# 96a1 problem



## kevinsmith1

Bought a 96 a1 today, brought it home and field stripped it and while putting it back together the slide locked up. It's about a quarter of an inch from being all the way back and it will slide about a quarter of an inch back and fourth but won't go all the way back. This is my first beretta so i did read the instructions but i have done something stupid. What have I done? How do I fix it?


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## TedDeBearFrmHell

a few things to try

is the safety OFF?
is the hammer down?
is the take down lever still in the open position?
did you put a mag in? if so remove it
palm slap the butt like you were inserting a magazine (just incase something has slipped) 

now firmly grip the slide and pull forward 

if not cock the hammer, see if it releases the slide?

if the trigger will move, try to ease the slide forward with the trigger depressed.


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## Shipwreck

2 strongest possibilities.

Either the guiderod is not set right in the right place.

Or, you hve a mag in the gun while trying to do this...

One more - is the slide lock still in the "DOWN" position. That is what locks the slide. If you have it in the locked position before the slide is on, the slide will never go on

Also, cock the hammer before you put the slide on... (and *never* pull the trigger and drop the hammer (on its own) with the slide off the frame)


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## kevinsmith1

The slide lock is down, safety is off, hammer is down, no mag in it, and I can't get the slide off to check the guiderod. It just rocks back and fourth


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## kevinsmith1




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## TedDeBearFrmHell

cock the hammer


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## kevinsmith1

I tried, it didn't release the slide. Thanks for the help, I will try anything. This is pissing me off now.


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## TedDeBearFrmHell

kevinsmith1 said:


> I tried, it didn't release the slide. Thanks for the help, I will try anything. This is pissing me off now.


then put it down and walk away for an hour.... frustration makes us over look the obvious.....


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## Shipwreck

Can you push up on the exposed part of the guide rod? Then try to move the slide...


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## kevinsmith1

TedDeBearFrmHell said:


> then put it down and walk away for an hour.... frustration makes us over look the obvious.....


That's so funny. Good advice. I put it down for a little bit and came back and the damn thing racked like nothing was wrong. It seems to be fine now. I have taken it down A couple of times and its good. Thanks for the help.


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## kevinsmith1

I'm really not an idiot, I promise. Lol


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## TedDeBearFrmHell

kevinsmith1 said:


> I'm really not an idiot, I promise. Lol


that kinda thing has happened to all of us, i promise


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## droptrd

Did you somehow cram the guiderod/recoil spring in backwards? I just tried it on mine but it was really hard to get the guiderod in backwards. Anyway, this gave the same problem you are having.


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## turbobill

*New Model 96A1 locking problem*

I had the same experience with my New 96A1...when I was disassembling it.
it wll jam(lockup) some of the time. it take several tries to get it to unlock
after several attempts I am able to push the slide to the rear and get to cycle correctly.

Then it seem to work fine from then on....? not sure what is causing it to jam some of the time.
magazine is out when this happens.


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## rgrundy

If you don't get the guide rod centered it won't go back together, it will catch. Next time be sure to center it up and see if that helps.


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## rgrundy

If the guide rod is not centered and seated it will do just what you described. When you play with it, it may center and seat itself then mysteriously everything is fine.


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## Shipwreck

Strange. I have two 92A1s and do not have this issue at all.


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## BAC5.2

I've got an M96 that's pretty old and a little beat up, and it's never had this issue either.

Make sure the slide release isn't over-rotated. When cleaning the other day, I saw that you could rotate the lever too far, and that might cause it to jam up on you.


