1911 - How often should I change my springs?

[rock jock]

Yesterday I changed the recoil spring on my Kimber Compact for the first time. The gun has about 1200 rounds through it and racking the slide was feeling pretty mushy. Its like having a new gun now. Very tight and solid. This makes me wonder, though. How often should I be switching out the other springs on the gun?

BTW, I'm not even sure I even know all the springs on a 1911 - recoil, mainspring, hammer, extractor,.........any others?

 

[Coltdriver]

Some will tell you every 300 rounds, others will go higher than 500.

I used to change springs in between those two numbers and it gave the gun a more consistent feel. I think its a good idea to toss the old springs because they sure are hard to tell apart when you get a pile of them in your parts bag

 

[dmftoy1]

I think my kimber owner's manual says 1k on the recoil spring. I can go look it up if you need.

Regards,
Dave

 

[rock jock]

Thanks, Dave. I have an owners manual, but obviously I never looked it over that closely. Since I now shhot the Kimber more than any other gun, I will probably buy several recoil springs and keep them handy. How about the other springs?

 

[dmftoy1]

In my manual it lists 3-4 springs and a replacement schedule. I don't know it off the top of my head but I know it's in the manual. Let me know if you want me to look it up.

The wolf springs aren't too bad pricewise so I just keep a couple on hand and when it's time to reload my empty brass it's time to replace springs!

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[dmftoy1]

Ok, looks like you can go here: http://www.kimberamerica.com and download the manual. The one I downloaded for what I 'think' is your pistol says the following:

Recoil spring - every 800 rounds
firing pin spring - every 5000 rounds
mainspring - every 5000 rounds.

regards,
Dave

 

[Silent Bob]

5,000 rounds for a mainspring? That can't be right. 20,000 to 25,000 sounds a little more realistic, even for the weird little 1911s.

 

[dsk]

300-500 rounds for a mainspring? Must be a typo, or else you're single-handedly supporting the gunspring industry. 3,000-5,000 rounds is more like it, and that goes for ANY type of handgun.

 

[Kruzr]

The 4" Kimbers need frequent replacement. They use a full diameter Officer's spring at 22#. Kimber recommends 800 rounds as noted above. Most people I know w/4" Kimbers, including myself, usually go 1000 - 1100 for recoil springs.