yesterday while shooting my Witness steel, I noticed the slide wasn't locking open after the last shot. when I manually tried to lock it open, unless I held the slide stop lever up, it wouldn't stay open. when I took the pistol apart and cleaned it I noticed the slide stop is made of 2 parts, the outside lever and the pin that goes thru the frame. the pin looks like it was pressed into the lever and it is now loose enough that the slide can roll it enough to cause the slide to close. has any one else had this problem? and where can I get another slide stop without having to deal with EAA's crappy customer service? thanks for any help.
Can you take a photo? So you say you have a two-piece slide stop?
http://benstoegerproshop.com/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-slide-stop-pin-18-1/
http://benstoegerproshop.com/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-gold-team-silver-slide-stop-pin-18-1/
https://patriotdefense.com/product/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-slide-stop-pin-18-1/
I never heard of one breaking, but imagine anything is possible. I'm still on the originals in all of mine... Now CZ's seem to have an issue with them breaking though ;)
thanks for the replies and links. if I could post a picture you wouldn't see anything. where the pin and lever connect is a real tight fit. unnoticeable until I wiggled it. then I could see the pin slightly rotating in the slide stop lever. it might be able to be repaired by silver soldering or even peening but for the time & trouble I will cough up the $44. for a new one. :D
I see they indeed are a two-piece. If it were mine, I would remove the pin and apply JB Weld. Then drive it back in place and call it good.
If you bought it new hit EAA up for a replacement.
I guess I have never experienced EAA's crappy service.....it's always been great for me.
Just call Dawn at 800-536-4442 extension 201 and she'll take care of it. P/N 301743, large frame, steel.
Tony
Maybe I am dumb, but I don't see how the lever coming loose from the pin would cause the described problem. The lever has to pivot at the pin. Whether is pivots ON the pin or WITH the pin, as long as it can pivot up, it should work fine.
I think you need to repair/replace the part either way, I am just uncertain this will resolve the issue.
The slide stop on my Hunter loosened up where the pin is attached to the lever- it has not caused any issue.. I'm with sqlbullet, I don't see it causing the issue described.
you guys might be right! its not the pin slightly rotating thats the problem. upon further examination, I can see the locking lug on the slide stop where it catches the slide is visibly worn. I can see that where it doesn't contact the slide, it is sharp and square. where it contacts the slide is shiny and the corner is rounded off on both the forward corner (slightly) and the rear corner. (a lot) it looks like the slide has cut into the slide stop. looks like a lot of metal is gone. the slide itself doesn't show any wear but the slide stop looks like someone took a file to it! this is bizarre! :o I have a 1911 (an old AMT Hardballer) that has just the opposite problem. its slide stop wore the slide's locking notch down and its slide also won't stay open! WTF!! leave it to me to come up with these odd ball problems.
Can you take a photo with a cell phone? Has this been sliding out the left side for a bit? Need more info...
I can take a cell phone photo but I am not able to post pictures here.do you want me to text it to you? the slide stop has not been wanting to come out on its own. everything seems normal except the slide won't lock open.
I agree a picture would be a huge help.
I will try to post up pictures of mine when I get home tonight.
Ok. I have a photo, and I have replicated your issue. It is the slide stop, and it is that it is loose from the slide stop pin. But it is not the rotational looseness that is the issue.
First, the picture
(http://fellingfamily.net/images/witnessSlideStop.jpg)
I am gonna go out on a limb here and say mine looks just like yours in the area where it engages the slide stop notch. It is rounded on the very outside edge, but has a squared off corner just inboard of that.
I am gonna further bet that you think yours has worn down to this rounded outside edge, but that is actually how they are made. And that is not your issue I don't think. That rounded "button" shape on the end keeps the slide stop in the gun unless you have moved the slide to the take down position when it can pass through a gap in the slide. It is supposed to ride completely inside the slide.
I think when your slide stop lever came loose from the pin, the pin moved "out" of the hole in the lever a bit. Maybe as little as 10 or 20 thousands of an inch. But, this moved that rounded button section over enough that when the slide stop lever engages the slide, it engages it on the rounded part instead of the square shoulder more on the inside. I replicated your issue by removing the recoil spring and slide stop retaining spring from my gun. I could then move the slide stop out just a tiny bit while trying to get it to engage the slide. I get exactly what you describe...The slide stays back only as long as I put pressure on the slide stop pin.
Solution? I would put the slide stop lever on a block of 2X4 and then tap the pin with a brass or nylon hammer to full seat the pin back in the lever. I might even see if I could get it .010" proud on the outside. I would then tack weld it, clean it up with some files and re-finish it in my park tank, but I get that not everyone has that option. Tapping it back to fully seated my get you by for a bit. I would also call up EAA and see if they will replace it under warranty.
I sent him a PM with my e-mail to host his picture. Nothing yet.
If the stop slide out to the left some it can create issues! It's best to deepen the "V" groove that goes under the spring on the right side. It fixed up my Hunter doing this!
