Couple Questions About Reducing On Semi-Automatic...

If you plan on shooting it much just a light wipe down is good enough. Since it isn’t made anymore I’d get whatever spare springs and such as I could while I could. I’d definitely get a few extra mags as well, but I’m comfortable with at least 5 for each semi auto I own.

Other than springs, and magazines , I would think perhaps a firing pin, and extractor. Not directly familiar, but if it has a buffer a couple extra would be OK.

How much shooting is “quite a bit”.

i would probably just stick with the CLP.

i would not start messing with spring weights and stuff. Just keep a couple recoil springs on hand that duplicate OEM performance, and maybe a spare set of miscellaneous springs if you want just to have on hand (including a magazine spring). All of these should be readily available from Wolff or similar. An extractor and firing pin would be nice, but I’m betting you a gunsmith can source those easy enough if you need them. Your smith likely has parts in common with other s&w offerings so my guess i s parts wont be too hard to find.

would look into a few more magazines if you can afford to do so. Magazines are wear items and can be a source of issues with semiautomatic handguns.
So locate at least one more to shoot with and two more to stow away with your springs. These are also easy to find as they are the same magazines as smith and wesson’s 4006-series guns.

Quick note-from the 2 minutes of research i did it appears there may be a few non-critical internal parts that are plastic. Check your recoil spring guide and see if that is plastic. At your option and convenience you may wish to see about subbing a metal one if you are going to be shooting a whole bunch.

Spare recoil spring or two if you plan to do a LOT of shooting. A spare guide rod can't hurt, a couple of spare mags. As others have stated..inspect your gun frequently and wipe it down with an oily cloth after inspection and handling. Take care of it and it will take care of you by giving years of trouble free service.

Scrod314 said:

Hello...
Just rubbing my gun down with a rag and some CLP should prevent corrosion on my gun? Should I apply any type of coating, like that Renaissance stuff?

Click to expand...

Everyone has their own preference in gun oil. I like Lucas Extreme Duty gun oil, mostly because it comes in a bottle that's convenient for getting the oil into small nooks and crannies. Refill with the oil of your choice once you use it up.

Scrod314 said:

I bought it with 2 magazines. Get at least 1 more magazine?

Click to expand...

I try to have a minimum of ten mags per weapon. Not really possible to have too many mags.

I keep all my firearms lightly oiled and in a climate controlled safe. I wipe them down after I handle them to prevent fingerprint and skin oils from causing problems. The last thing to touch them going back in is an oiled rag. If I were to set them up for long term storage (several years) I would use waxes, vapor bags and such. Light oil works just fine and I have no rust problems.

The most common point of failure in virtually any semi-auto is the magazine. The solution is easy: have as many as you can. The 411 had some pretty small sights if I remember right, so you may want to look around for something better if you have a hard time seeing them. Being an older firearm, parts might be tough to come by so if you need any help looking, feel free to ask around.

"Spare parts" is complicated. I have a Colt Series 70 that's past 10,000 rounds and the only thing it's ever broken was a collet bushing. I've plenty of "old" firearms that have never broken a single part, and have unknowable round counts.

Light oiling is your friend internally. Externally, a silicone rod & reel cloth can be an answer.

Magazines? No right answer. Three to four is minimal (unless you like spending time at the range loading them). They are like potato chips, hard to have just one. Best way, though, is to buy them when found with a good price, rather than focusing on a specific quantity. Ok, you wind up with two of everything, but, really, that's ok.

I have accumulated a fairly large store of spare parts for the following:

Dan Wesson 15-2 revolvers
Dan Wesson 44 revolver.
S&W 5906, 6906, 4506.
Astra A75.
Tanfoglio CZ clones.
S&W N Frame revolvers.

What have I used over the last 40+ years? This is not counting the new dud guns I had bought from 1978 to about 1982, when it seemed like the only good gun I could get was a used one, with a very few exceptions, like my Beretta 84, 92, and Browning BDA.
Mainspring, trigger spring, hand, and bolt spring for the DW 15-2 (Only one part per revolver, out of about 14 I've owned)
Screw for the 4506, grips for an older 5906.
Nothing on the Astra. I bought a firing pin a long long time ago, and never used it.
Recoil springs for all the Tanfo clones. They all got one, needed or not.
A couple of screws on the N frames. Someone chewed up a couple, and it bugged me.

