1911 springs

kidthatsirish

so what exactly are the reasons to pit in a stiffer spring over the 16# spring in a 1911?

glyn

For hot loads.

kidthatsirish

Sweet thanks for the reply....On top of that, I just called wolffnsprings and spoke with one of their techs.....and let me tell you....that guy seemed to really know his stuff! Was really helpful and friendly. I think im gonna go ahead and get a new spring from them, he suggested staying with a 16 or 17 pound spring (all i shoot really is 230 grain ball). Spoke with his manager/supervisor and told him how great his man's service was, hopefully that will give a mark in his favor when it comes time for reviews/promotions and what not.

Im looking foward to getting the spring.

SWAT 50

quote:Originally posted by kidthatsirish
Sweet thanks for the reply....On top of that, I just called wolffnsprings and spoke with one of their techs.....and let me tell you....that guy seemed to really know his stuff! Was really helpful and friendly. I think im gonna go ahead and get a new spring from them, he suggested staying with a 16 or 17 pound spring (all i shoot really is 230 grain ball). Spoke with his manager/supervisor and told him how great his man's service was, hopefully that will give a mark in his favor when it comes time for reviews/promotions and what not.

Im looking foward to getting the spring.[:D][B)]


But you didn't even know what heavier springs are for, Of course he is going to impress you.[:D][B)]

kidthatsirish

right?[:p] what impressed was that he actually took the time and explained the entire process of what energy different springs in my pistol absorb and why and what it does.

He also explained it so clearly that I was able to make a little movie in my head. He also did it from a gear head point of view which works best for me.

It was almost like a mini little class he gave me over the phone, free of charge...further more after asking me some questions, he explained to me why it may, or may not really be such a great idea to go to that heavier spring....he explained the pros and cons, so that I could weigh the information in my own head and make a decision based on my prefrences, and the situations in which I use my pistol.

I "walked away" if you will with a lot more knoweldge about my pistol than I did before I called, and he seemed rather happy to do it.

yoshmyster

So did dude explain to you the "standard" spring VS "veriable" springs?

perry shooter

All coil type recoil springs for the 1911 are Variable. It take more to compress TWO inches then to compress ONE inch. all you have to remember is Too STRONG of a spring for YOUR load that YOU are shooting in YOUR pistol and the slide will not Fully Cycle. Too WEAK of a spring in YOUR pistol shot by YOU with YOUR loads will Beat Up your pistol . Same pistol Same load with 2 shooters if you have shooter #1 petite 100 pound female #2 5 foot 8 inch 220 pound brick-layer they will most likely need different springs. As a rule the factory ships their pistols with a spring that will function with most factory loads and normal size and weight shooters . 500 rounds a year and factory spring may serve you well. But 7500 rounds a year. Then IMHO to make a pistol last 35+ years you need to match spring to the load.

EDITI agree with Babun They Do make a very small % of recoil springs that are not Linear. However I don't thing the vast majority of 1911 springs fall into this type. I think a normal type Spring is what most shooters use. Sorry about not stating this in original post. I still think matching the spring to the load is the best way to go I have one pistol that the SAME spring has been used for over 300,000 rounds.It is still the same relaxed length within .030 inch as the day I installed and still same weight at compressed length within 1/4 pound. Good quality springs have along life. a average car valve spring will cycle 60,000,000 times in 60,000 miles many go 100,000 miles and more

babun

I hate to disagree with Perry shooter, He is perhaps the most knowledgeable about 1911's. but I have several 1911 springs that are NOT variable rate. By definition, variable means the compression needed is not linear. IE... If the first 1/2 inch compression takes 2 lbs of force, the next 1/2 inch will need 3 lbs. and so on. I have some that test almost equally almost to coil bind. Bob

kidthatsirish

Well....fact is for me, that I had not changed out my recoil spring in nearly 10,000 rounds. Honestly, I never thought about needing to do so as it just kept on feeding well, and shooting well (probably more a testament to J.M. Borwning than my cleaning although I do clean the pistol well, and use a metal brush only when neccesary).


My slide shows no signs of bad wear....everything seems to be in great shap there and on my reciever rails. Only thing that looks beat up is my guide rod. Ill probably being trying to order one of those after I find a company that makes a good one for a good price. Im told they are not to expensive so I'll probably opt for really good quality over price if I can (money is kinda tight right now).

B17-P51

I have a complete set of every weight spring available,8 to 23 lbs. Some advice that was given to me seems to be true. If you try a new load that you like and the gun seems to be recoiling harder than usual (a sign that you may be beating it up inside)keep trying progressivly heavier springs until the gun will not function reliably and go back one. This has really worked for me.