Recoil Spring Replacement Intervals in Semi Auto Pistol

[Stormin.40]

A friend of mine changes the recoil spring in his Kimber 1911 every 800 rounds. I gave him a blank look when he told me this which brought up the question, What is the normal interval at which most change the recoil spring in their semi auto pistols?

I just figured my recoil spring was good until I started to have issues with feeding or ejecting, I only have 1 semi auto pistol Beretta PX4 Storm in .40 S&W.

 

[rcmodel]

Every 800 rounds on a 1911 is foolishness unless it's one of the sawed off subcompact models with dual-nested little springs.

Sub-compacts of any brand eat recoil springs like buttered popcorn.
Full size duty guns don't.

Here is a Wolff spring FAQ.
http://www.gunsprings.com/faq#Faq4

But remember, they sell springs!

Myself, I use several informal guidlines to decide, including gun function, ejection distance increasing dramatically, etc.

rc

 

[Stormin.40]

Thanks rc, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and harming my pistol by not changing the spring. I am approaching 3500 rounds and thought maybe it was time to look at replacing.

I told my buddy that I thought he was crazy but he insisted that he has to do it, it is a 4" barrel 1911, his money and gun so to each his own.

 

[rcmodel]

3,500 rounds of .40 S&W in a 4" Storm might be time to start thinking about it.

One thing you could do is go ahead and get a replacement, put it in, and note how much weaker the old spring feels in comparison.
If it's noticeably getting weaker, replace it.

rc

 

[dubya450]

I was just wondering the same thing. Does anyone know about how many rounds my 5" Kimber will handle before i change the spring out? I don't shoot +p loads often at all. Just wondering if i should stock up on a few.

 

[1911Tuner]

The spring's function is returning the slide to battery. If it does that reliably, it's fine. If it gets sluggish or starts to fail to do it...it's time to replace it.

 

[JimStC]

Right or wrong, I have replaced mine every 2,000 rounds. Why not? They are an inexpensive investment.
Treat your gun like your car. Establish a frequency for oil changes, etc and follow it.....

 

[1911Tuner]

It's your money. A local IDPA/USPSA shooter uses a .45 for his discipline. He practices a lot and he shoots the same ammunition that he competes with...all major power+. He changes recoil springs about every 50,000 rounds whether it needs it or not.

 

[Telekinesis]

I've heard that its a good idea to replace springs somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 rounds. I'm sure they'd be fine for a good while longer, but they're cheap enough that you might as well replace them.

 

[JimStC]

Your comments are quite surprising.....

 

[Stormin.40]

I like rc's idea of getting a new one standing in one place with the same batch of ammunition and seeing if both old and new eject the brass in the same place. If so the old spring is still good if they are throwing 5ft further probably should just replace.

 

[JohnBT]

I bought a used Rohrbaugh R9 five years ago. The spring needs to be replaced every 200 rounds.

I bought a 40-year-old surplus Swiss Army P210 last fall. I asked around about buying a spare recoil spring or two. As it turned out, one spring is all you need for 100k rounds or more or maybe forever. And yes, the Swiss use their guns.

I've replaced my 1911 springs at 5k or so, but they all still looked good. I saved them.

 

[1911Tuner]

Whoa, Jim! Take a breath. Where did you get that I advocate abusing a gun?

The pistol that I described has been used in that manner for several years, and it's fine. There is no damage to the slide or frame impact abutments. No peening. No deformation. None. Zip.

The point was that the slide to frame impact isn't all that many would have us believe...mostly the people who have a dog in the fight. They make money selling springs and shock buffers. Take that for what it's worth.

The spring's function isn't buffering shock. Nor is it decelerating the slide. That it does do those things is incidental and a result of having to be compressed in order to perform its primary function...returning the slide to battery.

I've proven it by firing several 1911 pistols...including a LW Commander over 500 times...without a spring. The same can be done with any locked breech/short recoil operated pistol.

If you'd like to put it to the test, use a full-length guide rod and spring plug in order to keep everything tracking straight. The stub-type guide rod will get cocked and do some damage in the spring tunnel.