That's it, period.

I have some other parts for other guns, but not in the quantity of the above ones. I have almost a complete DW 15-2 in castings(no trigger), and have the small parts for about 10 revolvers. I had 12 hands for them alone last time I looked a few years back.

I haven’t wiped down the outside of a firearm with any type of oil since the late sixties. I was having problems with finding light rust even in my rather dry claimant conditions back then and decided to see how ordinary wax would do. It solved my rust problems completely. I see no need to buy any other product when ordinary Pledge paste wax has done such an excellent job for me for all these years.

The only spare parts I keep around are a few recoil buffers for my S&W 22a pistol as those can sometimes be scarce.

Keep the standard weight recoil spring unless you are having cycling problems.

I keep mags in sets of four. That grouping would be one in the gun, two for belt carry, and a spare for the set. Having multiple sets of four would be a good idea, especially for a gun that is out of production. As hard as finding mags for out of production guns probably is, it is probably harder to find parts for those mags, such as followers and springs, though Wolff Gunsprings probably still has springs for those mags.

Just a heads up, when doing your search for mags, nearly nobody on this forum (I'd say nobody, but I'm sure there is somebody out there that would recommend them) is going to recommend Pro-Mag mags.

It will be 5000 + rounds before you start to wear things out. Get a spare recoil spring and a couple extra magazines.
Then the harder part will be finding 5000 rounds of ammo.

After I finish cleaning a handgun after a shooting trip I will rub all of the metal surfaces with a cloth that has a tiny amount of oil on it. It's more to make sure there's not some unnoticed dirt on the finish than anything.

That's all I do to mine, and none of the ones I shoot regularly ever rust. They just get some honest wear from shooting them.

If I leave them in the gun safe for years without shooting them, it's good to inspect them every so often. That's when I will occasionally see a little bit of surface rust.

The ones that get shot regularly are never a problem.

Firearms are very durable. If the parts don't break in the first 100-200 rounds they are generally good for tens of thousands more.
Springs wear though use, so, shooting 10,000 rounds per year will wear sooner than 1000 rounds per year.
Firearms last.
A century or more.

Where will those parts wind up when your collection needs to pass on after you? Are they bagged and explicitly labeled, or will they get thrown in a box to be sold as one item in the auction?

Once you slow down and aren't shooting as much, it's time to let them go while you can maximize their resale instead of them being dumped for whatever they are worth - and hopefully the popularity of those guns and parts is still high. As time goes by, so do fashions in guns, and many decline in value, even less than we paid for them. Generations come who never heard of things like the 1954 Pistol trials, the M39, S&W 4566TSW or HK VP70's. It's like grandpa's old Hamilton pocket watch. Just another old pocket watch to the new generation, and wind it? Daily? Are you kidding?

It's only worth what somebody else wants to pay for it, not what we think. A local collector recently passed, and his glass case with hundreds of old knives for $45 and up will likely sell in bulk one price for the lot. Once culled the rejects will filter out until they resurface in a box at a flea market. And some unidentified springs from - ?? Just a small box of parts for $10.

Be real careful what you ask for shooting older guns. There is a point where they make a better deal sold off rather than sitting losing value every day.

Scrod314 said:

I know these guns are not made anymore. Would you recommend buying spare parts to have on hand if I plan on shooting it a lot? If so, what parts are essential? I bought it with 2 magazines.

Click to expand...

Personally I wouldn't, primarily because the gun has an alloy frame which is usually subjected to the most wear. Even if the gun was high dollar (it's not) or had significant sentimental value (probably not)...... I wouldn't sink money into spare parts that I'd probably never need.

Tirod said:

Where will those parts wind up when your collection needs to pass on after you?

Click to expand...

If it bothers you leave instructions with someone that will carry them out or put it in a will. The dead have no concerns.

I can't stand oil on (exterior of) my guns...of any kind. I wax mine either with Renaissance Wax, or in a pinch, Pledge furniture polish does a decent job.

Spare parts? The next part on a gun that breaks for me will be the first one, so I don't bother with spares.

Magazines, I keep a couple-three around I've never seen much reason for more than that.