S&W 1911 recoil spring

remingtonoaks

I have a S.S. Smith&Wesson E series SW1911TA. I called S&W to find out what pound recoil spring come standard in it, and was told that is proprietary information and they can not give it out (WTH). I also asked the person how I can replace it when it gets soft. She said send it in and they will replace it for free... I don't want to wait 5-6 weeks to get it back over a recoil spring. Anyway my question is: does anybody here know what lb recoil spring it comes stock with? I would like to put a lighter one in it, because it throws the cases about 12'-14' before they hit the ground. And I need to know what it comes with from the factory so I have a reference point. Please only post the correct lbs, not guesses. Thanks for any correct information in advance

perry shooter

a lighter spring will cycle the slide faster and throw the fired case FURTHER get a spring pack each brand of ammo or load may allow you to have a Different BEST spring weight a proper quality spring, a spring will not get soft I have a recoil spring that is over 25 years old with over 200'000 rounds fired with one of my match pistols through it Magazine spring are also good for many many years Match shooter need 100 % function or they lose points on score to match spring to load load two rounds if slide locks back after the last shot Ten times in a row increase the spring by one pound repeat test one pound at a time as soon as you get a failure to lock the slide reduce the spring by one pound then test over again Be aware you need full slide cycle but not overly weak spring week spring will beat up your pistol every time you change type or brand of ammo you need to match the recoil spring I have over 350'000 round throug one match pistol never broke a part. You may also need to match the pistol to Who is shooting the pistol the heavier the shooter and the harder they hold a pistol the heavier the recoil spring can be and still fully cycle the slide on you pistol

remingtonoaks

Thank you for the info, and you're right I need a heavier spring not a lighter spring. I Just wasn't thinking. That is good idea Having different springs for different loads, but how do you mark which spring goes with each load when you find your "sweet" spring for A particular load. I was thinking paint, but paint would probably crack and chip over a short time with the coil spring compressing and decompressing all the time. What would you suggest? would a Ceracote coating on them with different colors be advisable, or even a good thing to do?

62fuelie

The standard 1911 recoil spring is 16#. I run the Wolff 18.5# in mine and the function is perfect, these are/were duty pistols and HAD to be as flawless as possible. One is a Series 70 and the other is a mid-50's Gold Cup. Brownell's offers a Wolff "calibration" pack with different spring weights so you can match it to your pistol. Be sure to install the stronger firing pin spring when you put in a heavier recoil spring. A .45 ACP 1911 is a real handful when it decides to cycle full auto!

remingtonoaks

Thank you

remingtonoaks

quote:Originally posted by forgemonkey
quote:Originally posted by remingtonoaks
Thank you for the info, and you're right I need a heavier spring not a lighter spring. I Just wasn't thinking. That is good idea Having different springs for different loads, but how do you mark which spring goes with each load when you find your "sweet" spring for A particular load. I was thinking paint, but paint would probably crack and chip over a short time with the coil spring compressing and decompressing all the time. What would you suggest? would a Ceracote coating on them with different colors be advisable, or even a good thing to do?



I use 7/8" PVC with slip on caps,,,,,,,I.D = 1/2",,,,,,,,,,you can use a permanent marker to list the various loads/bullet weights, etc.,,,,,,,,,saves a lot of confusion.




Thanks that makes a lot of sense.

perry shooter

sorry I did not get back to you sooner Had 2 basketball games to attend today.The wolff spring pack is what I suggest I have lots of plastic tubes you can have if you want but save the packages that come with the spring pack Feel free to email me with any further questions when I was Captain of my states pistol teams I spent lots of time with every member matching springs with each persons ammo in their pistol you never want a malfunction in a TEAM hardball match we had one 4 man hardball team per state Va. won it 3 times while I was captain.



I agree sticking to one load is great but a target load my be much different from a hunting load and some pistol matches have a Velocity and bullet weight spec rule or there may be a shortage of the powder you have loaded before believe it or not in the last 5 years there has been shortages of all kinds of powder

charliemeyer007

I think you will do better sticking to one load once you figure out what the pistol likes. Lyman 452374 and about 4.4 grains of Bullseye was my favorite load until I switch to W231. Have at least 5 tuned magazines for it, 10 is even better.

Added I agree there has and continues to be a pistol powder shortage. I got 2 8# cans of W231, it was buy 3# get 5# free. Should have bought the other 2 cans but I was switching from 1911's to 29 Smith & Wessons at the time. BlueDot was a better choice so I bought 6 5# jugs of that after shooting up 4 8# jugs of the then exploratory 5744.

remingtonoaks

Thanks to all for the great suggestions

asphalt cowboy

http://tinyurl.com/m5rp3za

I bought the Shop Assortment years ago. You wouldn't believe the number of additional uses you find for storage tubes.