1911 Mainspring weight help

[Slugz]

I have a rock island 1911 and am replacing the springs with wolff springs for better longevity and performance. I opted for a 17# recoil and a 21# mainspring. I was under the impression that 21 was either factory standard or on some cases even high power weight. But the packaging i got with the mainspring says "reduced power". Am i missing something?

[HPGunner]

I believe standard power mainspring is 23# and standard recoil spring is 16#

[Slugz]

This rock has a lot of work into it. Why did i put a lot of work into it? Because 'murica

[Slugz]

Hpgunner so then a bump up to 17 and down to 21 would be proportionate?

[stormvet]

23# is usually the standard main spring weight. I have a few 1911s I run a 19# spring in, on these guns when I replace the recoil spring I use an extra power recoil spring.
When lowering your main spring tension, it's improtant to test your gun. Make sure it will reliable fire all your different ammo and check for frame stress as it can speed up your recoil. This can also cause feeding and ejection problems.

I think you will be just fine running a 21/17 spring combo, should not be enough of a change to affect function or performance.

[Slugz]

Thanks. This is kind of what i figured. I just wanted to get rid of the crappy rock island Springs and go up a bit on the recoil to give it a softer blow for using defensive ammo. Ive read that the 18.5 is great for hot loads but can run into issues with target loads. I figured 17 would be a happy medium but i won't bet my life in it till ive ran 500 through it first.

[bountyhunter]

What caliber? The standard recoil for a 5" .45 1911 is about 15 - 16#, for a .40 it's about 18 and for a 9mm it's about 10 - 12#.

[NoHeavyHitter]

You clearly understand what you're doing, so I will tell you this. Just buy a spring assortment and enjoy the benefit of testing to a finer granularity (all on the same trip to the range). Spring assortments are priced FAR cheaper than buying individual springs "chasing perfection" in the way of setting up your gun. This is even more relevant if you handload your own ammunition.

[Vin63]

Thanks. This is kind of what i figured. I just wanted to get rid of the crappy rock island Springs and go up a bit on the recoil to give it a softer blow for using defensive ammo. Ive read that the 18.5 is great for hot loads but can run into issues with target loads. I figured 17 would be a happy medium but i won't bet my life in it till ive ran 500 through it first.

When I do recoil spring replacements in my 1911 GM size (4-5K round maintenance), I almost always use Ed Brown 16.5 lb springs these days - before the 1990s, I would just order Colt 16 lb replacements. Your mainspring choice is not too drastic, so you should be good. When you start getting below 20 lbs. on the mainspring, some guns require changes to the firing pin spring, and sometimes firing pin (depending on the maker, material, etc.). But, as with any changes, make sure she runs reliably as it sounds like you plan on doing.

[Bill Steele]

23lb is standard weight for your main/hammer spring. If you run +P loads, you might think about going back up to at least stock weight, it helps slow things down a bit.

Don't go too crazy with different spring rates, things need to stay in balance.

[5ZS]

I would not over think the relationship recoil to mainspring.
With some variation generally factory : Kimber 16/21, Wison Combat 17/21, Baer 18.5/21, Springfield 16/28+(ils).

23 although is considered the standard, I think 21 seems to be a favorite.

I have one at 16/18 (range gun only) and everything looks fine so far for me. I would up/down recoil more depending if you shoot more of the higher +p stuff.

[Dutch Henry]

In my full size 1911 pistols, I've always replaced the factory 16# spring with a Wolff 18.5# recoil spring while leaving the hammer spring alone. I shoot 230 grain hardball loaded to standard velocities.

The heavier spring has eliminated frame battering in all of my pistols and they operate flawlessly. YMMV

[rideordie]

I run either a 16 or 18 lb recoil spring and a 21 pound mainspring. Seems to cycle factory as well as reloads really reliably.

[tophatjones]

When in doubt, use factory spring weights. If you've got a specific purpose in mind, going a couple pounds either way doesn't hurt with most guns. Btw, I read on another forum that Ned Christiansen test fired a 1911 with no recoil spring and found no frame battering after many rounds. So I would choose a recoil spring weight just heavy enough to allow my pistol to feed consistently but light enough to prevent battering of the barrel lug feet.

P.S. Look into small radius firing pin stop if you're into tinkering.

[walmart_ar15]

When in doubt, use factory spring weights. If you've got a specific purpose in mind, going a couple pounds either way doesn't hurt with most guns. Btw, I read on another forum that Ned Christiansen test fired a 1911 with no recoil spring and found no frame battering after many rounds. So I would choose a recoil spring weight just heavy enough to allow my pistol to feed consistently but light enough to prevent battering of the barrel lug feet.

P.S. Look into small radius firing pin stop if you're into tinkering.

+1

Think in term of slide velocity when tinkering with recoil and main spring. Thus use empty casing ejection distance and feeding reliability to determine ur recoil spring wt. Hi recoil tension also affect ur follow up shot as it slams back into battery. Main spring affects ur slide velocity, trigger felt wt, and primer ignition.

For a softer shooting gun, one actually goes up in main and down in recoil.