Witness 'Hunter' 10 mm

[maxsnafu]

Guys, I need your advice. I have a Witness 'Hunter' 10mm. I have been advised to replace the factory recoil spring with a stouter one since I plan to shoot full power ammo.

This I have done. I installed a 20 lb. Wolff spring. Is this adequate? If not, what would you recommend? Thanks for your help!

[Nealio]

That may or may not be stiff enough depending on how hot of ammo you want to shoot. If you are shooting lower energy loads (180gr+) you might be ok. The heavier slide may help you out also.

I recommend the Sprinco 2-stage guide rod (aka the Recoil Reducer) to everyone that owns a 10mm Tanfoglio gun, but the Hunter pistols have a different guide rod setup so the Recoil Reducer won't fit.

Normally you would see some peening on the back side of the dustcover on the slide, and some peening in the block where the guide rod sits in the frame. Since the Hunter has that big piece on the end of its guide rod that rests on top of the block in the frame, you wouldn't see the peening there. Also the longer slide won't contact the frame either, so it will be hard to tell if your spring setup is too soft. If its too soft you may be shock loading the slide, which can cause fatigue (in any gun).

I was going to get a 10mm Hunter myself, but I don't know the solution to springing it stiff enough (yet). If they only made a 24lb spring I think you would be ok. One trick I did with my Match 10mm is to make a small spacer (1/4-3/8") that will pre-load the recoil spring. Too much pre-load and you risk putting too much strain on your slide stop pin (causing it to fail prematurely). With the heavier slide this spacer setup may work.

IM me and I can send you pics if you are interested.

[Ronemus]

I talked with Sprinco last year, and they don't make their rod system for the Hunter. I had custom 25# springs made (the heaviest that will physically fit), and even they aren't enough with the full-power 200 gr loads I shoot. I ground down the collar on the guide rod to make room for a polymer recoil buffer (Buffer Tech from Brownell's),and that helps a lot.

I also ground ~3/8" off the ejector to shorten the distance the brass flies, but it still goes 15-20'.

[david s]

My Hunter 10mm runs a 20lb spring and handled all factory ammo up to Full Power loads. Have not tried any hot rod ammo yet. I thought Wolff made a 22lb spring?

[Gary1911A1]

I've thought of getting something like a Flat Bottom Firing Pin Stop like EGW makes for 1911s' fitted to my Witness Stock in 10MM, but no one seems interested. The flat bottom should hold the slide longer before unlocking and in theory slow down the slide and the tendency to throw the brass as far. I know there wouldn't be a big market for these, but they wouldn't seem that hard to make.

[Bongo Boy]

I know this is an old thread, but I think the topic of springing the Hunter is one of current interest--if only because I now have a Hunter.

Someone over on shooter's forum recommended a 24 lb Wolff to me, but I have not tried one and all that's even listed at Midway for a standard Witness is a 22 lb spring. But all that aside, I'm really curious what symptoms you're experiencing (ronemus for example) that tells you the 25# spring isn't strong enough. Is it what you feel, or what you see when you inspect the gun?

Also for Ronemus--did you REALLY mean 3/8"...no typo there? Just checking because the total length of exposed ejector with my slide fully retracted is about 3/8", barely.