How often should you be changing misc. springs?

targettarget

BANNED
BANNED
BANNED
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
31   0   0
Location
Calgary
So, the running consensus so far is that the recoil spring should be changed every 5000K rounds.

But how often, if ever, do all of the other springs in guns need to be changed?

For example, the firing pin spring.

Do they ever "require" changing or should you try to get a replacement when they break/become extremely weak?
 
On my 1911 recoil spring every 5000 rd
firing pin spring every 10,000 rd
main spring every 20,000 rd
sear spring when ever I change my sear
mag springs June 1 every year
 
HK Spring assemblies with buffers according to some folks on HKPro have a life around 40K or more.
 
The higher veliocity rounds such as .50 AE or 9mm I change my main recoil spring every 2,500. As for slower veliocity rounds such as .45 ACP or 38 super every 5,000.
 
I have put around 2000 through my m&p 9mm no issues and my m&p .40 at work has seen around 6000 rounds no issues, haven't changed a thing.
 
Last edited:
Todd Green put 60,000 rounds through his M&P before he started to have problems.

Where is this 5000 number coming from?
 
60,000... WOW! I know of one having 3, 15 round mags fired through it 5 days a week for the past 2 and a half year with out beeing cleaned or anything still no fail to fires.
 
Most manufacturers recomend 5,000 round recoil spring intervals, other specific springs have change/replace recomendations, for example the spring in the trigger of an M&P has a change recomendation (no, I don't know what it is). Changing the recoil spring prevents the battering of barrel links, and locking blocks.
 
It's the same as anything. One person changes their oil every 4k and the next person lets it go 20K or more and one manufactuere recommends one thing while the other reccomends another. It's preventative maintenance, and cheap insurance to swap a spring every once and a while.
 
I'm guessing there's no real way to tell if your springs are gonna fail? Just like so many other mechanical things, they break when they break....could be 100 miles/ rounds...could be 10,000 miles/rounds.

Or is it that the spring just gets fatigued and doesn't have the "bounce back" ?
 
How are you measuring this ?


Having them break is a good indication. Though that only happened once. Throwing brass 30' at the range is my other sign. I load hot and it beats on the gun. I had a stint where I only used very mild loads, the springs would likely last indefinitely.
 
Last edited:
Having them break is a good indication. Though that only happened once. Throwing brass 30' at the range is my other sign. I load hot and it beats on the gun. I had a stint where I only used very mild loads, the springs would likely last indefinitely.

compare it to a new one and if it is more than 1-1.5 coils shorter change it out. That or 5K whichever comes first - obviously sooner for a he-man caliber like the 10mm...
 
Back
Top Bottom