Barrel Link Wear or Stretch?

Assuming a gun is properly built, what would cause a link hole (slide stop hole) to grow larger and/or stretch?

Undersprung for a given load? (But the cases barely go a couple feet as it is.)

Just regular wear? (after how many rounds?)

Anything else?

Would this affect accuracy? (If the barrel is locking up with the lower lug supported by the slidestop, I wouldn’t think so...but not sure.)

Unfortunately, I’m out of town and can’t take pics right now.

Links are typically heat treated. If heat treating had an issue it could be soft and wear out prematurely. Link can affect accuracy.
Jon

Soft link as Jon noted.. also you could have possibly had a link that was stopping the barrel on "link down" and not the Vertical Impact Surface(VIS)..

usually will break a link. with the slide all the way back the slide stop pin should be loose and not be in a bind on the link.( Jon reminds me of this all the time   )

So, short of buying a whole bunch of links and going by trial and error, how does one determine correct link size?

You buy them in a set with a whole range of lengths.  Brownell's and others.....

Correct length will lift the slide stop over the "knee" of the lower lugs and yet be loose on the slide stop when the slide stop is pushed firmly against the end point of the lugs.  A pic would be great here I realize.

Dr.Don wrote:You buy them in a set with a whole range of lengths.  Brownell's and others.....

Correct length will lift the slide stop over the "knee" of the lower lugs and yet be loose on the slide stop when the slide stop is pushed firmly against the end point of the lugs.  A pic would be great here I realize.

No, I totally understand.  Any preferred brands?  Wilson vs EGW vs ?

What is your measurement from link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin rest/bears?
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:What is your measurement from link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin rest/bears?
Jon

I didn't bring my calipers out to Ohio, but I think I see where you're going with this.  Once I know that distance, I just add half the diameter of the slidestop and the link pin and that should give me the center to center distance for the correct link size, right?

Roddy explained it to me that you can hear it rattle when you shake it in battery. I said "huh"?

mpolans wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:What is your measurement from link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin rest/bears?
Jon

I didn't bring my calipers out to Ohio, but I think I see where you're going with this.  Once I know that distance, I just add half the diameter of the slidestop and the link pin and that should give me the center to center distance for the correct link size, right?

Not quite. I have piles of links. I was going to take your measurement and get you close to proper link size.
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:

mpolans wrote:

Jon Eulette wrote:What is your measurement from link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin rest/bears?
Jon

I didn't bring my calipers out to Ohio, but I think I see where you're going with this.  Once I know that distance, I just add half the diameter of the slidestop and the link pin and that should give me the center to center distance for the correct link size, right?

Not quite. I have piles of links. I was going to take your measurement and get you close to proper link size.
Jon

Thanks!  I’ll check when I get home. Kind of a bummer to be in Ohio for family stuff when the big shoot is going on, but at the other side of the state.

Jon Eulette wrote:What is your measurement from link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin rest/bears?
Jon

From the center, bottom of the link pin hole to the lug flat where the slidestop pin bears, I'm measuring 0.107".  From the approximate center of the pin hole to the lug bearing surface, it's 0.192".

Here are a couple pics of what my link looks like:

Get an EGW #13 link. It will require minor fitting.
Jon

Is that a Clark? Mine came with the same elongation.

I just looked more closely at your attached photos. That link was incorrectly fit in the first place and thinned too much. As a result it will cause the barrel to be jerked out of the slide lugs instead of pulled out of the lugs and it elongated the link. Unfortunately there are many gunsmiths out there including Clark that do a very poor job of fitting the correct length Link in the first place let alone properly fitting it. I'm going to call it a myth for lack of a better term, but many gunsmith think that you have to use a certain link length and all your builds because that's what John Browning designed the length of the link to be. But most guns have different tolerances and if you want the best shooting pistol you must use the proper length link. So there is no cookie-cutter link length that works for every gun. I keep on hand links from the shortest to the longest so that I'm prepared for any dimensional issues I might encounter. So there are many factors that contribute to the correct link length. The vertical impact surface distance from the slide stop pin hole, the slide lug distance from the slide stop pin, the diameter of the slide stop pin and the barrel fit which results in how much bottom lug you have remaining after you cut the lugs to select the correct length link. So to be quite honest most of the pistols I see have something wrong regarding the link length or link fit to the barrel. So ultimately the barrel fit is what is going to determine the link length. It also pays for the gunsmith to be knowledgeable about the brand of frame and slide they are building. For example is Springfield Armory cannot have the Upper barrel lugs fit as deeply as a Caspian. Link is also responsible for timing the locking and unlocking if the barrel.
Jon