Model 1900/1902 slide lock bar

[TRX]

The early "double link" Colt autoloaders used a "slide lock bar" to stop the slide's rearward motion. The lock bar was retained by a spring and plunger.

*Many* times when reading about the early guns, the writer has felt it necessary to point out that if the slide lock bar failed or somehow fell out, the slide could fly off the gun and hit the shooter in the face.

While this is undoubtedly true... does anyone know if this has ever actually happened?

I could see where the lock bar might come adrift if the plunger spring failed, or if it wasn't pushed in all the way to start with, but it doesn't look likely to fall out otherwise. And for that matter, some foreign guns like the Roth-Steyr used a similar arrangement later, yet nobody feels it necessary to publish warnings about them...

[Jim Watson]

Never saw a broken bar. Once saw a picture of a 1905 slide cracked.
There was a guy making replacement bars out of high strength steel.

[somd_mustangs]

The slide lock on the 1900, 1902, 1903 and 1905 is exactly the same.
It's retained by the recoil spring guide rod (maybe that's the plunger referred to) fitting into a milled recess, NOT the little tab on side (see pic)
(the tab is there just to keep the lock from falling through the slot and being properly placed on reassembly, it's a fixed part of the lock).
I don't see any way for it to come out unless a catastrophic failure occurred, and it's a very robust part.
The slide itself would be the first point of failure, usually due to shooting hot loads/ 38 Super.

I've had several 1905's with cracked slides, one very bad (bought for parts), and some very subtle.

[TRX]

Thanks!

Where do the slide cracks typically propagate from?

[somd_mustangs]

The front of the slot for the slide lock usually, as that's a stress point. Sometimes they are hard to see, sometimes, well, pretty obvious
The first is a 1905 with a bad crack on one side and just starting on the other, and another with small cracks just starting on both sides.

Another place to look is where the front barrel link "pedestal" intersects the barrel.