Am i beating my slide on my 1911?

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MartyK2500

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I would just like to know peoples general opinion on this. I thought I was golden with my setup, but more and more people at IPSC practice tell me I am running my 1911 undersprung and that my slide will someday suddenly crack on me.

I am running an STI Trojan .40SW, single stack 5'', 200grain Zero projectile flat point loaded at 1.190'', 4.9gr of VVN320, I chrono between 880-890fps with my 200gr bullet, I am running a 12# recoil spring I change every 3000 rounds and keep a log to actually change it in time.

Am I running things to close to the limit and should i change my recoil spring to 13-14#?
Because since shooting major, I hold on to that effer real good and sights seem to track nice at 12#, with the factory spring the front sight would nose dive after my slide went back forward.
 
STI Factory Spec for 5" 40s is a 14lb recoil spring. http://stiguns.com/resources/faqs/
I know Rodger at RK Custom doesn't recommend 12lbs in major 40s either

That stated, we see lots of guys with 5" 40s running 12lb springs...

So yeah, you're beating up that slide and frame more than the guys who build them would prefer you did.
You're basically sacrificing some longevity for a little extra speed, but that's what all racing is about.

Only you can decide if it's worth it.




PS - at 12lbs, I'd run a shok-buff that got changed out whenever it showed wear.
 
HI; I run lite recoil springs in a 1911 that is 45acp BUT use a shock buff always. This way the gun goes back on target and does not nose dive.
A gunsmith told me to be perfectly sight in and as I aimed at the target fire two fast shots. If the second shot lands higher then the first I am under sprung for fast shooting, and if second shot is lower I am over recoil sprung.
 
Yeah Rodger is currently giving one of my trojans a deep blue mirror finish.
He played with the barrel lockup too, feels smoother and feeds better. STI couldnt feed anything with 30 thou lockup exept a factory mag and a factory bullet, with his 50 thou lockup it feeds any mag any bullet.

I am aware that this is racing and its being run out of builders spec. I will research shock buffers a bit more, locally around here they are know as short stroking devices, never tried one myself. If a member could tune in, with round count on a trojan being run that way (as in major PF/12# recoil). If the general consensus is that it will resist 30K+ rounds as an example, fine enough for me, ill change em as i break em.

I didnt know anything about single stack, but got the idea from buddies using 11# in their .40 SVIs. I tried only 2 or 3 mags with 11 and the front sight would lift too much, at 12 it dropped back right on target.

Edit : we were writting at the same time Vicious. Yes the sights track the exact way as described when changing spring weights. Did you have any feeding failures since using shock buffs?
 
For what its worth, my 5" RIA .40 cal came with a #16 recoil spring but I have since changed it out for a #14. Works great for both major & minor loads.
 
In my experience buffers cause grief. But that being said if someone insists on a buffer I usually drop their spring by a pound.
IE: 14lbs no buffer, 13 with buffer.
Your going to have to do a bit of test and tune with different springs and with and without buffer.
 
Antoine, what round count you at?

I got back from ipsc practice, man the gun feels so right set as it is, im at the point that if the slide will last 20-25K rounds i am ready to buy a slide every 18 months if this would be the case.
Heckler, i had so many headaches to get my trojan to feed (barrel was not properly fitted from factory Rodger fixed it), i do not feel like adding the buffer to be honest. its too late in the season to add a new variable that may affect reliability, if i mess with a buffer ill do it in october.

Stonehorse, 14# with a minor must have serious dive issues when the slide cycles back no?

Edit : heavenisallie : did you cut a coil so the spring doesnt bind and get stuck with short stroke misfeed?
 
MartyK2500 said:
Stonehorse, 14# with a minor must have serious dive issues when the slide cycles back no?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if you are asking about the round nose diving or the muzzle. I've only played around with the factory #16 and the aftermarket #14. No issues with either major or minor.
 
If you hold the gun real tight squeezing your weak hand to the point the grips imprint in your hand good,
Two consecutive shots with fast splits, your second shot is lower or higher than your first? When the slide cycles and you break your second shot, do the sights lift from target higher or lower than you desire?
 
MartyK2500 said:
If you hold the gun real tight squeezing your weak hand to the point the grips imprint in your hand good,
Two consecutive shots with fast splits, your second shot is lower or higher than your first? When the slide cycles and you break your second shot, do the sights lift from target higher or lower than you desire?
Click to expand...
My problem tends to much more lateral than vertical, lol. As in starting to pull the sights off target before getting the second shot off. I haven't noticed any real difference (for me) in muzzle orientation on double taps between using a 1911 9mm and 1911 .40 cal. I have yet to use my .40 in competition so I'm curious to find out how my time is affected.
 
here's another way to test your spring, If you can feel the slide hitting your frame during recoil, then its undersprung, . sometimes using a lighter spring makes the gun cycle faster and softer to your hands, you have to decide your priority, maximize the longevity of your gun or go for a spring where you like how the gun behaves.
 
SHOCK BUFFER; Para Expert, blue shock buff and 13 lb variable with power factor 150+ loads. Work well but you must try it to be sure. Use DUMMY inert round and hand cycle to start. Some buffs are a few thousands thicker, blue are thinner then grey ones. Every time I clean I check the condition and put in a new one before a match. If the buff breaks up it will be a jamming mess. The Smith and Wesson and colt also worked OK. These are all 45 acp.
 
If you replace the spring, make sure it is the proper length. If it is too long it will stack up on itself and after awhile the bottom tabs can break off your bushing and send it all downrange.
 
Yeah I figure the buff breaking during a match is another factor I do not wish to account for.
So far no one posted a round count, I will bump this at a later date with 10K rounds through the slide and i'll report what I see after a good cleaning.
My backup trojan is brand new and is that, a backup, so if the older one fails early i'll pay to learn and will try shockbuff in backup.
 
At the price they cost, and at the quantity i purchased, i replace every 3000 shots since im running everything on the edge.
I do hear 5000 rounds often, id be actually interested to see a spring strenght gauge reading of 3000-4000-5000 rounds springs.
 
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