Can someone tell me the difference between the 10# and 18# recoil spring?

[rvulcan500]

What are the different recoils springs for, what type of ammo ect.
many thans for the help. :)

[wichaka]

Generally, a lighter spring are for lighter loads........and the heavier spring for heavier loads.

But even the factory spring rarely come as they are supposed to. Most 16lb springs measure out at around 14+ and the Commander 18lbs are usually in the 16-17lb range. The most consistant seems to be Wolff........they average around 1/10 of a lb off the claimed weight.

There are a few other things than the recoil spring that factor into a 1911 recoil. The bottom radius of the firing pin stop, the main spring, and the tightness of the gun in general.

Hope that helps.

[rvulcan500]

Thanks alot for the info. It is a big help.
Ric

[wichaka]

Hey Tuner........you might want to chime in here with your spring testing results. If you've got some real technical stuff.....1911Tuner is the man.

I just build 'em.........he tells me all the slide rule stuff........like Rockwell hardness of parts, spring lbs etc.

[1911Tuner]

Howdy rvulcan,

Wichaka nailed this one pretty well. About all I can add is that it's better to underspring the slide than overspring...purely on a functional standpoint. That's got a limit, of course...and a spring that's too light for the ammo will be
rough on the slide and frame. I'd say 14 to 16 pounds is good for hardball spec ammo...and 16 for the high-performance 230-grain ammo. I wouldn't step up to 18 unless using a bullet that's heavier than 230-grains, driven to
about 800 fps. Bullets lighter than 230 require lighter springs for best function, even for the ammo the plus P category. Advice to use a heavy spring for higher pressure ammo comes from people who don't understand the way that the gun works. By the time the spring has any real effect, the bullet is gone and the pressure has fallen off to nearly nothing.

The spring has nothing to do with containing pressure and very little to do with barrel unlock timing. It has everything to do with controlling the slide's rearward speed after the shot, and the return to battery. Note that if you have failures to go completely to battery, going to a heavier spring may generate enough push to overcome the real problem...but it's not the way to cure the problem. If the gun is right, it should feed and go to to battery reliably under finger pressure with the spring removed from the gun. Also,
if you go with the idea of using a heavier recoil spring to reduce felt recoil, it will have the exact opposite effect.

A recoil spring that's too heavy has a very real effect on the reliability of the gun because the slide is moving forward faster after the recoil cycle, and makes the magazine timing more critical. If the slide moves too fast for the magazine to keep up with, the slide can actually outrun the upcoming round and ride over it wiithout stripping it from the magazine...here is the classic
bolt-over-base...or "Rideover Feed." There ae other potential problems, but this one is the most obvious.

Hope this helps...

Tuner

[rvulcan500]

Tuner,
Thank you