Slide stuck in battery position

[tjg]

What did I do wrong?

I had been cleaning my XD40 Service after every use at the range. I was using Hoppe's #9. After reading about BreakFree CLP I decided to use it. I applied it quite liberally, let it soak in for about three hours, a light brushing with a nylon brush, and then a blast of air from the nozzle of a compressor.

I wiped it down with a clean rag, applied a couple of drops of Hoppe's gun oil on the slide where it runs along the frame, and reassembled it. I racked the slide a few times to seat the oil.

I did the same thing with my Ruger Mark III.

I had assembled the XD with my 9mm BarSto which fits slightly tighter than my original .40 barrel. Today, I wanted to switch to the .40 so I could shoot that tomorrow. I could not get the slide to pull back more than 1/4" or so. I searched on the forum and could not find any info so I called Springfield who told me to ship it back since they had not heard of this problem.

I decided to try a somewhat more brutish approach. I tied the grip safety down after using a dowel to make sure no bullet was chambered (even though the indicator said it was empty) and the magazine was removed. By placing the end of the muzzle on a thick, folded towel I rapped hard on the back of the frame with a small rubber mallet. I was able to break it free. I then had a hard time getting the barrel out of the slide.

What I found was a hard substance that was on the slide inside the hole the barrel goes through. It would not completely brush out, but what came loose was a somewhat coarse powder. I used some Hoppe's #9 and worked it in good with a Q-Tip, then a stiff brush (from my .45) and then the other end of the Q-Tip which came out clean. I looked over the XD and Ruger and could find no trace of anything like this or any other thing out of the ordinary.

The crud was built up enough so the barrel would not slide and then there was not enough room to easily remove it from the slide. After I reassembled it, it worked fine. I took it apart, and the BarSto fell right out. I reassembled it with the .40 barrel and that worked fine too.

I had cleaned it twice before with Hoppe's since I got the BarSto and was wondering if this shellac like effect was a combination of something on the barrel along with the Hoppe's and BreakFree.

Any thoughts?

[afmo]

crooked guide rod?

[hacker15]

Had a similar problem with a Remington 870 - new from the box with a jammed firing pin. Was able to cycle it (luckily at the range and pointed at a target). Finger nowhere near the trigger - gun goes off. Surprised? You bet your butt!

Returned it to the purchase point - gunsmith takes it apart and finds a hard white substance jamming the firing pin in the "FIRE" position (as well as several deposits throughout the rest of the action). Remington exchanged the action and, from what I heard from the smith, it was some new lube they were trying out. It dries to a hard finish, which is not exactly what you want it to do (at least as far as I can tell....).

Finally got the gun back and it's worked flawlessly since, but I understand Remington is no longer shipping guns that were treated with this stuff (never did find out what it was).

Maybe you got some of this stuff by mistake - I've used Hoppe's and BreakFree for years, on everything I shoot (shotties, pistols, rifles), and never had a problem with it.

[Iostream]

Can't help you with the jamming problem....however...

No real need to clean the XD after every range visit....if you must run a boresnake through it and rub it down with a cloth and you're good to go.

[tjg]

I usually run a boresnake through at the range while the barrel is still warm, then sometime in the evening do a field strip and quick clean. I tend to cycle through my guns so I take a couple with me once a week and it might be three or four weeks before I use it again. Every once in a great while I do a much more thorough cleaning as I did this time. I will just keep a watchful eye on this; it probably is a unique experience or coincidence of events.

Thanks for all your input.

[IamCPTSpalding]

Well, I just tapped 1k rounds last Monday. The last 400 went down range without the weapon being cleaned from the last 2 visits. Still no hitches. Did a quick field strip today just to check for the strange resin you mentioned, and found nothing new.

I might clean it, but the dam heat discoloration on the slide and dust cover is just too cool to wipe off.

Anyway, the last thing I put on my weapons is BreakFree, then a nice comfy holster/pillow and kiss them goodnight.

No problem so far, but I will look out for the crusties. Goodluck.