1911 Commander recoil spring

[Charlie98]

I have 2 4" Kimber 1911 .45's, factor spec recoil spring is 22#, which is what I run. I ordered 4 Wolff 'Colt Commander 22#' springs, part #42222, and there is a significant difference between my factory spring and the new Wolff, this verified between my 2 pistols and a friend's 4" Kimber.



Out of the package, I can't even compress the Wolff spring enough to get it back into the pistol. I counted the coils on the factory spring and bushwhacked the Wolff spring... and was able to get it back into the pistol. It works reasonably well but I'll have to cut another coil off most likely to get 100% reliability with it.

Am I missing something here? I have used Wolff springs before across about 6 different autos and I have never run into this problem.

 

[Col. Harrumph]

I've replaced aging milsurps' factory springs with Wolff drop-ins which have always been a bit longer than the old originals, but fit well and worked. I suspect a mistake on their part.

 

[drband]

Looks like a full length Govt model spring.

 

[edwardware]

. . . a significant difference

I'm with @drband

14 coils on the old, 22 coils on the new. Wrong spring.

 

[Charlie98]

Looks like a full length Govt model spring.

Well... and that's what I was thinking, but I don't have a standard spring to compare it to, anymore.

 

[edwardware]

. . . but I don't have a standard spring to compare it to, anymore.

You can has the Google: linkeze.

 

[BBBBill]

You're not going to get that real Commander spring for a 4-1/4" gun to work in your 4" Kimber. The Kimber is similar to a Commander, but not the same as you are discovering. Several solutions. You can buy a Wilson flat wire spring and plug rated for 40,000 rounds, clip the Commander spring until it won't stack (very important), or buy the Wolff Kimber Pro specific spring - https://www.gunsprings.com/KIMBER/Compact & Pro Carry/cID1/mID32/dID413 It will be down the page. The Wilson spring is the best solution by far.
Wolff Improved XP Recoil Spring .45ACP
Wolff improved design recoil spring offers higher battery pressure along with a higher recoil rating, providing optimal functioning.
For all Pro Carry Series and Compact 4" Kimber guns only .45 ACP
SKU Description Price ($)
32725 KIMBER 4IN .45 PISTOL IMPROVED XP RECOIL SPG 7.89

 

[Charlie98]

The Wilson spring is the best solution by far.

Thanks for all that. I remember going to the Wolff website when I was looking for the right spring... I must have missed the Kimber-specific listing.

Why is the Wilson the best solution over the Wolff?

 

[BBBBill]

Why is the Wilson the best solution over the Wolff?

The Wolff spring is a standard round wire spring. Fine for larger variants of the 1911, but they have a very limited life span in the short guns. Hundreds of rounds vs thousands. The Wilson is a flat wire spring similar to the Glock spring that has been proven to last many more rounds. Wilson claims an average service life of 40,000 rounds. They use it in their in house builds. You will need the kit as it requires a different diameter recoil spring guide - https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Flat-W...-45-ACP-Chrome-Silicon-22-Lb/productinfo/651/ You may never have to change a recoil spring again.

 

[BBBBill]

Another factor that I forgot to mention earlier - While Kimber makes a pretty darned good product, they have made some errors across their 1911 product line. They have used the wrong spring in the gun from the beginning and continue to do so. They buy Officer spec springs (3-12" gun") for use in their 4" gun which is in between the Officer and true Commander lengths. When the Officer spec spring is used in the Kimber Pro/Compact it results in a lower weight in battery on the slide (the slide can feel "floppy") and can result in problems closing to battery. If you are shooting powder puff loads on the range that may be all right, but not for self defense.

 

[drband]

I had a RIA 4" "mid-size" .45 at one point. I just took a standard commander length spring and cut coils off so it did not bind. It seemed to run great! (I wish I had not traded that gun away!)

I suspect the Kimber 4" would work the same way, though I was always interested in the flat-wire spring set-up. It was new at the time and I was satisfied with the standard coil spring.

 

[Charlie98]

Another factor that I forgot to mention earlier - While Kimber makes a pretty darned good product, they have made some errors across their 1911 product line. They have used the wrong spring in the gun from the beginning and continue to do so. They buy Officer spec springs (3-12" gun") for use in their 4" gun which is in between the Officer and true Commander lengths. When the Officer spec spring is used in the Kimber Pro/Compact it results in a lower weight in battery on the slide (the slide can feel "floppy") and can result in problems closing to battery. If you are shooting powder puff loads on the range that may be all right, but not for self defense.

That describes exactly what is going on with the cut-down spring I'm using right now... it feels like mush going into battery, the other pistol with the factory spring does not. I went ahead and ordered some of the Wolff springs for now, I may wind up with the flat-wire setup eventually if I feel they are not working well. I don't carry the pistol with the issue anymore, but I do carry the other once in a while... so reliability is paramount. I don't shoot powder-puff target loads, either.

The pistols in question... stainless Pro Eclipse and Pro Carry...

 

[BBBBill]

Just expand on "Kimber makes pretty darned good product" comment above - Three other issues are common, one in every Kimber 1911 based gun and two fairly often in the same. The one in every gun is the incorrect firing pin stop (FPS). For some reason they insist on using an S80 9mm FPS in every gun, no matter the caliber. Kimber doesn't use the S80 firing pin safety do there's no reason to use that FPS. Using that creates a potential trap for the push rod (that activates the firing pin block) upon reassembly. You can shear off the tip of the push rod. It is possible to do that, not notice it, and end up with a non-function gun in your holster or on your bedside. That is a fatal flaw that needs to be corrected at the user level since Kimber won't do it. Buy a good quality stop (S70 type in the correct caliber) from EGW, fit it, and forget it. The other occasional issues are barrel bump and an incorrectly reamed (actually not finish reamed) chamber. Barrel bump will show up as dents on the lower front corner of the lower lugs. It can be minor and self limiting or it can be worse and cause issues like failure to go into battery completely. As for the chamber, Kimber (and others) use a boring bar to cut their chambers. Sometimes the boring bar gets dull, flexes, or gets out of adjustment and they don't catch it during QC. if you are not having any issues then no worries. If you cannot drop a round in a clean chamber and have it at least go flush then you need to run a chamber reamer in to finish ream.

Other brands have their own issues. None are perfect.