Hey,

When I shoot my P226, and when my magazine is empty the slide does not lock back.  Is it not supposed to be locked but when it is empty, or is it a faulty part?  Anyone know?  Some preliminary research did not show much about this problem.

Thanks,
Alex

Odds are good your thumb is touching the slide release just enough to keep it from being pushed up by the magazine follower.  Its quite a common occurrence.

That is what I was thinking, I'm mostly likely going to go shooting tomorrow.  I'll see if it is that then.

Thanks,
Alex

Quoted: Hey, When I shoot my P226, and when my magazine is empty the slide does not lock back.  Is it not supposed to be locked but when it is empty, or is it a faulty part?  Anyone know?  Some preliminary research did not show much about this problem. Thanks, Alex

Could also be a worn magazine spring, are your mags new or second-hand?

My P220ST lived a previous life as a range rental and had the same problem until I replaced the mags.  It still does occasionally, the rear side of the notch for the for the slide catch is actually a bit rounded off at this point.

im like 90% sure its the Mags, mine does the same thing, pisses me off!!

Some Sigs do this when they are new and function fine once broken in. Try putting an empty mag in and pulling the slide to the rear and see if it locks open.

I'm going to piggy back off of this thread.  I was having a similar problem today, so I'll check to see if my grip was maybe touching the slide release.

Other odd problem...my slide would not fully go forward when chambering the next round randomly.  This happened with multiple mags and in different spots in the magazine.  if i pulled it back a bit and let it go forward, i was good to go.  What should I check there?

The slide failing to lock back seems to be by far the most common problem with new SIG’s.  Below is a generic answer.

Possible causes:

You’re inadvertently holding down the slidestop with your thumb when shooting.

You haven’t cleaned the preservative off and oiled the thing before shooting it.

Note that SIG’s run best when they’re well-oiled.  It’s best to use a high-quality gun oil (or CLP) such as FP-10, Rem-Oil, Breakfree, Militech-1 or such.  The magazines also need to be cleaned inside and out, though they should only be very lightly oiled, if at all.

You’ve got the recoil spring backwards on the recoil spring guide.  The tight end of the spring should go on the guide first and fit up against the guide flange.

You’re using weak ammo that won’t push the slide back far enough to lock.  Often new SIG’s need to be worn in a bit before they’ll handle less powerful ammo.

You might be limp wristing it a bit.  Also, be sure and grasp the handgun with your strong side hand as high up the grip as possible (the web of your hand should be firmly pushed up into the top, rear curved part of the grip).  If you think this might be an issue, let someone else try firing the last round and see what happens.

You might have the mag spring backwards in the magazine.

Alternatively, you might just have a bad magazine (i.e., one with a really weak magazine spring or with a bad magazine follower).  Swap out with other mags to see if you still have a problem.

While not likely, it’s also conceivable that the slide lock, or the slide lock notch in the slide is defective.


ETA:  Chlorofiend:  Make sure everything is well lubricated and the recoil spring is not reversed as mentioned above.  You might need a new recoil spring.

Why won't my slide lock back after last shot fired?, SIGforum, Chris Orndorff, moderator

Posted August 03, 2005 09:04 PM Seems this is asked about every other day, so let's address some of the possible reasons: Shooter's thumb interfering with slide catch lever. Shooter not holding pistol firmly. Shooter failing to clean and lube the pistol. Damaged magazine follower. Damaged slide catch lever. Damaged/worn arresting notch in slide. Severely worn magazine spring. Underpowered ammunition (especially in conjunction with some of the above issues). I suppose an overly stout recoil spring could cause this, and some new pistols seem "tighter" than others which could contribute. Placing the recoil spring on backwards (the tight end goes on the guide rod first) could conceiveably affect slide speed enough to cause this, although I haven't personally witnessed it. Checks: with the slide off the pistol, lift the slide catch lever; it should be under spring tension and should smartly return to it's rest position when released. (If it doesn't, the slide catch lever spring is broken or missing). Insert an empty magazine and ensure that the follower of the mag lifts the slide catch lever up. With an assembled pistol with slide forward, insert an empty magazine and rack the slide to the rear; the slide should remain locked back.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!

Next time I shoot (I didn't get the chance last time), I will figure this out!

Ah yes: the ever present thumb on the slide release!  I love my P226, but that is the one complaint I have about Sig geometry.  I was taught to always keep my support hand's thumb forward in line with the slide to have more natural control of the weapon.  When I shoot Sigs, I have to slightly modify this technique.

Quoted: Odds are good your thumb is touching the slide release just enough to keep it from being pushed up by the magazine follower.  Its quite a common occurrence.

This has happened to me. I moved my thumb down and didn't have the problem again. Stay off the slide release. Stay with mec gar magazines.

Quoted: tay with mec gar magazines.

Or factory SIG with the zig zag weld.

Thumb on slide lock is my bet. I do it on all of my SIG's. So I checked tomake sure that my Dremmel License was still valid and cut them off, just a small amount left showing for administrative use. It is like 6 bucks for a new one.

Make sure the mag spring is in properly.  If you have it in backwards you will have this problem

Quoted: Ah yes: the ever present thumb on the slide release!  I love my P226, but that is the one complaint I have about Sig geometry.  I was taught to always keep my support hand's thumb forward in line with the slide to have more natural control of the weapon.  When I shoot Sigs, I have to slightly modify this technique.

+1, its my only complaint about Sigs.

Quoted: Thumb on slide lock is my bet. I do it on all of my SIG's. So I checked tomake sure that my Dremmel License was still valid and cut them off, just a small amount left showing for administrative use. It is like 6 bucks for a new one.

Could you post a picture of that?  I'm not sure I'd ever do it, but it sounds like an interesting fix.  How does Sig teach the grip for their pistols.  They have to know that people tend nowadays to ride with the thumbs high and in line with the slide.

One remote possibility that I would like to mention. Make sure your magazine springs are in correctly. At the range last week, one guy had the same problem and it turned out that the spring was in upside-down AND backwards.