My XDm in 45ACP (4.5" barrel) is locking back on a loaded magazine. The spent casing envelope indicates a production date of November 2012. Two out of three magazine springs are shorter than the third by 3/8".
Am I barking up the right tree, or should I be troubleshooting a different aspect of the pistol?
If the mag spring is 3.8" longer than the other 2 mag springs, it is probably the wrong spring. That is a lot of extra spring to compress. Therefore, a lot of pressure pushing up.
However, if it is new/old stock gun, it's not uncommon for new SA pistol mags to have strong springs when new, until they are broken in. If it is a new pistol and mags, try loading one less bullet until the springs are broken in.
Also make sure your thumb isn’t hitting the slide release pushing it up. It’s the follower in the mag that locks the slide so if there’s a round there it shouldn’t push up the lever.
More than likely your left hand or right thumb is pushing up on the slide release during recoil. The mag follower must not have a bullet on top before it can push up on the release, so that pretty much leaves your hands.
You and HngnHunter have probably nailed it. I've never done that before, but I was probably letting my right thumb get under the release. I'll pay attention to my grip next time I'm out to the range.
Do you think that I should be concerned (in a general sense) about the two springs that are shorter by 3/8"?
For a right-handed shooter on a pistol with the slide-stop/release on the left side of the frame (muzzle oriented forward), a pretty good diagnostic is whether the premature lock-back goes away when the shooter uses their left hand (only) to shoot.
The spring taking a set should not cause premature lock-back, as @XDm Ed explained how the slide-stop/release mechanism works.
I used to have a high grip with my left hand and was sporadically locking back the slide during rapid fire at uspsa matches.
I would remove the lever as it's not required for matches. Pretty simple to remove and reinstall, just push the retaining pin in about a quarter inch and pull the lever out, reverse for installation.
My grip now is such not to interfere with the lever, so I never remove anymore. A lot of shooters disable the slide release for uspsa since you should never do a slide lock mag change anyway.
^ Yup, a right hander's support hand grip can also cause weirdness with the left-side-of-frame slide-stop/release: either tripping it under recoil or disabling it.
I'm fine with my XDms, but all of my Glocks utilize aftermarket repositioned slide stops/releases as my support hand (I'm right-handed) trips it rather frequently under recoil. 😅
The mechanism is definitely extraneous in some competitive contexts...and even for everyday civilian defensive shooters, while I do appreciate its utility, I also think that a shooter can train around it quite successfully, and it would be a not unreasonable accommodation if that shooter makes this weapon their "one and only."
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