Mil-Spec recoil spring

[fafnir]

Have a Mil-Spec, took it to the range for the first time last month.
Feeding was good, accuracy was good, but, the slide didn,t always
close...occasionaly I had to push it with my thumb to get it into
battery. Has anyone else had this poblem??? and can it be resolved
by changing out the factory spring for a stonger one
Thanks...

[RF Plumber]

A lot of guys trade out the recoil spring right away. Try a 16 lb. Wolf spring. Your Mil-Spec should run just fine with that.

[FR-8owner]

My factory recoil spring was weak. I replaced it with a wolff 16lb one.

[Jolly Rogers]

Have a Mil-Spec, took it to the range for the first time last month.
Feeding was good, accuracy was good, but, the slide didn,t always
close...occasionaly I had to push it with my thumb to get it into
battery. Has anyone else had this poblem??? and can it be resolved
by changing out the factory spring for a stonger one
Thanks...
May have just been a rough spot in the chamber or a little drag on the breech face. Shoot it some more. I had 2 or 3 of those in the first 100 rounds with my Loaded. Works fine now. Joe

[Longslide]

As Jolly and others have said - can be a common issue with a new pistol. Change the recoil spring if you wish. It could have been built with a 14lb spring versus a 16# spring - had that on a few of my NIB Springers assembled in Brazil.

Just shoot it - it will loosen up!

[bamrick1]

I put in a 16lb Wolf spring and have had no problems. Works great...
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj127/bamrick2/DSCN0403.jpg

[BeatNavy96]

This is my cherry post. I had the same problem with my Mil-Spec...2-3 FTFs with every 100 rounds or so fired. Very inconsistent when it happended and with which magazines (I've got three different makes) and I've got over 600 rounds through it now. Mil-Specs are supposed to come with a 16lb recoil spring. One of my shooting buddies told me to go to a 18lb spring. I called SA customer service today and the very nice gal told me I could send it back but they may not be able to replicate the problem. She recommended ordering a recoil spring pack from Wolff Springs (www.gunsprings.com) and trying some stiffer springs until I find the right one. Individual springs run $7.89 but I ordered a pack of five (16, 18.5, 20, 22, & 24) for $35 today. I'll give you the range report next time out.

[Tom]

Going with a heavier spring may help with FTF issues by forcing the slide into battery harder. Just keep in mind that springs work in both directions, and a stronger spring will retard the rearward movement of the slide and can cause FTE issues and actually worsen the FTF problem.

Stick with the stock recoil spring, unless you plan on using either light or hot loads. If you're having issues, it is likely due to magazine or extractor issues - a stronger spring may only mask the problem.

[Sooner44]

I have bought 6 Springfields over the past several years and have been involved in many other fellow shooters SAI purchases and have noticed 4 issues that were consistant will several of these pistols.

1: Tight chamer - Polish chamber

2: Rough feed ramp - Polish feed ramp (be careful)

3" Improperly tuned extractor - tune extractor

4: Weak Recoil Spring - Install wolfe 16# Spring (my factory springs were 14# or so it seemed)

Of course this is only my opinion, and experience. I'm sure I will be corrected in short order

[BeatNavy96]

I agree with #4 - the recoil spring feels pretty weak compared to my other 1911. Wolff recommends starting with the strongest spring and stepping down. SA customer service recommended starting with the 16lb spring and stepping up judiciously. I have a hunch that my stock spring isn't 16lb anyway so hopefully a 16lb Wolff spring will cure it.

[BeatNavy96]

OK, got my Wolff spring kit a couple weeks ago but it took until today to make it to the range. The 16lb Wolff spring definitely felt a lot stiffer than my stock spring, but after 3 FTFs in 80 rounds, I pretty much figured out that the recoil spring wasn't the problem. I called the rangemaster over and he directed me to their 1911 expert. We broke down my weapon and he found nothing wrong with it, although he said the chamber could use some polishing. However, when he saw what I was shooting (Remington UMC 230gr FMJ), he wrinkled his nose. He said in his experience the tolerances on Remington ammo are pretty loose and grabbed a a box of CCI Blazer 230gr FMJ. No matter what both of us did (2-hand, strong hand, weak hand, limp-wristing, rapid fire), we just couldn't get it to fail to feed. He told me to stay away from Remington ammo. Maybe that was the problem all along?

[Don]

I have consistenly used an 18# or 18.5# spring from Wolff in my Gov't sized / 5 inch 1911's of various makes {all .45 a.c.p.} and that has work great for me with std. or +P 230 grain ammo

one note, though, an 18# spring is not for low speed, slow, very light weight bullet target ammo that some folks like to shoot -- but will work super with any factory .45 std. ammo, such as Winchester 'white box' fmj /230 gr. ball ammo and you definitely would want an 18# spring for any +P ammo, which has a sharper recoil impulse.

that said, a 16# sporing 'should' work just fine -- especially after a couple of boxes of ammo for break in {approx. 100 rounds}

one way to judge whcih spring weight works best with your chosen ammo -- the empties should exit the gun and land at least 5 or 6 feet away, and no more than 10 or 12 feet away on the first 'bounce', or first contact with the ground -- even 12 to 15 feet away is ok, but beats up the gun a bit -- more than that is NOT good, and if less than about 5 or 6 feet, your spring is too strong for the ammo used.

the number of feet mentioned are approximations and once a gun is running right, you will know when the empties are too close or too far, just at a glance


Don

P.S. -- I have zero experience with Remington ammo -- and I use Win. 'white box' 230 gr. fmj -- or my equivilent reloads, both with cast and copper plated bullets -- I get just about the same result with all -- including the occasional Speer Gold Dot, carry ammo, in +P 200 JHP, or +P 230 gr. JHP -- when I change out my carry ammo, every so often, I shoot off the old carry ammo at the range

[Don]

re Springer Mil spec --

a super upgrade is the 'Storm Lake' mfg'd .45 a.c.p. bbl. sold by 'E.G.W.' {Evolution gun Works} -- the bbls. are part of a factory over-run on bbls. made for Sig's 1911, and fit perfectly in the Springfield's -- bbl., link and pin, plus bushing is $120 -- just lube and drop in -- it will 'break-in' with a couple or three clips of ammo -- just be sure to clean the slide recesses that the bbl lugs mate with, as it is such a good nd tight lock up, it will not like a lot of dirt and grit in those slide bbl lug recesses -- I just swab them out with cleaner and a Q-tip, then add a drop of oil

go to here to vierw the bbl at EGW's web site:

http://egw-guns.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=34_71&osCsid=4bb7f6e8bec61845c81e9586d0ff820e

my Springer got REAL serious about putting them all almost in one hole -- {from a rest, of course, as I cannot shoot as good as that gun does, especially now} -- after I got one, 3 of my buddies with Springers did the same, after they saw how well mine shot