[zagger]

Went to the range and fired off a couple of mags. Somehow the assembly pin managed to come out of the frame and was lost - didn't notice it coming out. Now the slide is stuck a little forward of the normal position with an empty round in the chamber. The slide is obviously hitting something solid when I try to move it back. No idea what is trapping the slide.
Any suggestions on how to get this apart?
zag

NEVERMIND!!
I managed to release the slide by using a small screwdriver to move the firing pin forward. Suddenly the slide was able to move and disassembly was easy. Pretty weird. Now I just need to order a new pin. Still cannot figure out what pushed the pin out while I was shooting. Have to guess that it wasn't fully inserted and latched by the spring - but it certainly wasn't obvious.

 

[jpshaw]

Never heard of that problem before. Like you said, must not have been fully inserted and latched.

 

[zagger]

Went to the range today with the same gun and an assembly pin from another P3AT. No problems. The pin does have a tendency to move slightly outward but no farther than the latching spring allows. Guess this will remain a mystery. No idea how it happened, but it did happen. And I had to order another pin.

Oh well. Both guns shoot fine and are accurate enough. Guess I'll just go back to hauling them around in my back pocket and forget about assembly pins.
zag

 

[Inusuit]

I keep spare assembly pins for my P3AT and PF9 on hand just in case. There are reports of the pin head shearing off of PF9s. Opinions vary, but some think the pins that sheared were not fully inserted, ie, snapped in place and held by the spring.