Reduced weight recoil spring question

[protoolsnerd]

Hi Calgunners,
Just a quick one .

I have 2 pistols that i'm tuning up right now and i'm trying to figure what weight recoil spring to use in em.

1st - RIA 1911 9mm tactical. I'll be shooting 115gr fmj pmc most of the time

and

Springfield XD 5" in 9mm ( fire the same rounds ) Now i know the xd has a factory spring of between 17 and 18 lbs . I have 14-16 on order so i'm curious to see where the line between ease of use and it battering the frame is .

So Help me out , i'm not sure where to go with this guys !!

[swifty]

Stick with factory spring weight, replace as needed.

[protoolsnerd]

In my xd , i'd like a slightly lighter spring for faster and smoother slide action and a bit quicker and easier racking.

I use it for IDPA and have recently starting doing all the upgrades to it that i can to improve its function. So far , powder river trigger kit, oversized mag release , dawson sights , powder river striker, springs, hammer indicator.

Really all i have left to do is replace the sear , maybe get a storm lake or barsto barrel and reduce the weight of my recoil spring.

Since i'm shooting 115 gr rounds it doesn't have as much blowback power as say the 147 gr round...thanks newton's 3rd law!!

Xd's tend to be a bit snappy because of a heavy recoil spring ( even after putting nearly 4k rounds through it ) So i'd like to see if i can improve that

[zfields]

In my xd , i'd like a slightly lighter spring for faster and smoother slide action and a bit quicker and easier racking.

I use it for IDPA and have recently starting doing all the upgrades to it that i can to improve its function. So far , powder river trigger kit, oversized mag release , dawson sights , powder river striker, springs, hammer indicator.

Really all i have left to do is replace the sear , maybe get a storm lake or barsto barrel and reduce the weight of my recoil spring.

Since i'm shooting 115 gr rounds it doesn't have as much blowback power as say the 147 gr round...thanks newton's 3rd law!!

Xd's tend to be a bit snappy because of a heavy recoil spring ( even after putting nearly 4k rounds through it ) So i'd like to see if i can improve that

are you handloading for it? I wouldnt run a lighter spring unless your running just barely at powerfactor, and at that point Id start upping the bullet weight while lowering the powercharge.

[protoolsnerd]

Nope factory loads , just the lighter projectile. I tend to only handload .45 acp and .308.

[zfields]

Nope factory loads , just the lighter projectile. I tend to only handload .45 acp and .308.

You may run into more problems then its worth to be honest with you. If its light charged stuff to start with not so much.


Ive never knoticed much flip on a 9mm XD, but I mainly shot the tacticals.

[protoolsnerd]

That's what i shoot , the 5" tac..... For me it's the lack of weight in the platform that has to be compensated for with better internal components

I love how a 1911 by sheer fact that it has the mass to be steadier under recoil, the xd does absorb some recoil in its polymer framer but not as much compared to the reduced felt recoil of a 1911 in 9mm .

For me it's just getting the gun to perform as well as it possibly can

[AlchemyCustom]

Doesn't Springer Precision offer a heavy guide rod for the XD? IMO, that would be a better route to travel than a lighter recoil spring.

[zfields]

Doesn't Springer Precision offer a heavy guide rod for the XD? IMO, that would be a better route to travel than a lighter recoil spring.

usually not legal to keep you in production shooting, not sure if thats the OPs intention though.

[JeremyS]

I believe that any gun designed to handle +P or +P+ (or NATO) rounds can absolutely be run with a lighter recoil spring -- often a much lighter recoil spring -- with NO ill effects if you use standard pressure rounds to light rounds and avoid the powerful stuff. To prevent battering the frame with +P or higher, guns designed to shoot that really have to be oversprung for standard pressure rounds.

For my CZ I chose to do my own math. I found (and verified) the ft-lbs of energy for the loads it was designed to use (Sellier & Bellot, which is HOT ammo, and also NATO spec 9mm) and the ft-lbs of energy for the loads I intended to put through it. I calculated the % drop in ammo power and I dropped the spring strength by a bit less than that same % to give myself a margin of safety.

I know what hard frame contact feels like and it does not do it with factory ammo. I have shot 124 gr +P HST through it with the light spring and it also feels fine to me and ejects spent shells to the same distance as it did with the extremely heavy factory spring and strong S&B ammo (which is even stronger, btw, than most Federal, Winchester, Speer, etc +P loads). That said, I do not shoot the +P very often at all... it's mainly loaded in there for HD and I have only shot enough to verify function and accuracy, etc. If I take it camping, loaded up with DoubleTap's 147+ FMJ flat nose +P stuff, I swap the heavy factory recoil spring back in there.

The lighter spring made a HUGE difference in how easy it is to rack the slide. I have never ever had a single Failure to Feed, Fire, Extract, or any other sort of failure in this gun, which has a lighter main (read: hammer) spring also (factory makes it for hard primers).


So.... I say go for it. Watch how far the shells eject with strong ammo and the factory spring. Watch how far they eject with your PMC and a weaker spring. If they're going farther, then you probably went too weak. You can also go the more nerdy math route that I did (although I just made that up. No promises that it makes sense to drop spring rate by the same percentage as you drop ammo power. But I like it)

[protoolsnerd]

Alchemy-

My aim is probably to get into the ESP as opposed to the SSP level. I have a springer precision solid guide rod, but , it is legal because it's made from the same steel as the barrel. That's where you run into problems such as tungsten guide rods.

I have 14-16lb springs coming so i'll see how they all work.

Any suggestions on the spring weight for my 9mm 1911 ...they usually run 14# i believe

[zfields]

Alchemy-

My aim is probably to get into the ESP as opposed to the SSP level. I have a springer precision solid guide rod, but , it is legal because it's made from the same steel as the barrel. That's where you run into problems such as tungsten guide rods.

I have 14-16lb springs coming so i'll see how they all work.

Any suggestions on the spring weight for my 9mm 1911 ...they usually run 14# i believe

Thought the XD was required to be in ESP in IDPA anyways?

[wash]

For the 1911 you might want to try a ~square bottom firing pin stop, it decreases the slides leverage on the main spring (not recoil spring), keeping the action locked up a bit longer and allowing you to go lighter on your recoil spring.

I read about that researching a 10mm build (where frame battering can be a big problem), but it might work out nicely on a 9mm with light weight springs.

[protoolsnerd]

Thanks wash!! I have one on order from brownells ....Ed Brown i think. Either that or wilson