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## turbobill

My 96A1 works fine when the factory captive spring and guide rod are installed...no problem when you try to disassembly it...it comes apart normally and ok.

but when I have a solid steel guide rod and regular spring it locks up when you try to disassemble. I purchased a new guide rod from Wolff for a Bretta 92/96 Fullsize and it gives me
the same lock up when you try to disassemble it. I called Wolff and they said only the factory captive guide/spring unit works with the 96A1 model.
Any ideas why the older steel guide rod is causing locking problems on dissembly?
thanks


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## bg18566

*92/96A1 lock up on dissassembly*



turbobill said:


> My 96A1 works fine when the factory captive spring and guide rod are installed...no problem when you try to disassembly it...it comes apart normally and ok.
> 
> but when I have a solid steel guide rod and regular spring it locks up when you try to disassemble. I purchased a new guide rod from Wolff for a Bretta 92/96 Fullsize and it gives me
> the same lock up when you try to disassemble it. I called Wolff and they said only the factory captive guide/spring unit works with the 96A1 model.
> Any ideas why the older steel guide rod is causing locking problems on dissembly?
> thanks


This is an older thread but here goes. On the A1 models the guide rod head can slightly drop down and bind on the recoil pad installed at the factory. If you look close at the blue coating on the buffer pad you'll see the marks. I called Beretta and they denied an knowledge of such an issue. I removed the take down lever, pin and spring. Then removed the blue buffer pad. No more issues with stock or steel guide rod. I removed some material from the buffer pad and all is well. In my not so good pics you can make out wear marks on the buffer pad. And you can tell there is blue buffer pad coating on the recoil rod.Last one is the buffer pad with some material removed and polished.


















Also the take down lever must be rotated fully down to 6 o'clock or the assembly will hang up there as well.


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## CW

Thanks for sharing the buffer pad tip BG.

Every now and then I have trouble getting one of my Berettas back together and the return spring alignment is usually the problem. 
That's why the one gunshop told be to hold them upside-down when reassembling.


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## jmartin67

I have just purchased a Wilson Combat steel guide rod for my 96A1 and had this same exact problem. I have been fooling around with it for about 20 minutes cycling it and having this very same issue and decided to see if others have had this too. Well, my search took me right to this thread and after reading the thread and fooling around with my Beretta some more, I noticed what the issue is, and I'll bet yours is the same and it was a complete lightbulb DUH moment for me. When I put the slide on or take it off, whenever I had this issue, I was handling the top of the slide, putting pressure on the top of the barrel, causing it to nudge the rear of the guide rod into a bad position to first clear the buffer pad, then also upon release. Every single time that I place the slide on, or remove it while handling just the slide alone, this problem never occurs.. I'm not 100% that is the fix for everyone who may have this issue, but after repeated tries, I'd bet money on it. So I signed up to be able to reply to this, but I think while I'm here, I'll stick around and check the rest of the forum out.. Hope this helps!! 
=)


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## jmartin67

Hmm.. this seemed like it was definitely the issue but I haven't been able to replicate it. One thought is that both our locking block plungers may have been pushed in slightly, causing the rod to be pushed slightly towards the frame of the gun.. I'll fool around with it and will come back to update. Not sure if this is even still an active discussion, so I may just be posting for my own jollies LOL!!


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## BRunner235

Hi All,
Have exactly the same problem with the Wilson Combat steel fluted guide rod and recoil spring.
Is it just easier to remove the buffer pad altogether? Will this shorten the life of the 92A1 frame?
What and how did you remove the material? What depth?
Cheers,
BRunner


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## s.morgan

BRunner235 said:


> Hi All,
> Have exactly the same problem with the Wilson Combat steel fluted guide rod and recoil spring.
> Is it just easier to remove the buffer pad altogether? Will this shorten the life of the 92A1 frame?
> What and how did you remove the material? What depth?
> Cheers,
> BRunner


I .know this is a old thread but if anyone has this problem in the future , You might find this fix useful 
When pushing the slide back onto the 92a1 or 96a1 if the hammer pin is slightly out of place it will hold the slide from coming back exactly 1 1/2 inch as described by the author of this thread when he laid the gun down he probably jard the gun enough the pin moved a fraction of the inch it takes to create this problem .
He mentioned he couldn't replicate the problem . everyone with this model gun can replicate the problem.
Just push the hammer pin out of place a fraction of a inch . The hammer pin big head side will look like its properly set but will stop the slide .


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