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Thread: aging

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  1. #1
    Join Date
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    aging

    I have a Norinco Model of the 1911A1 that I have owned for about 25 years.

    I am getting older, more frail and am having a bit of difficulty racking the slide with 100% success.

    I can do so if I cock the hammer first, but I after all these years I find it hard to make that act habitual.

    I think I read somewhere a long time ago that Norinco 1911s were shipped with heavier recoil springs to pass import regs more easily (but that was so long ago, I don't know, maybe I imagined it).

    Can a less stiff recoil spring be installed that would be easier for 70 year old hands and still be utterly reliable?


    Thanks,

    Rmocarsky

  2. #2
    Join Date
    31st July 2005
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    Rmocarsky - I too am going on 71 yrs old and have a full size Norinco .45 ACP. Thank God I can still manage to rack the slide to load a round in the chamber using the sling shot method. Yes, cocking the hammer may help. So instead of using the factory standard weight of 16# try 14#. However that might put a lot of strain on the frame when the slide recoils. You may also use a recoil buffer to protect the frame from cracking. 1911 experts out there what do you all think?

    CONVENTIONAL RECOIL SPRINGS - .45 ACP

    Reduced Power...: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Lb.
    Factory Standard.: 16 Lb.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    25th September 2011
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    As a fellow septugenarian, you have my deepest empathies. You might also try a lighter mainspring. Be certain to run safety checks if you ever replace something in the ignition system and check for reliable primer strikes. If there is a flat bottom firing pin stop on your Norinco, replace it with a radiused firing pin stop. Flat firing pin stops have decreased leverager on the hammer as they contact the hammer lower than a radiused stop.
    Likes (1) :
    MuyModesto (22nd November 2019)


  4. #4
    Join Date
    2nd June 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ric4509 View Post
    Rmocarsky - I too am going on 71 yrs old and have a full size Norinco .45 ACP. Thank God I can still manage to rack the slide to load a round in the chamber using the sling shot method. Yes, cocking the hammer may help. So instead of using the factory standard weight of 16# try 14#. However that might put a lot of strain on the frame when the slide recoils. You may also use a recoil buffer to protect the frame from cracking. 1911 experts out there what do you all think?
    The original design for the M1911 called for a recoil spring of 13.55 pounds, plus-or-minus .60 pounds, at a compressed length of 1.81 inches. Call it 14 pounds. While modern manufacturers seem to have standardized on 16 pounds as the "standard" recoil spring (except for those that use 18-pound recoil springs as standard), we don't know if that's what Norinco used or if their recoil springs are heavier.

    In any case, the function of the recoil spring is not to protect the receiver from shock, its function is to load the next round and to return the slide to battery. 1911Tuner has fired 1911s with NO recoil spring in place and not incurred any damage. By all means, try a 14-pound recoil spring and, at the same time, try a 21-pound or even a 19-pound hammer spring.
    Hawkmoon
    On a good day, can hit the broad side of a barn ... from the inside
    Likes (1) :
    MuyModesto (13th March 2020)


  5. #5
    Join Date
    9th June 2004
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    Yes but those ancestral real 1911s also had small radius firing pin stops which increased resistance from the 23 lb mainspring.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Watson View Post
    Yes but those ancestral real 1911s also had small radius firing pin stops which increased resistance from the 23 lb mainspring.
    True, but these numbers are from a U.S. Army and Armament Command drawing dated January 15, 1982, which was long after the M1911A1 had switched to the "large" radius firing pin stop. The reason for the change in the firing pin stop was to make the pistol easier to cock and to rack the slide. It would have been illogical to make one change toward that goal and then increase the strength of the recoil spring, which would have worked to negate the effect of the firing pin stop change.
    Hawkmoon
    On a good day, can hit the broad side of a barn ... from the inside

  7. #7
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    Good enough or left hand didn't know what the right was doing?
    Where did Wolff get the idea that 16 is correct?

  8. #8
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    17th September 2008
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    The Cammer Hammer by Cammer Technologies can help make the slide easier to rack also.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    23rd November 2005
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    I’m having the same problem racking slides. I’m working out at 69 yo now doing dumbbells. I started out with one pounders first. I’m with two pounders now, getting more strength. Cancer 12 years ago took its toll, I should of worked out sooner.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    I have gone to the push-push rack as commonly recommended for women.
    And lighter springs.
    And lighter loads.
    Likes (1) :
    MuyModesto (22nd November 2019)


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