1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Since nobody has opened this one up, I think I'll jump in it.
The recoil spring is another oft-misunderstood part of the 1911 pistol, and because of this misunderstanding, we often get maddening malfunctions that can usually be fixed double quick...or avoided altogether by simply refraining from overspringing the gun. The biggest problem with all these
different spring ratings is that it leads to messin' around with'em. Why?
"Well pardner...if ya don't run a good strong spring in that there shooter,
yer gonna beat the frame to death in 500 rounds." Dontcha just love
gunshop commandos?
My other favorite is the shock buffer.
Now, how did we ever get along before the shock buffer was invented?
There is one thing to keep in mind on this issue: That spring works both
ways. Going to a heavier spring to reduce frame to slide impact is just going to redirect the force on the feeding stroke and beat on the slidestop
pin and lower lug feet. Stronger spring=slower backward=faster forward.
There's just no such thing as a free lunch.
There's another catch. Slower backward/faster forward can also lead to
bolt-over-base stoppages...The dreaded rideover feed. Actually, the two
descriptions are closely related, but not quite the same thing. The rideover
feed is aggravating, while the bolt-over is potentially dangerous. Bolt-overs usually stick the round striaght up in the port, with the round caught between the slide and the barrel hood. If the conditions are just right, the
primer can be pressure detonated, and you have a miniature fragmentation device going off 2 feet from the end of your nose. What
causes a bolt-over-base malfunction? Simple. The slide is outrunning the
magazine, and it generally happens on the last round, when magazine spring tension is at a minimum. It can't get the round up in time for the
breechface to hit the back of the rim, and the slide grabs it in the extractor
groove. In a rideover, the slide meets the round farther forward of the groove, and usually just pushes it back into the magazine, and gouges the
side of the case a little. Sometimes it jams it between the slide and the
bottom of the barrel throat, but the round doesn't stovepipe.
When you change the spring rate, you have effectively altered the slide timing. If the magazine spring isn't at optimum, you have problems. You
have also redirected the force within the system.
There are some folks who, after experiencing a few failures to return to
full battery, figure that a heavier spring will provide enough extra push to
finish chambering the round. Well, that works...sometimes, but it's a band-aid for the real problem. Zit make-up for the pimple in the feeding stroke.
A pistol that is properly set up to feed will feed just fine with a 10-pound
recoil spring...or less. I set mine up to feed with finger pressure on the back of the slide with the recoil spring out of the gun, and won't rest until it will. After that, it's all in the magazine.
Another potential problem is that an oversprung pistol is more grip sensitive. That is, a loose grip can lead to the "Limp Grip Syndrome".
Actually, that gets the blame for malfunctons that aren't the fault of the
firing grip most of the time. Again, if the pistol is properly set-up, it should
function with the loosest grip that you can manage...and locking the slide
is only half the measure of a good set-up. It must also feed. My test is to
cradle the gun loosely on top of my hand, the web agains the grip safety, and the center of my index finger pulling the trigger. No other support
from the other fingers. Wrist broken on two planes, the pistol has to
run through a full magazine, kick the last round clear of the port and lock
the slide before I'll carry it.
This will prompt some questions...and probably some lively...debates
("My gun runs just fine with a 25 pound spring, pardner.")
But I have to stand pat on this spring thing. After it's been thoroughly
trounced, I'll start another thread on spring tuning and determining the
right spring for a given application...It's a math thing, and works out damn
close 95% of the time.
Standin by with flame suit on....
Tuner
The recoil spring is another oft-misunderstood part of the 1911 pistol, and because of this misunderstanding, we often get maddening malfunctions that can usually be fixed double quick...or avoided altogether by simply refraining from overspringing the gun. The biggest problem with all these
different spring ratings is that it leads to messin' around with'em. Why?
"Well pardner...if ya don't run a good strong spring in that there shooter,
yer gonna beat the frame to death in 500 rounds." Dontcha just love
gunshop commandos?
My other favorite is the shock buffer.Now, how did we ever get along before the shock buffer was invented?
There is one thing to keep in mind on this issue: That spring works both
ways. Going to a heavier spring to reduce frame to slide impact is just going to redirect the force on the feeding stroke and beat on the slidestop
pin and lower lug feet. Stronger spring=slower backward=faster forward.
There's just no such thing as a free lunch.
There's another catch. Slower backward/faster forward can also lead to
bolt-over-base stoppages...The dreaded rideover feed. Actually, the two
descriptions are closely related, but not quite the same thing. The rideover
feed is aggravating, while the bolt-over is potentially dangerous. Bolt-overs usually stick the round striaght up in the port, with the round caught between the slide and the barrel hood. If the conditions are just right, the
primer can be pressure detonated, and you have a miniature fragmentation device going off 2 feet from the end of your nose. What
causes a bolt-over-base malfunction? Simple. The slide is outrunning the
magazine, and it generally happens on the last round, when magazine spring tension is at a minimum. It can't get the round up in time for the
breechface to hit the back of the rim, and the slide grabs it in the extractor
groove. In a rideover, the slide meets the round farther forward of the groove, and usually just pushes it back into the magazine, and gouges the
side of the case a little. Sometimes it jams it between the slide and the
bottom of the barrel throat, but the round doesn't stovepipe.
When you change the spring rate, you have effectively altered the slide timing. If the magazine spring isn't at optimum, you have problems. You
have also redirected the force within the system.
There are some folks who, after experiencing a few failures to return to
full battery, figure that a heavier spring will provide enough extra push to
finish chambering the round. Well, that works...sometimes, but it's a band-aid for the real problem. Zit make-up for the pimple in the feeding stroke.
A pistol that is properly set up to feed will feed just fine with a 10-pound
recoil spring...or less. I set mine up to feed with finger pressure on the back of the slide with the recoil spring out of the gun, and won't rest until it will. After that, it's all in the magazine.
Another potential problem is that an oversprung pistol is more grip sensitive. That is, a loose grip can lead to the "Limp Grip Syndrome".
Actually, that gets the blame for malfunctons that aren't the fault of the
firing grip most of the time. Again, if the pistol is properly set-up, it should
function with the loosest grip that you can manage...and locking the slide
is only half the measure of a good set-up. It must also feed. My test is to
cradle the gun loosely on top of my hand, the web agains the grip safety, and the center of my index finger pulling the trigger. No other support
from the other fingers. Wrist broken on two planes, the pistol has to
run through a full magazine, kick the last round clear of the port and lock
the slide before I'll carry it.
This will prompt some questions...and probably some lively...debates
("My gun runs just fine with a 25 pound spring, pardner.")
But I have to stand pat on this spring thing. After it's been thoroughly
trounced, I'll start another thread on spring tuning and determining the
right spring for a given application...It's a math thing, and works out damn
close 95% of the time.
Standin by with flame suit on....
Tuner
