# Accu-Tek AT-380 (not II) field strip problem ... it won't as instructions written.



## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

I have a very old Accu-Tek AT-380 (not the model II) that I've had since I was a cop couple decades ago. Shot it a couple boxes full, liked it but not crazy about it, so it was locked away in my vault. I've since "re-discovered" it and shot a few more boxes of Fiochi .380FMJ through it. Shoots nice, no stove pipes and a nice little Walther PPK copy.

Now it's time to strip and clean it down, BUT I can't get the slide off the frame as described in the manual which says: "Remove the trigger guard screw, then remove the trigger guard. fully retract the
slide, lift up and move forward off the frame."

I have yanked, pulled, jiggled, partially retracted and fully retracted the slide, hard medium and softly. The slide will NOT "lift up" at all to slide off the frame, period.

Either they left something out of the instructions or there's some trick I'm not seeing or feeling as I retract the slide.

Anyone had experience with this particular Accu-Tek model .380??


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

If it strips anything like a Walther, one has to pull the front end of the triggerguard down somehow, keep it down out of the frame somehow, and simultaneously pull the slide all the way to the rear...further to the rear than when normally racking the slide.
With the slide pulled all the way back, the rear end of the slide lifts up off of the grip-frame/receiver. With the rear of the slide lifted up, the slide can be slowly allowed to run forward and off of the frame/receiver.

I don't see any "triggerguard screw." Where is it? Have you already removed it?
Could the instructions say "screw" when they really mean "pin"? There seems to be a pin retaining the back end of the triggerguard. Can you remove it?
Can you remove the triggerguard completely? If you do, the slide should pull all the way back.

In the Walther version, the front of the triggerguard can be pushed to the side, once it's been pulled down.
Then it stays there, held by friction, while you pull the slide back.

Is the safety on, when you try to remove the slide? Maybe it should be off.
(In your picture, the safety is off, so I'm grasping at straws here.)

Does any of that help?


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## Hairy Clipper (Nov 3, 2008)

After the usual "is the gun empty check", remove the magazine. Pull the front of the trigger guard down until the front clears the frame and push it to one side and slowly let it come down on the frame. This should hold the trigger guard open. Then pull the slide rearward as far as it goes and lift the rear of the slide clear of the frame. Then move slide forward off of the barrel. Remember when reassembling to do the reverse. The recoil spring's small end goes over the barrel first when you reassemble.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

On the Accu-Tek the trigger guard comes all the way off, unlike the Walther. The guard screw is there in the picture previous, it's a black anodized cap hex screw at the top of the trigger guard at the attachment point to the frame.

I've done this, the guard is off, and I've literally slammed the slide all the way back, I can't see how it could go back any further. UNLESS there is something else that needs to be engaged or disengaged which isn't in the manual, which I quoted in the OP.

I've also tried with and without the safety on, doesn't make any difference.

If it's a matter that the slide has to go back further, something is keeping it from doing so and I can't see what it can be. As I said in my OP, I've tried everything and more beyond the quoted manual instructions for "Disassemble".

I've included an exploded parts view of the AT-380 and you'll notice that the frame rails only partially (1/2) run the length of the frame, unlike a 1911/A1 does. I'm thinking that the slide is the same, only 1/2 of the slide has rails. Get the rail cut area past the end of the frame and it should come up, as the instruction says. BUT I cannot get the slide back any further to accomplish that, something is stopping it from going back enough. What that is I have no clue.

I can field strip a 1911A1 in around 15 seconds (USAF / Vietnam vet retired), I'm out of ideas with this beast.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

My next thoughts:
1. In the parts drawing, you can see the hole in the frame through which the triggerguard's square-cross-section post protrudes, which keeps the slide from retracting fully. After removing the triggerguard, examine that hole and make sure that there's nothing in it. (Has the triggerguard's post broken off, and it remains in that hole?)
2. Somebody added a newer, longer recoil spring. It stacks up and doesn't let the slide come back far enough. Look up into that hole, and see what's going on when you've retracted the slide as far back as you can.
3. You've removed the magazine, haven't you? (Gotta ask. Might be the problem.)

Does that help?


