Heavy 1911 hammer spring?

Cornhusker77

Cornhusker77

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Messages
634
I'm by no means an expert on 1911s, but I do have a few of them, so I'm not a total noob.
I recently picked up a like new, used Kimber Custom II in .45. The gun shoots great, handles nice and of course is good looking.
The problem is how hard it is to rack it with the hammer down.
I'm not a weak person and still have good hand strength, but when I go to rack this slide, it takes everything I have to grunt it back.
At first I thought it must have a monster recoil spring, but I think it's the hammer spring.
It feels like a 40 pound spring.
I can order a different spring, but I'm not sure which one.
I don't want to sacrifice reliability just to cover my wussiness, but there has to be a happy medium?
Any suggestions, experience or criticism of my manhood?
 
23lb hammer spring is the 1911 standard.

Does your Kimber have a flat bottom firing pin stop? (No bevel on bottom). If so, that’s why it’s hard to rack. Leave it alone if so— it really helps lessen recoil. Just cock the hammer before racking if it’s to difficult to do.
 
It's got the beveled version, and it takes a pretty good man just to cock the hammer.
It's not impossible, but compared to my Ultra Carry II and my other 1911s, it's stiff.
It's nothing I can't live with, but I thought a Kimber should be a little slicker.
 
I replaced mine with a 19# spring but it didn’t help. Found out the real problem was the barrel link pin standing too proud making it very difficult to rack. A few passes with a file on the link pin fixed everything. Now I can rack it with two fingers. I’ve had no light strikes with the 19# hammer spring.
 
Change your recoil spring , I bought a Springfield Range Officer in 45 from a friend a year ago he sold it to me because he could barely rack it . I called Springfield and they sent me a new 18 lb. spring , then upon talking to a guy at the range who has the same gun he told me some of them possibly had the wrong spring in them he did what I did. It made all the difference I also put in a Swenson shock buffer and for light target loads and 155 grain SWC I use a 16 lb spring with a shock buffer. I also put in a Swenson 2 piece guide rod I just like the way they make the gun cycle and rack, I don’t think they make them anymore accurate.
 
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one of my most embarassing moments in a gun shop was when my hard fit 1911 came in and i had to examine it before taking delivery. it was soaked in CLP. after wiping it down, i could not rack the thing with the lgs employee looking on. it took a minute before i was able to rack it putting my shoulder into it. it is still tight years later but you do have to have a firm grip in racking it. it was the fit not the spring. i think it just uses a variable 18.5 recoil spring. it was the fit that made it difficult to rack.
 
I just re-sprung a new 1911 that had the same issue. An 18# hammer spring worked very nicely. Your mileage may vary.
Lafite
 
Cornhusker77 said:
I'm by no means an expert on 1911s, but I do have a few of them, so I'm not a total noob.
I recently picked up a like new, used Kimber Custom II in .45. The gun shoots great, handles nice and of course is good looking.
The problem is how hard it is to rack it with the hammer down.
I'm not a weak person and still have good hand strength, but when I go to rack this slide, it takes everything I have to grunt it back.
At first I thought it must have a monster recoil spring, but I think it's the hammer spring.
It feels like a 40 pound spring.
I can order a different spring, but I'm not sure which one.
I don't want to sacrifice reliability just to cover my wussiness, but there has to be a happy medium?
Any suggestions, experience or criticism of my manhood?
Click to expand...

Cock the hammer back by hand before running the slide back.
 
23 lb is GI, 19 will pop any primer I have ever shot. I have one 20 because that was all that was in stock.

There might be mechanical interference or roughness making the hammer hard to cock.
 
Iirc I run a 18 pound mainspring in my Kimber with a 16 pound recoil spring.
My Remington target pistol has a 15 pound main with a 16 pound recoil a thirty three coil with three cut off. If that makes sense.. both are quite accurate.
 
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highlander 5 said:
I've a Kimber 9 mm target and it seems to take more force to rack the slide on it compared to my Springfield,RIA,S&W .
Click to expand...
Seems like Kimber likes to install 24 pound mainsprings and 18 pound recoil springs for guys that like running that hot ammunition, which isn’t great for the gun but that’s just my opinion.
 
roval said:
one of my most embarassing moments in a gun shop was when my hard fit 1911 came in and i had to examine it before taking delivery. it was soaked in CLP. after wiping it down, i could not rack the thing with the lgs employee looking on. it took a minute before i was able to rack it putting my shoulder into it. it is still tight years later but you do have to have a firm grip in racking it. it was the fit not the spring. i think it just uses a variable 18.5 recoil spring. it was the fit that made it difficult to rack.
Click to expand...
A buddy had a custom hardball gun, and he had directions to fire 500 rounds before using it for anything serious. He showed it to me, and it took two men and a boy to rack that slide. That puppy was tight.
I've a Colt Competition that came with an inner recoil spring; it's not hard to rack, but recoil seems less.
Moon
 
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Could be worth a shot to disassemble the mainspring housing and make sure the cup and hammer strut are polished and there are no burrs in the mainspring housing or on the outside of the cup that might impede movement.

I had a Springfield Armory that had a lock in the MSH, and the lock just barely would catch sometimes and you could feel it when racking the slide. It never caused a problem, but I replaced it with a standard type MSH.
 
halfmoonclip said:
A buddy had a custom hardball gun, and he had directions to fire 500 rounds before using it for anything serious. He showed it to me, and it took two men and a boy to rack that slide. That puppy was tight.
I've a Colt Competition that came with an inner recoil spring; it's not hard to rack, but recoil seems less.
Click to expand...
mine was a les baer. it sounds like his was also. no complaint calls till 500 rds has been fired through the gun is the recommendation.
 
If your gunmaker starts talking about "break-in" you should add the price of that much ammo to the cost of the gun.

Somebody wrote that CZs were gymnasticated on a machine to wear in the contact surfaces. I have not seen a picture of the setup, don't know if that is so.
 
Jim Watson said:
If your gunmaker starts talking about "break-in" you should add the price of that much ammo to the cost of the gun.

Somebody wrote that CZs were gymnasticated on a machine to wear in the contact surfaces. I have not seen a picture of the setup, don't know if that is so.
Click to expand...
wow another word i have never heard of. i thought it was made up. i would have thought a gymnasticator would just be called a cycling machine.
 
A trigger shouldn't be hard to cock. A few things influence the range of mainsprings that are suitable. Something in the 17-19# range will likely be right for you (assuming normal 5" government 1911 in 45 acp). If you feel comfortable doing the work I'd replace the pins and the spring in the mainspring housing. I'd also check the inside of the housing clean/polish any possible burrs/defects. Check the hammer strut to see if it is bent or anything like that. With the housing in place verify you have some pressure on the strut with the hammer all the down (carefully lower with thumb on it so hammer doesn't smack frame) and that the end of the strut is riding in the little cup on the pin.

A lot of things influence how hard the slide is to rack. Remove the recoil spring and see how hard it is to run the slide back and forth with the hammer cocked. Make sure you are taking it all the way forward and back. If it is still tight remove the barrel and try. FWIW I run a 16-17# mainspring and don't use a flat bottom firing pin stop.
 
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