In our “two is one, one is none” world - one thing that tends to fall to the wayside is periodic inspection and maintenance. We shoot or use something until it breaks, diagnose the failure, and repair.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken” is commonly spouted. But what constitutes broken? A failure prone part or one that clearly shows some sign of weakening should be replaced. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Today, as part of my bi-annual handgun maintenance day, I took down my most carried guns and cleaned and inspected them. In the process I found this on the slide stop of my 2011.
This void is clearing a casting issue. But it was covered initially by the finish of the part and then gunk from shooting. It wasn’t until I gave it a thorough degreasing and inspection that I found this defect. It’s not that big a deal, I now will sideline the gun until I acquire a replacement, fit it, and subsequently test it to my satisfaction (this is why we have multiple guns!). But now I can do this before the slide stop breaks and locks up my gun mid-shooting. And this is why we clean and inspect our guns carefully.