keeping slides locked back?

[Sport45]

I will, personally, look into it in the near future. Who knows? Maybe I will write that next article about "Spring set." Sounds like a good topic to me.

I'd love to read it. I believe you will thoroughly research the subject and write (or edit) an unbiased report of your findings. Please PM me with the name of your publication and let me know when it's out. (I know enough to know I don't know everything about anything and even less about everything.)

Thanks for the thoughtful discussion.

 

[Ed Ames]

All gun makers make only springs that cannot be overcompressed in the firearms they manufacture, therefore they can never be weakened by indefinite periods of compression.

Why would you say that though?

Engineering is always about compromise. One valid compromise is the lifespan of easily replaced parts "maintenance/wear items" to attain a certain size/weight/performance goal. A great example is car brake pads. It would be possible to design brake pads that would last longer than the projected life of the car. 250,000 mile pads. The problem is that such longevity would cost some combination of stopping performance (reduced stopping power), suspension performance (increased weight affecting sprung:unsprung weight ratio), money (unobtanium pads that cost thousands of dollars each) and so on and would only save a few hours maintenance and a few hundred dollars worth of parts over the life of the vehicle.

A gun designer can take the same position on springs... many are easily user replaced, require no special fitting, and cost only a few dollars. It's a reasonable compromise to fit "marginal" springs in order to meet a size/weight goal.

However... again we come back to the fact that the slide lock position is not (on any gun I can recall) full rearward extension of the slide/full compression of the recoil spring. I'm not going to claim exhaustive knowledge but I just checked two pistols and both locked the slide at least 1/2" shy of full slide back. So, even if the pistol is designed to fully compress the spring during recoil, locking the slide on the slide lock will not fully compress the spring.

 

[geekWithA.45]

Store your guns with the action closed.

It prevents dust and other environmental gunk from entering the action.

 

[Ed Ames]

Store your guns in a proper case/cover.

It prevents dust and other environmental gunk from entering the action.

 

[JohnKSa]

All gun makers make only springs that cannot be overcompressed in the firearms they manufacture, therefore they can never be weakened by indefinite periods of compression.

I didn't say this nor did I mean to imply it. However I have not heard nor experienced anything that leads me to believe that any reputable gun manufacture puts springs (other than some magazine springs) in a firearm that are overcompressed by design. That would include recoil springs springs. I don't LIKE the idea of leaving the slide locked back, but I seriously doubt that it's going to cause problems with spring life. Besides the recoil spring is a maintenance item and should be checked periodically and replaced as necessary.

**It does appear that some double-column magazine designs overcompress the springs which therefore weaken when the mag is fully loaded, especially if it is left fully loaded for long periods. I have not heard of this happening in any good quality single stack mags and haven't heard of any recent issues even with double-column mags. It seems to have been an issue primarily when the high-capacity service pistol craze first began and manufacturers were working hard to get every last possible round into the magazine. Newer designs and improvements to old designs seem to have largely eliminated the problem.

 

[loop]

I will research and write something on the subject. I have an inkling where it will be printed because I have a number of friends in the firearms press. However, my own publication is financial - not a good format for gun stories (but if you want to buy stock or real estate, I can help you get 30 to 50 percent returns per annum).

Anyway, the point to the argument I posted is that if you assume all gun makers pay particular regard to spring tolerances then you may assume that storing guns with the slide locked back will do no damage to the spring (regardless of the gunk fouling point).

Having spent many years in business I know that corners are cut in the name of profit. In the print business there are numerous ways to cut cost - cheaper paper, cheaper ink and best of all smaller pages (and that is only from one of the seven departments necessary to get publications in the hands of the reader). We cut two tons of paper by making our publication 1/2 inch shorter. No one noticed except the stockholders.

Cheaper springs are one of the first cuts I'd make if I made guns. Spot welds instead of linear welds on mags would be another. Drill holes in hammer spurs and triggers instead of cutouts. I'd stipple metal rather than checker.

Take a look at the guns on the market and you'll see the weld changes, the drill holes and stippling. The springs were not sacred cows.

Even top-of-the-line products are not immune. I once built custom bikes. If the chain came up one link short and we did not have another link of the top-of-the-line chain available you used the best you had to replace it (weakest link). I won't disparage any custom gun maker by name, but do you really believe that if they were out of the very best spring that they wouldn't use what was available?

So, the skeptic in me says "take all unnecessary pressure off springs when it is not necessary."

BTW, I plan on starting research on the spring story right after new years. Given 90 to 120 days to conduct research and accumulate graphics and photos, then 30 to 60 days to find an acceptable publisher, then a 90- to 120-day lead time to publication - it ought to come out in about a year. And I'll be about $250 richer! Yeah, I'm keepin' my day job.

If you know of a lead that may help with such a story please message me privately. That will be appreciated.

Got my first lead already. I'm just down the road from the Chrysler proving grounds. I'm going to go ask those guys in the white coats how it is that those valve springs last so doggone long...

One more comment: wish to thank all for a thought-provoking thread. So much better than 9mm vs. 40 or do you love rugers...

 

[rlgreen]

firestar mag spring

physics is a part of rocket science. i'm no rocket scienstist. just 1 guy with some facts about 1 gun for what its worth. ymwv.

i bought my star firestar .45 in 1991.

some years i've shot nothing.

some years i've shot thousands of rounds.

the factory mag has never been unloaded for longer than about 20 minutes at time (long enough to dissassemble, clean, lube, wipe down and re-assemble)

the factory recoil spring has never been changed.

rounds have failed but i have never had the hardware fail. not so much as a stovepipe

last fired, this past thursday (16 years after purchase) 100 rounds including some high powered hornady jhp self defense loads.

if the operator doesn't screw up, its still cloverleafs at 7 yards and puts 2 inch groups at 15 yards