18.5lb recoil spring and Magtech ammo

[stormdragon]

I recently purchased an FM Hi Power. I changed the recoil spring to an 18.5lb Wolff spring. Initially I didn't have any problems. I took it to the range and except for perhaps one FTFeed and one stovepipe it was fine. Now prior to this trip the gun had been to the range one other time and in 100 rounds was 100% reliable.

Today, it was cold here. The gun was not entirely clean and I had used Slide Glide lube which is a little more viscous even the cold weather formula. The gun wouldn't shoot worth anything. Stovepipes all over the place, many failure to strip off the first round and some failures to feed. The only difference in this trip was that the gun was not entirely clean. It had the same lube as before but I had wiped it down and reapplied the lube. I was shooting the same ammunition.

Questions 1: What lube do you use on your HP?

Question 2: Do you shoot MagTech 9mm and is it underpowered?

Question 3: If you don't shoot MagTech, what do you shoot?

I would really prefer to use the 18.5lb spring, but not if I sacrifice reliability.

[RED]

Hi Stormdradon,

1°) I use a very fluid oil. Lube all moving parts, slide and frame rail, barrel lugs, barrel front, hammer & sear connection, recoil spring guide. I clean and oil again ASAP after shooting. I always keep my guns clean.
2°) No
3°) My own no frill reloads, cases from all origins but from homogenous brand, Winchester primers, 125gr RN Hardy lead balls, French BA10 powder.

I stick to the original spring. I used a Wolff one for some time and noticed no difference.
Now, how cold was it when you shot? I shot my .45 and BHP in an outside snowy range under really sub zero temperatures, battle of the Bulge style, without any trouble. During W.W II, to avoid feeding troubles in frozen climates, the Russians used to not oil there guns at all.

Red

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I would also try different ammunition. I have found Magtech to work well enough...most of the time, but recently obtained a new box and the same load I'd tried before produced significantly lower velocities than the earlier lot.

With the 18.5-lb spring you are set for the higher velocity loads as well as standard pressure loads that fall at least in the middle of the velocity range. If a lot of ammo produces lower speeds, you might encounter problems.

If you have quite a bit of the Magtech left, I'd suggest just using the factory spring to shoot it if the gun functions better.

I've had no problems using the 18.5-lb spring with Winchester USA, Remington's UMC, Federal American Eagle, PMC, or Fiocchi with the Hi Power.

Best.

[stormdragon]

Well, I lightened up on the lube and used some TW-25 instead. I also installed the Buffer Tech recoil buffer tonight. I'm going to go get some different ammo as I've gone though all the MagTech.

Someone suggested running a couple of boxes of good self-defense ammo through it for higher pressures. I also left the gun racked to compress the spring a little for about 24 hours.

I'll let you know how it performs at the range.

When I went out the other day it was only in the 20s, not that cold. I was using the cold weather lube but the spring was entirely new.

[carolinaman]

Hi stormdragon,

I agree with Stephen on the Magtech ammo. Velocities probably vary some from lot to lot.

For practice, I shoot Winchester White Box and Remington UMC anyways. The shooting range won't let folks shoot Magtech. They claim erronesly that the bullets are harder and will bounce back from the trap. ;) They really just want to sell their own ammo and discourage folks from bringing in their own.

As to the lubricant I use, I use Militec in all of my HP's.

Chris

[stormdragon]

I took your advice and bought some Black Hills ammo and broke out a box of Hornady JHP personal defense ammo and too it to the range yesterday. It was 14 degrees with a wind chill of 10 degrees below so I didn't stay long. :butthead:

I ran the Black Hills through with the 18.5# spring and a new Buffer Tech Shock buffer and it ran like a champ. I did relube it with some TW-25 from mil-comm but I really think that was a red herring. I've used the Slide Glide lite before without a problem. Although come to think of it, I did have some problems with a P220 and I cut the lube with some gun oil.

Any the Hornady ran just fine as well. The gun handled the JHP just fine without a problem. I only ran one mag through compared to the 50 rounds of Black Hills, but I was satisfied it was running fine.

I've very satisfied with the gun.

[Nashmack]

I always use Break Free CLP to clean and lube my FM, and have never had any problems even after going to an 18.5# spring.

Ammo used is usually Remington UMC 115 grain standard pressure JHPs, Winchester 147 JHPs (standard pressure), CCI Blazer brass case 123 grain FMJs for practice, and Cor Bon 115+P JHPs.

Just the CLP should be fine down to about 10-15 degrees. When I was in the Army we used to use the same exact stuff in our M16s, with no problems.

[maverick]

I recently purchased an FM Hi Power. I changed the recoil spring to an 18.5lb Wolff spring. Initially I didn't have any problems. I took it to the range and except for perhaps one FTFeed and one stovepipe it was fine. Now prior to this trip the gun had been to the range one other time and in 100 rounds was 100% reliable.

Today, it was cold here. The gun was not entirely clean and I had used Slide Glide lube which is a little more viscous even the cold weather formula. The gun wouldn't shoot worth anything. Stovepipes all over the place, many failure to strip off the first round and some failures to feed. The only difference in this trip was that the gun was not entirely clean. It had the same lube as before but I had wiped it down and reapplied the lube. I was shooting the same ammunition.

Questions 1: What lube do you use on your HP?

Question 2: Do you shoot MagTech 9mm and is it underpowered?

Question 3: If you don't shoot MagTech, what do you shoot?

I would really prefer to use the 18.5lb spring, but not if I sacrifice reliability.

Why did you change the spring in the first place?

[stormdragon]

In reading here, on the 1911Forum and at www.handgunsandammo.com, most of the Browning HP owners recommended changing to a heavier recoil spring and installing a shock buffer. The idea is to reduce recoil.

I have since read that the recoil spring really doesn't reduce recoil or frame battering that much.

So, I'm open to suggestions. I know there is a school of thought that you just leave a gun alone, it was engineered a certain way and the designers knew what they were doing. The other school of throught is that certain guns need some changes. An example would be Delta Elites with a different recoil spring and perhaps a FLGR and shock buffer. Browning HPs seem to be another gun on which many people change the recoil spring and add a buffer.

It is certainly the case though that in some cases the engineers and designers for all their knowledge and expertise design and gun and only as it's been in the field with extensive use do they see problems arise and have to change the design. An example again would be the Delta Elite and the frame cracking it experienced.

So, just trying to learn from the experience of others. I also bought the gun used, had no idea how many rounds had been fired or if the spring had ever been changed. I decided if I was going to order a new spring I might as well try the heavier spring. I've also ordered a factory weight spring.

[carolinaman]

Hi stormdragon,

You are correct. In most cases, changing the recoil spring is done to "tune" the HP to the ammunition that you are using.

To read more, log on to the Wolff Gunsprings website. Under the FAQ section, they have some good information on recoil springs.

Chris

[RED]

Hi to all,

Frankly, changing the springs of my HP did not bring to me any valuable improvement, except maybe for the firing pin spring. As a matter of recoil spring, I returned to the factory one and it works flawlessly with it.
But all that is my personal opinion;

Red