45 ACP recoil spring and +p Loads

[DetroitStudent]

Hey all,
I can't thank you enough for all of your help on this forum- I have a question though. Some people say that if you shoot +P loads in 45 ACP you should have a stiffer recoil spring. Is this the case? I have a glock 21, and I want to make sure functioning is always 100%. Please let me know what to do

Detroitstudent

 

[CPshooter]

Unless you plan to shoot ONLY +P rounds out of your gun, range time included, don't change anything!

 

[JoeHatley]

Shoot it. If your cases are ejecting more than 6 or 7 feet, you may want to try bumping up the recoil spring a pound or two.

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[rantingredneck]

It's going to be very gun-dependent. My Ruger P90 was throwing cases a country mile whether they were +P or no. I swapped it out for a heavier one along with a heavier firing pin spring and things are much better. You'll definitely want to put it through a full reliability test series before you rely on it for SD.

 

[1911Tuner]

Many years ago, a man named John Browning sat down with an entire team of engineers from Colt for an assignment. They worked long and hard...sometimes loooong into the night...to design a .45 caliber pistol for the US Army. They carefully worked out all the spring rates and slide velocities...both backward and forward...and they refused to rest until they got it juuuust right! They didn't reach down and pull it outta their panty hose. They used algebra and geometry and calculus and triggernometry ...and they worked it out. And then they fine-tuned it and noted all the little details...and included everything in the specifications so that the gun could be mass-produced exactly the way that they designed it. Engineers with years of experience...and a man whose sheer genius for firearms design still astounds the top men in the field today...which is why so many steal his ideas and incorporate them into their designs...including Gaston Glock.

The recoil spring doesn't have a thing to do with handling pressures, and the added slide velocity and impact will change very little between that generated by a standard load and a +p load. There are better ways of controlling that anyway, without resorting to overpowered recoil springs and the like.

 

[.357 magnum]

+1911 Tuner

There should be no problem with most modern Auto-Loaders. I would not run 230gr+P exclusively [wear down the gun a bit faster] You obviously have to practice with them some of the time. Believe me I may not be a Glock fan, but that Glock can hold up to +P ammo just the way it is! Personally I really like the Winchester 230gr Ranger T's. Excellent standard load! Really opens from any barrel 4-5 inches!

The Best to You and Yours!

Frank