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## Hairy Clipper (Nov 3, 2008)

The picture shows the recoil spring being open on the end. Is it possible that the open end has somehow slipped past the barrel support on the frame? Even one thickness of the wire would prevent getting the slide all the way back.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> My next thoughts:
> 1. In the parts drawing, you can see the hole in the frame through which the triggerguard's square-cross-section post protrudes, which keeps the slide from retracting fully. After removing the triggerguard, examine that hole and make sure that there's nothing in it. (Has the triggerguard's post broken off, and it remains in that hole?)
> 2. Somebody added a newer, longer recoil spring. It stacks up and doesn't let the slide come back far enough. Look up into that hole, and see what's going on when you've retracted the slide as far back as you can.
> 3. You've removed the magazine, haven't you? (Gotta ask. Might be the problem.)
> ...


Just saw this reply Steve, thanks.
I bought the gun new, never been upgraded, hell I hardly shot it  
I'll get out my bore light tomorrow in the daylight and see what I can through the guard recessed opening. This is a good idea. No the trigger guard is fully intact, it's a pretty hefty component, this Accu-Tec is all Stainless Steel, nothing plastic on it but the grips and bottom of the clips. One of the reasons I was attracted to this piece - no alloy anywhere, just real steel.

Yep, the magazine was out of the frame.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

Hairy Clipper said:


> The picture shows the recoil spring being open on the end. Is it possible that the open end has somehow slipped past the barrel support on the frame? Even one thikness of the wire would prevent getting the slide all the way back.


That's a good point Hairy in Minni ... though that would have had to happen during the original factory assembly ... which I guess is possible. Don't know how I'd remedy this if that is the problem.


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## Hairy Clipper (Nov 3, 2008)

Just a crazy thought here: I am wondering if the trigger guard screw has broken off at some previous time. There should be a lock washer under the screw head. If that lock washer were missing, the trigger guard screw would project into the area that the front of the slide needs to go by in order to remove the slide. If a broken screw is not projecting, perhaps turning the pistol upside down would let gravity move the broken screw out of the way and allowing the slide to be removed. Have you had the pistol apart before?


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

Hairy Clipper said:


> Just a crazy thought here: I am wondering if the trigger guard screw has broken off at some previous time. There should be a lock washer under the screw head. If that lock washer were missing, the trigger guard screw would project into the area that the front of the slide needs to go by in order to remove the slide. If a broken screw is not projecting, perhaps turning the pistol upside down would let gravity move the broken screw out of the way and allowing the slide to be removed. Have you had the pistol apart before?


As I said in the OP, I'm the original owner, bought it brand new. It's never been apart.

No broken screw in the trigger guard hole, the screw isn't long enough to be broken and still hold the guard on, besides I checked that.

I tried again and again and again .... it 'ain't' gonna happen. I can see the recoil spring and no coil has projected below it's wrap around the barrel, it's clearly not blocking the slide.

But something is hampering the slide from moving any further back than if the trigger guard were installed. The "block" cast into the slide will not close the gap that the lug in the trigger guard takes up to keep the slide from going any further back during shooting. I used a 1" PVC pipe on the muzzle end of the pistol for the barrel to slide down into as I push the frame as far forward as it humanly possible with the guard off and you can see the slide is not going past where the trigger guard blocking lug would be. Looking inside with a LED bore light there is nothing I can see blocking the slide, I give up.

I found out that Accu-Tek still exists, now out in Ontario California, instead of Chino. So I'll call customer support in the morning. This pistol has a "life time" warranty, I'll make them fix it to my satisfaction so it can be easily be stripped for cleaning.

Unless someone has one of these and knows the problem from experience, I'm over n out on "guessing" any more. Thanks all for the suggestions. I'll post a final solution once Accu-Tek fixes the issue.


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## Hairy Clipper (Nov 3, 2008)

Given what you have passed along the only thing left in my thinking is not good ... A bulge in the barrel would cause this sort of problem. This is the worst possible answer, but, perhaps most likely. If you can block the slide back and shine some light in from the chamber end you might be able to see a bulge from the inside of the barrel.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

Hairy Clipper said:


> Given what you have passed along the only thing left in my thinking is not good ... A bulge in the barrel would cause this sort of problem. This is the worst possible answer, but, perhaps most likely. If you can block the slide back and shine some light in from the chamber end you might be able to see a bulge from the inside of the barrel.


