Where did this part come from on my HP?

[wheatshocker]

Well, this is embarrassing. In the course of disassembling & assembling my 2 HP's and swapping slides, suddenly a tiny little cylinder-shaped silver part showed up on my workbench, but I can't figure out where it came from:



I've looked at parts diagrams and just can't figure out where it belongs. I don't know if it's an extra part or if it came from one of my HP's and needs to be put back in. But I don't see anything that appears to be missing.

Anybody have any ideas what this is and where it goes?

[ToddSig]

Looks like the plunger from the thumb safety has fallen out. There should also be a spring and a pin. Both still might be in the safety.

The plunger goes into the front side of the safety and makes contact with the frame, securing the position. The spring gives the plunger resistance against the frame.

[wheatshocker]

Thanks Todd. The thumb safety plunger is present on both HP's, however, the previous owner of the 1981 HP had installed an aftermarket paddle style safety, so I'm assuming that when doing so, he inadvertently lost the original plunger in the action where it remained until I discovered it after it fell out of the slide.