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View Full Version : How does varying the recoil spring strength impact pistol reliability and function?



shootist26
04-23-2012, 03:03 PM
For example, the standard Beretta 92 recoil spring is 13lbs. How does functioning and reliability change when you put in a reduced power ( < 13 lbs recoil spring) or an extra power spring ( 14+ lbs).

What changes will I observe in the core functions of the pistol (feeding, extracting/ejecting, etc)

WDW
04-23-2012, 08:14 PM
Well, it will either cause it to malfunction or it won't. Why would you want to change it? Is it a game gun? Always a good bet to use oem parts and stick with what is recommened by the manufacturer.

gringop
04-24-2012, 10:49 PM
In my experience, lightening the recoil spring AND the powder charge in the cartridge will result in reduced felt recoil, up to a point.

Lightening the recoil spring and shooting full house ammunition will reduce felt recoil somewhat but contribute to battering the frame because of increased slide velocity. After cracking a slide and a frame, I stayed away from that combo.

Increasing the recoil spring strength resulted in a noticeable increase in felt recoil for me.

All these experiments were the result of me shooting a Commander sized 1911 in competition and trying to improve performance and then trying to extend intervals between spring replacement.

When I moved to Glocks and M+Ps, I stayed with aftermarket guide rods and various spring weights until I figured out that it made very little difference in my performance compare to buckling down and doing serious training.

Now I just shoot factory springs and change them when they weaken.

Other than weak worn springs on a filthy gun, I saw no reliability changes but did not vary drastically from factory weights (+ or - 3lbs.)

Gringop

peterb
04-25-2012, 05:58 AM
In theory, you'd like the spring to allow the slide to cycle fully without battering the frame. Any given spring will be "ideal" only for loads with a similar recoil impulse. Most factory guns are sprung to function reliably with typical commercial loads. Dedicated target guns intended for use with lighter loads often have lighter springs.

A spring that's too stiff is essentially like a load that's too light. It may not allow the slide to travel through a full cycle. A spring that's too light will let the slide batter the frame and may not move the slide back into battery properly.

It's similar to setting up the suspension on a motorcycle. You want to use all the available travel but not bottom out.

shootist26
04-26-2012, 02:47 PM
The reason why I asked this question is because I am having failure to feed malfunctions with factory mags. Now normally we would replace the mag spring and follower, which is usually the issue. However, these malfunctions seem to be mag spring agnostic.

The slide does not seem to have enough "oomph" to fully chamber a round from these mags with a standard weight recoil spring. I am just doing some experimenting here, but would a lighter or stronger recoil spring increase the chambering force, so to speak?

jrm
04-26-2012, 03:36 PM
Assuming the slide fully cycles with both springs a heavier spring will chamber more forcefully. I would probably try replacing the current spring with a standard weight spring and make sure the feed lips on the magazine are clean and smooth sounds like a worn out recoil spring or too much friction somewhere between the round to be loaded and the rounds below it or the follower, the feed lips, the feed ramp, or chamber.