As I said, we're now as wild guessing at the problem. I've been shooting all my life, on the USAF National Match Gold Team. I think I'd know a incident that would cause a bulged barrel, which would have to be a stuck bullet in the barrel, which would mean the slide wouldn't cycle and I'd surely investigate before manually cycling the next round. I've cleaned this after each shooting and as part any good shooting inspects the barrel with a bore light. Since this is a fixed barrel as part of the frame, the bearing surface to the slide in huge, unlike a 1911, so a bulge would have to be enormous, easily seen with the naked eye.

No more guessing please, especially the obvious stuff, been there done that. It's at a point that only someone that's had one of these Accu-Tek AT-380's is going to know what going on. Thanks anyways.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Please let us know what Accu-Tek suggests, to fix the problem.
And also tell us if it works.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

*Accu-Tek AT380 Slide Removal problem solved*

Put a call into Excel Industries (Accu-Tek) this early morning and left a msg for Tech Support, they called back around 3PM. Spoke with a pistol tech / gunsmith, still very familiar with the AT-380 model which hasn't been made in 20 years I think. He said that the AT-380 (and the AT-380II) can be difficult to field strip until they are shot a lot to "loosen up". I told him I'd only put maybe 200 rounds through it and he said, it's still too tight .... keep shooting. However there is a chance that something could be broken inside and they'd be happy to fix it, it does have a life-time warranty. NICE!

But he suggested doing this - make a tool from 1inch heavy (600psi) PVC Pipe, about 4 to 5 inches long to use on the muzzle end to force the slide back as the barrel goes into the PVC pipe (the white PVC won't mare the polished stainless steel). I laughed and told him I'd already made one I use on other pistols I have and tried a few time with the AT-380.

So them he said back the grip back-strap against the top edge of a wood workbench, push the slide down with the PVC tool and when you get to the end, wack it with a heavy rubber mallet. He said if I break anything, they'd fix it for free. Well nothing broke the the wack was enough to push the slide back far enough for the slide track to clear the end of the frame rails cut outs. The Slide actually pops up on its own once past the frame rails. The travel to clear the rails isn't more than maybe few/100th of an inch. It is tight! And the slide is tight on the frame rails like an assurized match 1911A1 I used to shoot on the USAF Gold Team and in civi life after.

One thing to consider with field stripping the Accu-Tek AT-380 is to do this process over a white towel as the "Safety Disconnect Rod (lever actually)" #13, will fall out with the gun pointing vertically in this dis-assembly process. The Safety Disconnect isn't very big, it's shaped like a letter T in blued flat steel, and you'll lose it if it falls in a dark area. The Exploded Part's View I posted earlier does not show it's shape correctly.

BTW - You'll need a 3/32" Allen Wrench to remove the Trigger Guard screw, don't lose the micro locking washer.

While I had it opened up, I polished the feed ramp with my Dremel tool so I'd have no problems feeding +P JHP's when I carry this Concealed Carry. Being all stainless steel, this baby easily handles hotter +P loads and the extra weight of being all steel tames the kick a bit.

Well, now I've gonna put a few hundred rounds of cheap crap Tula Russian .380 Ball Ammo through it and see if it loosens up some.

Thanks for all the input and thanks to Excel Industries / Accu-Tek for calling back with help. Hope this helps any one in the future too.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks for reporting back.
I'm glad that they could help you.


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## Hairy Clipper (Nov 3, 2008)

Hey Cobra Jockey!

I am glad to hear you were able to get your pistol apart. In talking with my brother this morning and telling him of your conversation with ACCU-TEK he mentioned that S&W told him to do the same thing to field strip his S&W built PPK/s some years ago. He got tired of doing that real fast and cut off one turn of the spring with any subsequent issues. I am not suggesting that you do that. Thanks for updating us.


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## CobraJockey (Mar 26, 2016)

Hairy Clipper said:


> Hey Cobra Jockey!
> 
> I am glad to hear you were able to get your pistol apart. In talking with my brother this morning and telling him of your conversation with ACCU-TEK he mentioned that S&W told him to do the same thing to field strip his S&W built PPK/s some years ago. He got tired of doing that real fast and cut off one turn of the spring with any subsequent issues. I am not suggesting that you do that. Thanks for updating us.


