Recoil Spring Study

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A stock Colt Commander spring has approximately 24 coils.

A stock 16# 1911 spring has 31.

Coil count varies by the diameter of the wire.

A Wolff 16# 1911 spring is .045" wire.
An 18.5# is .047"

I can't even imagine what you have with 12 coils, but I don't think it is for a Commander.
Maybe a Jeep or something?

rc
 
Good grief!! I must be getting senile or had too many different springs out on the table when I wrote that. The original(18#?) spring had 22 coils and the Wolff reduced power 16# spring has 24. I must have been thinking magazine springs since I've been talking about those and reading about them for two weeks.
 
Wolff? The springs I ordered from Wolff and Tripp also are 13 coils. I have another(brand unknown) I had on the desk that was 12-it's in the parts bin now.

Speaking of Tripp, you can't beat customer service like this. I had a question about their 7 rnd mags and springs and just emailed them with the question. This was my question and their response. We need more PR like this...great folks.

"Nearly everyone I've conversed with has convinced me the most reliable magazine is the 7 round variety and they went into great detail explaining why.

My question is this. If I order the 7 round mags you folks have, is there a need to change the spring for another such as a 11# Wolff or XP type or is the one in the magazine sufficient?

Also, will the Wolff spring mentioned work with the Tripp follower in the 7 round mag?

Many thanks"

An email I got just today...

Hi,
Virgil would like to talk to you on this subject. Please email your phone number and a good time to call.

Thanks,
Shari Tripp
 
I used to shoot a few hundred rounds from three different 1911's every week. Did that for almost two years.

What I found was that the springs wore out in all of them and in fairly short order.

They would be a little stiff for a hundred rounds, then get just right for another 400 rounds then be pretty much worthless after that. I used shok buffs to prevent damage from peening. You shoot enough and you can feel when the spring goes soft and needs changing.

I bought springs from Wilson by the 6 pack. I forget the weights but they all wore out with enough cycling.

When tuned and set up they are a lot of fun and a great pistol. But I hated always having to screw with the springs to get them to run reliably with a lot of different ammo. Never did carry a 1911 for self defense. Did carry an H&K because I liked the round.

Today the new spring styles on the H&K's and the Glocks are all superior solutions in MNSHO.
 
I don't think you'd have any problem with the Check Mate 7 round springs going bad so soon. they're 13 coils and .047" in diameter, according to my mic.

From all I've read, Wilson doesn't make the strongest springs in the industry-7 or 8 rounds magazines. Load up to the max a 45 auto mag from Glock and in 4 months they'll be bad...or so I was told.
 
I used shok buffs to prevent damage from peening.
Click to expand...

You've bought the "Frame Damage" snake oil perpetrated by people who make money selling springs and shock buffs. It's been around for about 30 years or so, and apparently swallowed, hook, line, and sinker.

Marketing 101:

First, convince the customer that he needs it, and then sell it to him.

I've put that myth to the test. It doesn't hold water. The slide just doesn't hit the frame all that hard...even without a spring. (Use a FLGR for this test. The short guide rods will get cattywamus and do some damage.)

You shoot enough and you can feel when the spring goes soft and needs changing.
Click to expand...

As long as the gun is returning to battery reliably, the spring is fine. There have been USPSA and IDPA shooters who have reported tens of thousands of rounds through their pistols on the same spring...and no shock buffs. The frames don't peen.

But, hey! It's your money.
 
1911Tuner-This thread about springs was primarily(from what I understand) started to dispel the myth that softer springs in the Commander would damage the frame. What about reliability? Would a 16# spring in a Commander have a lower slide velocity with the weaker spring and give feeding problems to some degree? Just curious and thinking out loud.
 
Wow, and I thought adding up DFU on my hospital plan on my masters exam was mind bending.

OK rc, should I still get the 18# spring for my commander? I didn't see this thread until today. I'm going to be shooting factory ammo and/or reloads of very similar velocity.

Dang, my head hurts.............
 
DC Plumber said:
Wow, and I thought adding up DFU on my hospital plan on my masters exam was mind bending.

OK rc, should I still get the 18# spring for my commander? I didn't see this thread until today. I'm going to be shooting factory ammo and/or reloads of very similar velocity.

Dang, my head hurts.............
Click to expand...
DC, for starters check posts #92-94 on this thread. If you have time you'd benefit (re: recoil springs info) to reading the entire thread paying special attention to the posts by 1911Tuner. You'll probably want to skip some of the more "cerebral" posts (no offense intended to anyone) involving formulas and theories unless you're an engineer of some sort but there's a lot of good info in this thread if you can make it through it.
 
ColColt, your post # 107

If it isn't confidential, will you continue with your line of thought in Post # 107 and share the conversation you had with Mr. Tripp?

thanks,

salty
 
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