1911 Spring maintenance

[curseyou]

I was reading that the pimpers of 1911 products recommend new recoil springs every 1k, 2k and 3k rounds.

This feels really low to me. Does this match the collective wisdom of CGN 1911 users?

Also is there a benefit for flat wire recoil springs vs music wire in terms of function and longevity? Ammo is expensive enough. I hate the idea of chewing though so many springs so fast.

 

[4n2t0]

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1845455-1911-Pistol-Parts-Wearout

 

[fire@will]

Get yourself some "shock buffers" and put one in your 1911. Keep an eye on it (every few hundred rounds). When the spring starts to loose it's strength, the shock buffer will be taking more of a beating and that would be a good time to replace the spring.
Can't give you an answer on the flat wound versus the other. My Para long slide Hunter (10 mm) came with a flat wound spring, but it was a crap design, so I replaced it with a normal one, without ever trying it.

 

[Master-G]

I had a ShokBuf come apart on me during a match and jam my gun up good. I spoke with the manufacturer and the recommended against their use. I wouldn't worry about the spring for a few thousand rounds as long as you're shooting reasonable loads.

 

[StoneHorse]

Wolff Gun Springs has an opinion on the matter. See the FAQ's.

 

[Hitzy]

Springs are like $8, replace every 4000 rounds, throw the shock buffs in the trash.

 

[BCRider]

Now some competition guns are set up to rely on the shock buffers. But then those sort of owners replace springs and buffers frequently. For the more mundane of us if the recoil spring is tuned to be the proper strength to match the ammo we are using the recoil spring will soak up just about all the recoil energy so the slide just bumps the frame at the end of the slide motion with a firm love tap that does no damage. If the gun is set up that way we don't need a recoil buffer at all.

And any decent spring from any decent spring maker will be good enough that you can add an extra zero to those numbers. And I sort of doubt that the 10K number would be a part of the list even then.

A good way to tell if the spring is working with the ammo is to check the ejection of the spent brass. If it's tossing the empties out well past 3 meters to the side chances are good that your recoil spring is too light for that ammo. I know that I like to see the empties rise up and fall below the gun in their path to the ground about 1 to 2 meters to the side. Any less than half a meter and you likely find the gun experiencing some number of stovepipe jams. But if you see them fall past the level of the gun at around a meter away chances are good that no correct loads will stove pipe. 2 meters is OK too. But fairly energetic.

If the gun is throwing them out too far and you don't have a buffer you'll likely find that the gun seems to be jumping around in your hands a lot. A stronger spring would actually make the gun feel smoother to you while shooting. What you're feeling with the too soft spring and no buffer is the slide hitting hard against the frame stop.

If ejection is weak in addition to more frequent stove pipe jams you may also find that the slide does not lock back reliably on the last round.

 

[B..]

Here is another good guide:

http://www.10-8performance.com/pages/Reliability,-Round-Counts,-and-Longevity-in-1911s.html