I'm thinking a better solution is to file down the end of the "Rail" inside slide 1 /100ths so the extreme need to push the slide back isn't necessary. There is .2250 of an inch that the slide has to move back to clear what the Trigger Guard "Lug" blocks, so that is plenty of safety factor. The spring isn't the problem and shortening it would be very detrimental to being able to shoot +P loads, which is what I'll load for CCW carry.

I'll call Accu-Tek back to discuss that idea after I put 200 to 300 rounds of ammo through the gun at the police range and see if does loosen up enough for easier tear downs.

Thanks again everyone.


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## Newyorkgunguy518 (Oct 6, 2020)

CobraJockey said:


> I have a very old Accu-Tek AT-380 (not the model II) that I've had since I was a cop couple decades ago. Shot it a couple boxes full, liked it but not crazy about it, so it was locked away in my vault. I've since "re-discovered" it and shot a few more boxes of Fiochi .380FMJ through it. Shoots nice, no stove pipes and a nice little Walther PPK copy.
> 
> Now it's time to strip and clean it down, BUT I can't get the slide off the frame as described in the manual which says: "Remove the trigger guard screw, then remove the trigger guard. fully retract the
> slide, lift up and move forward off the frame."
> ...


I have the same exact gun and issue. Recently just acquired it and found this forum. Thanks a lot for updating with the answer.


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## Gemini65 (Dec 4, 2021)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> If it strips anything like a Walther, one has to pull the front end of the triggerguard down somehow, keep it down out of the frame somehow, and simultaneously pull the slide all the way to the rear...further to the rear than when normally racking the slide.
> With the slide pulled all the way back, the rear end of the slide lifts up off of the grip-frame/receiver. With the rear of the slide lifted up, the slide can be slowly allowed to run forward and off of the frame/receiver.
> 
> I don't see any "triggerguard screw." Where is it? Have you already removed it?
> ...


The screw is at the front of the trigger guard where it meets the frame. It's a small allen screw and a pain in the butt to mess with.


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## Curtis (11 mo ago)

CobraJockey said:


> I have a very old Accu-Tek AT-380 (not the model II) that I've had since I was a cop couple decades ago. Shot it a couple boxes full, liked it but not crazy about it, so it was locked away in my vault. I've since "re-discovered" it and shot a few more boxes of Fiochi .380FMJ through it. Shoots nice, no stove pipes and a nice little Walther PPK copy.
> 
> Now it's time to strip and clean it down, BUT I can't get the slide off the frame as described in the manual which says: "Remove the trigger guard screw, then remove the trigger guard. fully retract the
> slide, lift up and move forward off the frame."
> ...


Got the same one and the trigger garud fell off when I shot it it flew into peices its fixed now tho good lil gun just to heavy


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## Curtis (11 mo ago)

CobraJockey said:


> I have a very old Accu-Tek AT-380 (not the model II) that I've had since I was a cop couple decades ago. Shot it a couple boxes full, liked it but not crazy about it, so it was locked away in my vault. I've since "re-discovered" it and shot a few more boxes of Fiochi .380FMJ through it. Shoots nice, no stove pipes and a nice little Walther PPK copy.
> 
> Now it's time to strip and clean it down, BUT I can't get the slide off the frame as described in the manual which says: "Remove the trigger guard screw, then remove the trigger guard. fully retract the
> slide, lift up and move forward off the frame."
> ...


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## fma13691 (2 mo ago)

CobraJockey said:


> I have a very old Accu-Tek AT-380 (not the model II) that I've had since I was a cop couple decades ago. Shot it a couple boxes full, liked it but not crazy about it, so it was locked away in my vault. I've since "re-discovered" it and shot a few more boxes of Fiochi .380FMJ through it. Shoots nice, no stove pipes and a nice little Walther PPK copy.
> 
> Now it's time to strip and clean it down, BUT I can't get the slide off the frame as described in the manual which says: "Remove the trigger guard screw, then remove the trigger guard. fully retract the
> slide, lift up and move forward off the frame."
> ...


I found going to edge of table with slide on edge continue to push slide down and the back will disengage.


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