Para Super Hawg recoil spring ??

[texas yankee]

Hi - I wanna replace the recoil spring in at least one of my Para Super Hawgs - I bought them used, with no idea of how much they'd been shot, and I had cycling problems with one of them - changing the recoil spring seems a likely, and inexpensive, first step.

Can anyone tell me what type of spring I should get, specifically, and where I could get it? I couldn't find anything on Wolff about longslide 1911s, and the guy on the phone from Wolff wasn't much help, either.

And I'm guessing that the Super Hawg and the Super Hawg Hi Cap would both use the same spring? THANKS!

[Hawkmoon]

I'm a bit surpsied that Wolff couldn't provide any advice. Their paper catalog from a few years ago has a recoil spring pack for longslide 1911s, but no specific information. But it's a starting point ... if they still offer the product. And it's on their web site:

https://www.gunsprings.com/COLT/1911.../mID1/dID1#800

I would suggest starting with the calibration kit. Once you figure out which spring works best for you, you'll know what to order in the future.

[texas yankee]

Finally found the longslide spring kit and talked with the right guy at Wolff - he advised against simply buying the spring kit, explaining that there would be quite a bit of gunsmithing and trial and error - I'm looking for more of a drop in approach - I think I found what I needed at Sarco - Para Ordnance Recoil Spring 6" 45 CAL
PAR40F.

[Spyros]

"Quite a bit of gunsmithing and trial and error"? Sure, you may have to snip off a coil or two, to eliminate binding. Other than that, I don't see what the fuss is about.

A couple of springs from Sarco ought to last you long enough for this not to matter.

[texas yankee]

Maybe i misunderstood the guy at Sarco, I don't know, but what I was looking for was a drop in spring, not a trial-and-error situation - it looks like Sarco had what I needed.

[Hawkmoon]

You still need to check for coil bind. You ALWAYS check for coil bind when installing a new recoil spring.

[Spyros]

What Hawk said. Never assume that a recoil spring, from any source (including the factory) will simply drop in. That's how barrel bushings get broken.

[texas yankee]

Thanks for the guidance about coil bind - I will check it with the replacement spring.

[texas yankee]

SO, I got some Para Ordnance 6" 1911 recoil springs from Sarco for my Super Hawg - the "6"" refers to the length of the barrel, as the springs are 9" long - the original spring that came out of the gun is 7" - so the Sarco springs are about 2" longer than the spring that came out of the Super Hawg - I was expecting a similar-sized replacement spring, since they were specifically designated as Para 6" 1911 springs - I guess I can try putting in the Sarco springs as they are, or clip them so they're maybe just slightly longer than the spring that came out of the gun - what's the best approach? And why do they ship 6" springs that are so much longer than the original spring ???

[11 Bravo]

Because the springs shorten with use. Put the new spring in and check for binding. If it doesn't bind you are good to go.
https://forum.m1911.org/content.php?122-How-to-test-if-your-recoil-spring-is-binding