Changing springs in a 1911

[bluehen59]

How often should I change the springs, namely the recoil spring in a 1911? I have a Kimber Eclipse which I absolutely love. It shoots great, but what signs will present themselves when its time to freshen the springs?

 

[Black Majik]

I change every 2500 rounds. Of course YMMV.

 

[firestarter]

I agree with the first poster, 2000-2500 rounds.

 

[Conqueror]

Is this a carry gun or a range gun? What barrel length?

The shorter the 1911, the more springs it will go through. Kimber recommends swapping the 3" springs every 800-1000 rounds IIRC. A 5" carry gun will be fine with 3000 or so.

A range gun doesn't need to be re-sprung nearly so often IMO, since 100% reliability isn't quite so important. Watch for frame battering or increased felt recoil. Probably every 10k.

 

[Ken Rainey]

According to Kimber's website, the full size (5 inch) and Ultra models (3 inch - dual spring) have a recoil spring life of 1500 to 2000 rds, depending on ammo, while the compact (4 inch) models have between 500 to 1000 rd spring life. It also says that if your pistol is ejecting empty brass farther than 15 feet away, it may be time for a new recoil spring. Says that 5 to 10 feet is normal....???

I run my full size pistols to at least 2000 rds since I mainly fire my own reloads that are lighter loaded for accuracy....could probably go to 2500 or higher. If I used standard full power loads all the time, I'd stick to the 2000 rd limit as a max. I don't use any +P ammo in my .45s.