I was looking closely at my Colt 9mm, and was wondering if the hammer is supposed to be stopped by the bolt stop or the lower receiver when you pull the trigger.  Mine seems to be stopped by the bolt stop.  I have gone through 2 bolt stops in 8 months that seem to be "bent" somehow to the point they bind the bolt up and make it extremely hard to pull back the charging handle.  I took out the bolt catch and put in a new one (for 5.56, out of 9mm ones).  Now the bolt cycles just fine.  Any ideas or input?  I am growing tired of paying $25 a pop for bolt stops!

All this started when I had a casing jam in the upper and I had to work hard to get the bolt to pull back to release the brass.  

I knwo this is probably a confusing post, but I will try to clarify anything I can.

I believe it's supposed to be stopped by the bolt carrier & firing pin.  It should not hit either the bolt stop or the front wall of the lower.  (That's why you shouldn't dry-fire w/o and upper--it can hit the stop and break it.)