I'll just throw this in here. I was going to start a new thread but maybe this is related. I empty a magazine and the slide is held to the rear. I insert and slam the next magazine in and the slide is released at the same time. If I place it in the slide stays back but I'm used to giving them a good bump once inserted. This might be a good feature to competitors but a little concerning to your just paper punching old fart.
Earl- thats what mine did at first. the problem got progressively worse. very rapidly during one range session!
Intercooler- I e-mailed you some pictures last night I hope they come out good enough to show some detail of what I am trying to describe.
squibullet- the pin looks flush with the outside of the slide stop even when it moves but tonight I will try to re-seat it like you described anyway. I hope my pictures come out on Intercooler's computer because they will show that my slide stop wear is on the corner of the squared off inside part of the lug. it is bright and shiny and obviously (to me) rounded from wear. your picture does not show the same wear. (that I can see)
thank you guys again for the interest and help.
Only one of the photos was good enough to share.
Here is the photo:
(https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/26196381_1651422438229115_2402767909944084875_n.jpg?oh=c4053f0dbbc95c628fcf3cd018b2befc&oe=5AB5C0C9)
What does the slide look like in that area?
Hey blaster, how did you make out? I sent an email and got no response. I'm going to call today. Do you have any new information?
sorry for not replying sooner. I am at my hunting camp and cell service/internet only comes in once in a while.
the slide looks fine. no visible wear. I am guessing that my slide stop was made of softer than normal steel and the slide was able to round off the corner that is supposed to catch and lock the slide.
when I get home I plan to call EAA. if they don't make it good, I will order one of those aftermarket slide stops.
I called them yesterday in regards to my slide coming forward with a a little bump on the magazine and they said to send it in, on my dime, plus another $20.00 for return shipping and they would fix it. That's about $66.00 in shipping to have a $45.00 slide stop replaced. Not what I would call stellar customer service but oh well. Brand new pistol and needs another $60.00 into it due to no fault on mine. I ended up ordering another slide stop and slide stop spring from Dawn. I started looking this over and comparing it to my Colt 1911 and there seemed to be a lot of spring tension on the slide stop. I took the spring out and relieved some of the tension and now (after the fourth adjustment to the spring) is seems about right. I can make the slide drop but I have to hurt my hand doing it. It's about the same on my Colt.
If I were you I would ask if you can just get a replacement slide stop and not have to pay the $66 in shipping seeing as yours is definitely FUBAR. Cost us non FFL holders $46.00 to second day air a pistol. It would make sense that the slide stop is softer than the slide. Better to wear out a $45 dollar part than one that cost a couple hundred. Also it's been driven into my head by DIs not to use the slide STOP as a slide Release. Always sling shot it.
I just got off the phone with EAA. same B.S. they gave to Earl. send in the WHOLE pistol. yes EAA does have crappy warranty service. now I see first hand why my LGS won't carry EAA products. he warned me when I tried to buy a Witness thru him. >:(
I will buy an aftermarket slide stop.
It does suck.
OTOH, the EAA guns tend to be a good bit cheaper than comparably featured guns from other European makers.
Maybe not in the long run.
How long before Canik comes out with a 10.....
These break all the time, especially with heavy loads or lots of range use.
When you get your slide stop from EAA use it only for the range. The EAA action is tuned only for 10mm Lite ammo and will break the slide stop pin with a lot of use. This is especially disconcerting if you are in a self defense situation and it breaks.
Better option is get the pin by EGW that locks the weapon together but is only a pin, it does not lock back the slide. Locking back is really unnecessary because you would swap magazines in any lull in a gunfight anyway and you don't want the slide to lock back in a self defense situation, Right? It is really a range convenience . Use the factory stop for range, use the tool steel special pin for carry.
http://www.egwguns.com/eaa-tool-steel-slide-stop-pins/
I have never broken one or had this kind of wear.
Their customer service does suck. I just looked at a receipt I had in my car from the second time I had to send a firearm back to them for repairs. 101 dollars just for freaking shipping with FedEx. Not to mention going to these places and mailing something like this the employees are looking at me like I'm a criminal.
The only other gun I had to send back has been a Ruger and they paid for EVERYTHING in full.
well I got my new slide stop in the mail today. it was sharp and square where my old one was worn and rounded off. hopefully it will last longer than the last one. I bought it from Patriot Defense. I wonder if it came from EAA originally? I also installed non radiused firing pin stop blocks in both the Witness and my Colt Officers Mod. 1911. now to go shooting and try them out!
Good deal.
today I put about 150 full house 10mm s thru the Witness. I just finished cleaning it and the .45. the new slide stop is just starting to get shiny at the wear points but is still square.
I didn't really notice any difference in racking the slide or recoil with the flat bottom firing pin retainers. the Witness seemed to shoot better and closer to point of aim.
That's a good start. Keep your eye on it though! If some of us have thousands on the original, yours shouldn't show wear early into it.