1. FEEDING--placing a cartridge in the receiver,
4. ASSEMBLING THE RECEIVER GROUP TO
approximately in back of the barrel ready for
THE SLIDE GROUP. Hold the slide with the sights
cambering
down in the palm of one hand. Invert the receiver (the
safety lock must be in the FIRE position) and engage the
2. CHAMBERING--moving the cartridge from the
guide rails of the receiver in the grooves of the slide.
magazine into the chamber
(See fig. 3-33.) Push the receiver all the way forward
3. LOCKING--sealing the cartridge in the chamber
on the slide with a quick motion.
and blocking the breech end of the barrel
5. SLIDE STOP. Hold the pistol as shown in figure
4. FIRING--igniting the primer and firing the
3-33. Look through the slide stop pinhole in the receiver
cartridge
for alignment of this hole with the hole in the barrel link
5. UNLOCKING--unsealing the breech end of the
If the holes are not aligned, move the muzzle end of the
barrel
barrel forward or rearward to align them. Insert the slide
stop pin into the holes. Move the slide forward until the
6. EXTRACTING--removing the cartridge case
disassembly notch is over the square hole in the left side
from the chamber
of the receiver. (See fig. 3-32.) Press the slide stop up
7. EJECTING--removing the cartridge case from
and in to seat it fully. In some cases, a punch may be
the weapon
required to depress the slide stop plunger in order to seat
8. COCKING--returning the firing mechanism to
the slide stop fully.
the cocked position ready to fire another cartridge
6. RECOIL SPRING PLUG. Push the slide frilly
forward on the receiver and press the thumb safety lock
SAFETY DEVICES
upward to the SAFE position. Place the recoil spring
plug on the recoil spring. Turn the recoil spring plug
The pistol has three safety devices: the safety lock
clockwise to lock the plug to the recoil spring. Holding
the grip safety, and the half-cock notch on the hammer.
the pistol, as shown in figure 3-31, insert the recoil
The safeties must be tested often, and always before the
pistol is fired. The disconnector is not considered a
spring and push downward on the recoil spring plug,
positive safety like the three safeties listed above. The
compressing the spring until the plug is inside of the
disconnector is not a positive safety because it is
slide. Turn the barrel bushing counterclockwise to lock
designed for use to fire the pistol on semiautomatic fire
the recoil spring plug in place. Press the safety lock
and cannot be controlled by the firer.
downward to the FIRE position and squeeze the trigger.
7. MAGAZINE. Insert the magazine into the
OPERATIONAL SAFETY CHECKS
magazine recess of the pistol until it is fully seated and
held by the magazine catch. (See fig. 3-30.) This
WARNING
completes the pistol assembly.
Before making the following test, inspect
FUNCTIONING
the pistol to ensure that the magazine is
removed and the chamber is empty.
By disassembling and assembling the pistol, you
become familiar with the parts. Understanding how the
SAFETY LOCK. Cock the hammer and press the
pistol functions will help you keep the weapon in
safety lock up into the SAFE position. Grasp the stock
operating condition and reduce stoppages that may
so that the grip safety is depressed and squeeze the
occur during firing.
trigger three or four times. If the hammer falls, the safety
lock is not safe; and it must be replaced.
Each time a cartridge is fired, the parts inside the
pistol (fig. 3-29) function in a given order. This is known
GRIP SAFETY. Cock the hammer, being careful not
as the cycle of operation (functioning).
to depress the grip safety, and squeeze the trigger three
or four times. If the hammer falls, the grip safety or sear
The cycle of operation of the pistol is divided into
spring must be replaced.
eight basic steps; however, more than one step may be
occurring at the same time. The following steps occur
HALF-COCK NOTCH. Pull the hammer rearward
in the order listed below:
until the sear engages the half-cock notch and squeeze
3-16
