colt combat commander

[walking tall]

i called colt today and they told me that the spring for this commander does not do it by poundage but coils, about 28. my question is what poundage is this. I heard a colt commander takes a twentythree lbs.
thanks

[Hill]

I just got a Wilson "Custom Tune" kit of two recoil, a mainspring, a FP spring for Commander and the recoil springs are marked 12# and 20# handwritten on their individual sleeves, if that helps.

[wichaka]

You won't know the true lbs without knowing diameter of the wire they use for the spring.

Most are supposed to be rated at 18lbs.

I, like Tuner cut down a standard Gov length spring to the 24th or 23 1/2 coils. This puts that spring in the 17lb+ range. Plus they are cheaper than buying a Commander spring.

[1911Tuner]

Colt said 28 coils? Wow. Hope the wire diameter is about .040 or less.

The generally accepted rating for a Commander with a standard recoil system is 18 pounds...but that's a little oversprung, IMO and I've never checked a NIB Colt Commander spring that went over about 16 pounds.

If you Commander has a standard recoil system...none of this reverse-plug/bushingless nonsense:

Order a Wolff 16 pound spring for the 5-inch gun. Trim the spring to 25 full turns, install it...and check for coil bind. (If you don't know how, sing out.) Trim a half-coil at a time until the coil bind is gone. You may not need to trim any...or a full coil at the very most. You should wind up with a spring that provides about 16-16.5 pounds of resistance at full slide travel, which is a gracious plenty unless you try to make a .44 Magnum out of your .45 caliber pistol with handloads.

[walking tall]

Turner,
I have a 18.5lb wolff spring with 31 or 32 coils for a GM,if i cut at the 25th or 24 1/2 will this suffice ?

[John]

No, it will be more than what Tuner suggests, and what I also found to be the optimum for Commanders. You need to start with a 16 lbs spring for the Government and trim it until it stops binding.

[walking tall]

Thanks gentlemen