How often should you replace springs?

[PirateRadio]

How often you you replace the recoil springs in your handguns?

Stupid question, I know. But my 1911 doesn't seem to slide all the way forward on every shot anymore. It sometimes gets stuck a few centimeters short and I have to nudge it forward with my thumb and the gun only has 1000 rounds through it.

 

[Black Majik]

For a fullsize 1911, I replace every 2000 - 2500 rounds. Smaller/subcompact 1911s require the springs to be replace much sooner, around every thousand rounds. Of course, this is for 1911s chambered in .45 ACP.

What 1911 model do you have?

 

[PirateRadio]

SA Mil-spec in .45

I love this gun.... but I've had so many problems with it....

 

[Hoppy590]

spend the 8$ and get a Wolff 16 or 18 lb spring they are excellent

 

[PirateRadio]

Thanks for the info Hoppy!

Does anyone happen to know what would have come stock in this gun?

 

[rcmodel]

16 pound is stock 1911 mil-spec & commercial Colt.

Anyones guess what Springfield used.

rcmodel

 

[PirateRadio]

One more question....

I'm looking at Wolff's website and they have the springs for the smaller Springfield 1911s but I don't see ones for the the full size. Does that mean I just need to grab the one from the Colt section?

 

[1911Tuner]

Both Colt and Springfield install recoil springs in their 5-inch guns that fall a little short of 16 pounds. Most run to about 14 or so. A new Wolff 16-pound spring might solve your failure to return to battery issue...but that doesn't mean that it's cured. If the gun is right, it should feed and go to battery with a 10-pound spring.

I'm still having a problem figuring out how 16 pounds got to be standard for 5-inch guns. It was never specified in the original prints. Only the wire diameter and number of active coils...which works out to be about 14.5-15 pounds as installed in the gun at full slide travel.

Oh well...

Your problem suggests that the extractor tension is a little high...or it may just be that the channel is impacted.

Pull the extractor and clean it. Clean the channel while you've got it out. A .22 rimfire pistol brush is ideal. Pistol brush. The rifle brushes are a little too long.

If you pistol is a parkerized Springfield GI Mil-Spec...Use a good grade of low viscosity oil in the rails...liberal amounts...and hand-cycle the slide a couple hundred times, adding oil as necessary. Sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 is good. Marvel Mystery Oil will also work.
Easier to do it you remove the barrel and recoil system. The parked Springfields are a bit tight because of the parkerizing.

 

[Steve C]

If you shoot hot reloads then a spring replacement every couple thousand rounds may be good insurance. I have .45's I've put more than 10K rounds of mixed wad cutters and factory level ball through with the original springs and there's no indication a replacement is needed (ie. empties thrown further than normal).

As mentioned, the slide closing problem isn't usually a recoil spring problem. Usually its an ammo problem (slightly out of dimension handloads) or a dirty gun.

 

[PirateRadio]

Thanks for the info everyone! I think I'll hold off on the springs and trying messing with the extractor as stated above.

 

[10-Ring]

On my guns that I shoot strictly +P rounds, every 5000 rounds. On my guns that get mostly ball ammo, every 10,000 rounds.

 

[possum]

my rule of thumb is every 3000rds, that is for all my handguns. i also use wolffe springs whenever avaliable. do they need it that soon probally not and most guns will go much longer than that but i play the safe side.

 

[Sunray]

"...only has 1000 rounds through it..." How often have you cleaned it? You shouldn't need a new spring after 1,000 rounds.
Wolff says the factory recoil spring in a Springfield XD is 18.5 lbs. 16 lbs for a Colt.
"...got to be standard..." Everybody wants an exact number. As in, "My gun doesn't work. What weight spring do I need?".

 

[mtngunr]

Hey, Tuner, he might also be having slight symptoms of the 3pt-jam, which seems to be getting more common in many guns?.....