1911 spring replacement
I have a Kimber Pro Carry II that is my duty weapon. I've had it for about 11yrs now and probably have about 1000-1200 rds through it. Most of these have been training rounds. This Kimber has a trapped style mainspring on a guiderod. My question for any 1911 builders(esp Kimber guys)when should I change the mainspring on this weapon? Is there a set number of rounds or a general one or does it just kinda depend on many variables? I dont currently have any issues with malfunctions. It has always rand 100% except for some magazine issues that are another animal altogether. Thanks
0
-
I don't think modern steel spring have a round count limit. You should have spare springs just in case anyway. Not sure what you use for training rounds but if they are mid-range target loads you might be hammering your gun with full tilt ammo. 0 -
i lost count at 6000rds on my standard springfield 45. not a single hicc-up or problem. i take it apart when i feel like it, no set schedule. i am a big believer that if something works DONT FIX IT! 0 -
The spring makers supply the auto industry with springs of amazing durability. The valve springs in a lot of cars see 100 million compressions without breaking, and without significant fatigue, and they are commonly pounded at cycles of of at least 500 per minute immediately from a start at 30 degrees below zero.
I think the notion that the same spring makers can't formulate, or don't supply the firearms industry with, springs that will go more than a few thousand compressions, is only an urban legend.0 -
A valve spring is compressed a fraction of an inch and goes thousands of miles, millions of cycles.
A pistol mainspring is compressed a fraction of an inch and is usually a lifetime part.
A recoil spring is compressed 4 inches or so and is a wear item.
Isn't the Pro Carry a 4" gun? If so, EGW sells a recoil spring column with ISMI flat wire spring and skinny guide rod, a la Glock. It puts more spring steel in the space available and lasts a long time.
http://www.egwguns.com/guide-rod-kits/kimber-4-guide-rod-spring-kit/0 -
Recoil springs definitely CAN wear out. You can pull used ones out of well-shot guns, and they're noticeably shorter in overall length than normal ones! At least in some guns, you will start to notice reliability issues after several thousands of rounds on the same springs.
As to how many rounds you can shoot before you need to change your springs, that's going to depend on many different factors including: the quality of the spring in question, the design of the gun in question, and to some (lesser) extent, what type of rounds you're pounding the spring with, and how quickly.
IE rapid fire is going to flex the spring repeatedly in a short period of time, making it hotter, and potentially accelerating wear. Springs do tend to wear out faster in short-slide length guns, and the nested dual-spring designs also tend to wear out faster than ordinary springs.
For something like an ordinary 1911, I'd say the discussion probably starts at about 3000 rounds.
But that said, lots of people swap them more frequently than that, figuring its a cheap part, easy to swap, and why take a chance on compromised reliability.
On the other hand, lots of people successfully go much longer than that with no issues, figuring, "if it ain't broke" don't fix it.
My quick answer to this question is that you probably shouldn't need to change a spring on a full sized gun after only 1000 rounds. I'd also add that if you've only put 1000 rounds through your gun in 11 years, you're not shooting it enough! [:p][:p]
Edit: There is no rule that says you can't shoot more rounds/year than the bare minimum required by your department to qualify.0 -
Hawk, The recoil spring does not compress 4" It only moves the length of the round (45ACP)plus about 3/16". If you want to know just run the slide and measure from the end of the barrel to the end of the slide. That make the compression about 1.5" A recoil or any spring will wear where it makes contact with the guide rod or anything else. On a 1911 the wear will be on the two ends and on the inside of the coils and the outside of the coils. It will show up as a slight flattening of the spring. This wear will reduce the cross section of the spring and that reduced cross section will cause breakage eventually. Modern springs are made of very hard and tough steel. Rockwell hardness in the 65-70 range (diamond 100). Yield strength in the 140K range. The wear will polish the spring and anything it rubs against.
The rest of what everyone said I agree with... Run it until it breaks. That will most likely be by your grand kid. Oh and shoot more!0 -
I'd be more worried about only putting 100 rounds or so a year thru your duty weapon than about whether or not your springs need help... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by llama
I'd be more worried about only putting 100 rounds or so a year thru your duty weapon than about whether or not your springs need help...
sadly thats the state of most dept mandated training....0 -
Lets look at it this way a valve spring in your car that is just Turning 2000 RPM "less then High way speed" opens and compresses 1000 times per minute that is 60,000 times an hour 600,000 every 10 hours of driving at 5 hours a week That is over ONE MILLION cycles a month . My match pistol has over 350,000 rounds through it . I did Change the recoil spring ONCE that was when I mounted a red dot . Increased the weight of the part that recoils so needed a lighter weight spring . So you see at that rate each spring in my pistol has about the same Wear as o one week old car. Springs go bad IF they are poor quality to began with.Or improper weight for the load used. Otherwise your Great Great Great grand kids MAY need to replace one. 0 -
I was a little tired when I typed this. Instead of 1000-1200 it should actually be 11,000 to 12,000. I normally shoot about once a week around 100-200 rds depending on gun etc. 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
10 comments