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Colt Slide Stop for GC NM .38 Spec Mid Range

BlokeyBlokey Member Posts: 284 ✭✭✭
edited April 2002 in Ask the Experts
In the "Want Ads" board, I posted a request for a slide stop for a Colt Gold Cup National Match .38 Special Mid Range. Initially I was told that I need a slide stop with "2" stamped on the back because Colt stamps them according to the caliber they are fitted to work with, as follows:1 - .45ACP2 - .38 Special, .22LR3 - .38 Super, 9mm4 - 10mm, .40S&WI have been getting conflicting opinions on which slide stop to get. I guess it's more important to get one that will work properly but I would like to get one that would have come on the gun originally.What is the correct part for this gun? Thanks in advance for any replies.
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Comments

  • RancheroPaulRancheroPaul Member Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Here's the way to test it so you can see for yourself. Get out your Colt .45 to .22 LR Conversion Kit. Look at the back of the slide stop and you will see it is numbered 2. Now look at the slide stop for your .45 and you will see it has a "1" stamped on the back. Using your No. 1 slide stop, convert the rest to the .22 LR. Now with an empty magazine pull the slide back and see if it will stay open like it is supposed to. Then change to the No. 2 marked slide stop....and do the same thing. Now it will stay open.The "cog" on the end of the slide stop that protrudes into the edge of the frame is notched specifically to mate with a certain caliber magazine of a certain design. When the magazine is empty and the slide is pulled back completely, this "cog" engages the portion of the magazine that sits under the ammo rounds being pushed up by the magazine spring. This activates the slide stop so that it engages the slide and holds it open. If the wrong "notch" is cut in the "cog" for the magazine being used, it will not mate to the notch, hence it won't push up on the front end of the slide stop and lock the slide back. The numbers, 1, 2, etc., indicate what magazine the "cog" fits into. Any slide stop will work in these guns, but won't hold the slide open after the last round is expended unless it properly matches the slide stop to the caliber of the pistol.
    If You Can't Buy a Pair, Get a Spare![This message has been edited by RancheroPaul (edited 04-06-2002).]
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  • BlokeyBlokey Member Posts: 284 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    SaxonPig,If you find a slide stop replacement for your conversion that works, I'll buy your #2 stop if you want to sell it.mjs66@yngwie.comNever mind (I read your post again and you said "What DID I do with my #2 slide stop"); you need one too![This message has been edited by Blokey (edited 04-08-2002).]
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I am aware of the rationale described by RP, and I decided to physically compare my stops. I compared the Number 1 and the Number 2 and, if the differences RP describes are there, they are microscopic. The most obvious difference was in the length front to back of the stop projection, which was slightly shorter on the forward end on my 1961 NM .38 Number 2 by about the width of a .5mm pencil lead. The projections inside the magazine well appear to be identical. My very early (low three digit) 1978 reintroduced Service Ace has the Number 2 and it is identical to my 1961 NM .38 Number 2. The .22 and .38 magazines are very similar so the fact that they use the same stop fits well with RP's analysis.I have a .22 conversion kit from the early 1970s and I find it interesting that its stop is marked with either an "M" or a "W" depending on how you view it. The Number 1 marks are upside down from the Number 2 marks so there is no guidance there. I do not believe the "M" or "W" is a "3" on its side as the sides are parallel and straight. This is a new one on me.Older pistols (Pre-War) do not have markings if mine are representative.
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  • RancheroPaulRancheroPaul Member Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hehehehehe.....Yep, been there, done that...! Anyway, if you are having problems with the slide on your auto staying back when the last round is fired, change your slide stop to another number.....Judge Colt just added some more to this dilemma I was unaware of and now I'm in the Pot also.......Hahahaha!!! Anyone else who can add anything here, please do so! Meanwhile, go to the next gun show and get an "assortment of various numbers" and fit 'til they fit! ..... I guess!
    If You Can't Buy a Pair, Get a Spare!
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