Gaming it - recoil springs and stuff.

[Clobbersaurus]

I did a search for this but came up with nothin' useful.

I compete in IPSC production division and I'm wondering if reduced power recoil springs and reduced power reloads are a huge competitive advantage in competition?

I have to say that I've never tried a pure competition production gun with all the bells and whistles, but dudes in my squads are always yakin' about recoil spring weights and their favourite reloads. I shoot factory springs and factory ammo through my Beretta.

I don't want to compromise reliability or beat up my guns but if it's a huge competitive advantage, I may consider it.

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!

#USPSA

[Luke]

My 320 has a 14lbs recoil spring and a springer oversized guide rod. I enjoy it and have had ZERO issues.

I think light springs (not too light) and soft ammo is an advantage, and just from my observations it's more effective of heavy framed guns like CZ, tanfo, witness..

I say give it a shot!

[Magsz]

Is it an advantage? Yes.

Is it required? No.

Unless you're chasing the top ten, reloads mean nothing.

Even factory ammo can benefit from a reduced power recoil spring simply because of how it will effect how the gun tracks. Sight tracking is an individual skill and there is no perfect formula for every shooter.

[Leroy]

I think lighter ammo has more effect on performance than recoil springs. Recoil springs have only really changed my timing for post ignition push rather than making a gun feel softer or flatter, the overall design of the gun itself is the real determining factor for the feel. With lighter pf ammo it usually has to be a drastic change to be real noticeable. Like 145pf to 135pf. Going from 135 to 130 not as noticeable. With lower pf ammo I feel that I don't necessarily shooter faster or more accurately all the time but over a lot of rounds have more consistency cause I am less likely to flinch or anticipate a shot. I also find a difference in feel with different bullet weights at the same PF. I prefer a slower perceived recoil cycle so I like heavier bullets in general. I think it makes it a little easier to see the front sight move at the point the shot breaks and feel the gun tracks more consistently. Most of this is shooter/gun specific, lots of variables.

[Clobbersaurus]

Thanks for the responses guys.

What I'm taking from the responses is that it's kinda-sorta better but it depends on the shooter?

I'm chasing top-three at my club match and I'm shooting against guys with full on race kit, if that matters at all in this discussion.

[taadski]

My recommendation, if you have the capability, would be to explore finding a minor PF load, spend the $20 for a recoil spring kit from Wolf and see what there is to see. Literally and figuratively. . And as Leroy mentioned, bullet weight can play a big role in the feel of the recoil impulse, even at the same PF.

I think you'll find that as your skills grow, you'll be more adept at detecting the subtleties involved. And probably as a result, more interested in tinkering to bias things toward your preferences.


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[45dotACP]

I run the 14lb recoil springs in my Beretta...the recoil on a 92FS is pretty tame though honestly. Tinkering is all well and good, but at least for a full size 92FS, it seems like a fairly high hanging fruit to pluck if you're using factory ammo.

[BigT]

I find that a properly matched load and recoil spring make a noticeable difference in my ability to track the gun.

I normally aim for a 135 pf with loads, no worries about shooting not for score (except that one time ) and no real difference in shot to shot speed ocer a 15pf load

For what its worth when I shot the Shadow the differnce between a 10lb and a 15lb spring was substantially greater than betwen a 150pf and a 125pf load , for me.

[PPGMD]

I avoided all the spring tuning for a quite a while. But once I got to doing it, I did find that my gun tracked much straighter. And I've left it like that, only replacing the springs over few thousand rounds.

So yes, do respring your gun, but find something that works reliably. And then stop FUCKING with it. The guns that seem to stop working in the middle of the match typically are owned by people that constantly mess with them.

[Luke]

On guns where you would use a 1911 spring that is not going in a 1911, how do you determine how many coils to cut? One at a time until it will go all the way back?