10mm Recoil Spring

[Siggy Stardust]

Hey Gang,

Bought me an STI Sentry in .40 a while ago and had it converted to a 10mm. Along with the caliber change I had it bull-barreled and a compensator installed. I was told that with the comp I shouldn't have to worry about replacing the recoil spring and just keep the .40 spring in . That being said, I'm not sure what that is, but I would guess, maybe 16 lbs. or so?

I've had it out a couple times and it seems like it's bottoming out the slide. From the research I've done, I've heard everything from 18 to 26 lb. springs are standard for the 10mm. To date I've only been shooting factory 180 gr. AE ammo through it, but the plan is to work up some hotter 180 gr. handloads.

I was just wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with this sort of thing and what they use in their 10mm's? Also, any advice on where to purchase the spring I might be looking for?

Thanksabunch,

SS

 

[09outlander]

My Kimber came with an 18lb spring but I find its alot better with a 22lb spring. Wolff Springs makes a good kit for 10mm 1911s. Kit number 13111.

w ww.gunsprings.com/cID1/mID1/dID1#799

 

[gdawg]

sounds like a nice set up. post some pics and impressions from when you have taken it out.

 

[MTLGUN]

Wolf spring for sure.

The exact weight is tough to say. It all depends on who effective the comp is. The better the comp the lighter the spring you need to have the gun function properly. Best way to protect your investment is to buy a few. You know that you're 16 is ok so go 17, 18, 19, up to maybe 21 or 22. They're not expensive and if you're gonna be playing with different loads it's very handy to have a good variety available.

 

[BCRider]

This is one of those things that you want to tune and not trust to thinking about too much. Start with a heavy recoil spring and work down to one which is just barely soft enough to lock back on the last shot and that provides a fairly healthy but not too energetic ejection arc. The big one is the locking back on the last round. If the spring is too hard it won't. If it's just barely soft enough to lock back that's OK but you might find you get some stovepiping. If so go ONE more softer and call it good.

A fair number of match shooters opt for a spring that is a little too soft and protect the gun from beating itself up by using a recoil buffer. That's another option. But again you want to tune the spring and buffer. Buffers are consumable but check that they don't get beaten up too quickly. If it does you're running too softly sprung.

 

[09outlander]

Even the manufacturers can't agree on what weight spring to use, Kimber 10mm's come with an 18lb spring, whereas Colt's Delta Elite comes with a 23lb spring.

 

[BCRider]

Even the manufacturers can't agree on what weight spring to use, Kimber 10mm's come with an 18lb spring, whereas Colt's Delta Elite comes with a 23lb spring.

The 10mm fans all whine about how factory 10mm is neutered and that we need to reload to achieve what the 10 was SUPPOSED to be. The difference between the Kimber and Colt may reflect this. The Colt being sprung to deal with the "full meal deal" strength ammo. Or possibly Colt relies on the spring while Kimber uses a buffer?

 

[09outlander]

The 10mm fans all whine about how factory 10mm is neutered and that we need to reload to achieve what the 10 was SUPPOSED to be. The difference between the Kimber and Colt may reflect this. The Colt being sprung to deal with the "full meal deal" strength ammo. Or possibly Colt relies on the spring while Kimber uses a buffer?

That's a possibility. And there's no buffer on my Kimber.

 

[dallasm]

I run a 22lb Wolf in my 10mm and shoot target & full power loads (180gr @ 1275 fps 230PF) without issues. No way would I run a 40SW weight spring at 14-16lbs and shoot 10mm.

 

[Siggy Stardust]

I run a 22lb Wolf in my 10mm and shoot target full power loads (180gr @ 1275 fps 230PF) without issues. No way would I run a 40SW weight spring at 14-16lbs and shoot 10mm.

Yeah, I kind of did a triple-take when buddy told me that I could just leave the factory spring. And for what it's worth, as previously mentioned, there does seem to be quite the discrepancy between the performance listed on the factory ammo box and that displayed in several reloading manuals.

Sounds like something I'll have to monkey with a little. I sure do appreciate all the insight, gents. At least now I have somewhere to start!

 

[tictactician]

When I was researching the 10mm 1911I found a bunch of people who would Swap out the Firing pin stop for one that was much more square on the bottom to slow the slide a bit. Most were running heavy hammer springs well. I think the Colt is 32 lbs. This helps slow the slide as well. They would run a buffer and a 20lb recoil spring. This helps save the slide stop from extra wear.
The Colt runs a double spring and a plastic guide rod that is designed to be replaced when
when it wears.

 

[gdawg]

I run a 22lb Wolf in my 10mm and shoot target & full power loads (180gr @ 1275 fps 230PF) without issues. No way would I run a 40SW weight spring at 14-16lbs and shoot 10mm.

that is an impressive load. what are you shooting?

 

[Siggy Stardust]

D'OH! Well, this is an interesting development...

In pulling this STI apart, I discovered it has the STI "Recoil Master" recoil spring/guide rod setup - that being a two-part guide rod containing two independent springs. Hmmm...

After doing some research, I found that this type of recoil system doesn't come in specific rated "weights" but in two simple classes - "light" and "heavy". The LIGHT springs are suggested to be used with compensated pistols and 9mm cal., while the HEAVY springs should be used for .40 and .45 cal.

As previously stated, the pistol came from the factory as a .40 so I'm assuming that it came with the HEAVY spring setup, but the manual doesn't mention any specifics on this. It is suggested that the main recoil spring is replaced every 5000 rnds and the "Recoil Master" system itself every 25,000 - pretty impressive. The 10mm converted bull barrel is compensated, so where does that leave me?

In the first post I mentioned that it feels like the slide is bottoming out with the 10mm AE factory loads. I'm gonna cook up some handloads using Longshot powder that I hear works great with compensators and see what difference that makes - maybe the factory stuff just isn't gassy enough? I think the next step may be to replace the Recoil Master with a single piece guide rod and spring setup.

There were a lot of great ideas and suggestions here - it was just discovering this unconventional recoil system that tossed me a bit of a curveball. "Light" and "heavy" ratings seem a little vague. I did see that the one pistol that STI produces in 10mm - "The Perfect Ten" is listed as having a two-piece guide rod/single spring setup. Maybe I should be doing the same.

Any further thoughts on swapping on recoil system for another?