraph of my last post My twin granddaughters came onto SKYPE and caused me to mess things up. (They live in Germany.)

The part of the frame where the guide rod block fits is recessed allowing the block to fit even if the slide isn't racked back the length of the block. The block is a "T" shaped piece of plastic with the top of the "T" the length needed to position the guide rod correctly in order to remove the guide rod retaining clip.
 
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