1911 recoil spring

[Brad]

Roughly how often do you change the recoil spring on your 1911 in 45 ACP? I'm talking about a full size gov't model, not a compact. This is not a gun used for IPSC or heavy loads. I'm running pretty much all 200 swc at 750-850 fps. Not a bullseye gun either.

Do you use a round count to determine spring change? Is there a change in cycling, recoil, or ejection you look for? Do you look at changes in spring length over time? Do you even worry over it or just change every 5-10 K when you think about it?

 

[RicinYakima]

When I was shooting NRA Bullseye, we did it once a year. Usually at the start of indoor gallery season. I was shooting about 5K a year, but never had or saw a spring failure on a full size 1911. And these were all WWII surplus springs, too.

 

[9.3X62AL]

Since the advent of "rocket wire" springs in most firearm spring applications 30-40 years ago, the service lives of most gunsprings not fully compressed full-time (i.e., magazine springs) can probably be counted in decades. You get what you pay for.

 

[Pistolero]

This is the most over-done "maintenance" in the world. IMO, the spring is good for
decades of moderate use. When I was shooting over 10,000 rds per year, I changed them
every few years, just for the heck of it. Massively overrated need. The spring has essentially
nothing to do with the opening, just closes the action and feeds the round. As long as that
is happening, you are good to go.

The gun will open and eject fine with NO spring.

Bill

 

[9.3X62AL]

SIG-Sauer and Glock armorers have "sold" this bit for years. The SIG woven springs and the Glock flat-wire curlicues outlast 10-15 of the "maintenance cycles"--variously represented as 3,500 -5,000 round counts. Recoil spring breakage is an EXTREMELY rare event, and most of those were defective parts--not over-use. Spend your money on OEM/high-quality magazines--if self-loading firearm systems have an "Achilles' heel, it is their magazines., and NOT the springs or followers--the feed lips are DELICATE on most metal mags. Glock mags are a design improvement, and the AK-47's feed lips might be the best of breed. What a shame that AK mag springs are often such junk metal.

 

[Pistolero]

As far as magazine springs, at least on original 1911s..... I have read of several different cases
were "gun guys" have been approached by a new widow asking how to "get rid of" or at least
how to unload her husband's "gun". Said gun was a military 1911A1 in one case, and 1911 in
another. Both had been loaded with a round in the chamber for 50 to 80 years. In each case,
the "gun guy" decided to test, gun, ammo and springs. Each fired the full magazine perfectly
with no problems.

Never worry about mag springs on quality brands of US guns, either.

Bill

 

[Dale53]

My experience with 1911 springs may differ from others. After I cracked a slide in the early seventies, I became REALLY interested in spring life.

The 16 lb. spring had "sagged" to 11 lbs. over time and I sincerely believed was one of the factors in the slide failure.

At any rate, I started "weighing" springs. It is a simple matter to "weigh" the springs. Have your 1911 assembled and lubricated. Get a PVC pipe nipple of the correct diameter to rest the pistol in a vertical position with the nipple surrounding the barrel. Cock the hammer first (after checking the gun to make sure it is unloaded), and with the nipple on a spring scale (I use an old kitchen scale), you simple press the pistol down, allowing the slide to retract with the barrel inside the nipple. Watch the slide and when it is just shy of bottoming, read the scale.

Using a full size 1911, the standard spring will weigh 16 lbs. When shooting IPSC with full power loads, I chose to use an 18.0 lb. spring along with a slide buffer to protect my slide. When using light target loads, you will almost certainly need a lighter spring to allow reliable functioning.

After you establish a "standard" by testing with a new spring(s), you can tell after 1000, 3000, 5000, or 10,000 rounds if your spring is "sagging" (getting weaker). After a loss of two pounds from original poundage, it is time to replace the spring. Springs are MUCH cheaper than a new slide, believe me...

It, of course, is quite useful to test your scale with known weights in the area of your needs. The minimizes "surprises"...

P.S. A really useful test with a new spring in your 1911, is to use your normal load with a new spring and note the distance the cases are ejected. That distance is represented by the slide velocity when the slide retracts. So, if you notice your cases being thrown further than normal, I would suggest it is time to weigh your spring (or check your loads)...

Just a thought or two...

FWIW
Dale53

 

[freebullet]

The manual that came with a colt defender recommend 1500-2000 for officers aluminum frame gun and 3-5k for steel, ss, & full size guns.

I had roughly 3-4k through it before selling and it was fine with factory springs. The loads I was using were mild and didn't appear to wear on the gun/Springs as much.

 

[Brad]

My feeling that a spring is cheap insurance to prevent an issue like Dale had. I don't shoot heavy loads, most of mine are a 200 swc at 800-850 fps.
A new spring every 5000 rounds is pretty cheap. Heck, I can't even buy a K of primers for the cost of the spring.