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Recoil Spring Weight


hlpressley

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Curious what you guys running for recoil spring weight in your Gen4 Production 34's? I'm running 147gr ammo making about 128pf if that matters.

Start with an ISMI 13 lb spring. If it's too bouncy cut a coil or 2 off..

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So it's good to know what people are running but the question is why? The lighter the spring the harder it hits the slide block.....Correct?

Reloading ammo to proper minor power factor more reliable with lighter spring, shoots flatter, can even help with ejecting brass. Not going to damage gun unless you're shooting over powered ammo or factory +p type stuff. Everyone uses 11 to 13 lbs. Experiment. I've always used 13 lbs but am going to experiment with 11 lb.

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The thing about going light on the Recoil Spring on a striker-fired gun (of which Glocks, M&P, and XD's are prime examples) is that you end up playing a balancing game between the Recoil Spring and the Striker Spring. Go with a "too light" RS and the standard power striker spring, you end up with a gun that won't quite go into battery, especially if there's any little hiccup with the incoming round catching on anything.

Had a guy at last month's local match shooting an XDm 5.25 in 45 and having all sorts of problems. He has a slightly lighter-than-stock RS with the standard Striker spring (left that in because of hard primers that he was forced to use during the shortage). I looked at it and found that when the striker was down, the slide was being held closed forcefully by the RS. If you cocked the gun, you could push it out-of-battery easily. It felt like it had a 5 pound RS in it until you moved the slide back to the point where the striker was lifted off of the sear, then it got tough again.

I say that to say this: On a Glock, with the standard Firing Pin Spring, you'll PROBABLY be okay with a 13# spring. With a 4#, you'll definitely be alright. If you try to go with an 11#, it probably won't work with the 5.5# FPS and may be intermittent with the 4#.

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The thing about going light on the Recoil Spring on a striker-fired gun (of which Glocks, M&P, and XD's are prime examples) is that you end up playing a balancing game between the Recoil Spring and the Striker Spring. Go with a "too light" RS and the standard power striker spring, you end up with a gun that won't quite go into battery, especially if there's any little hiccup with the incoming round catching on anything.

Had a guy at last month's local match shooting an XDm 5.25 in 45 and having all sorts of problems. He has a slightly lighter-than-stock RS with the standard Striker spring (left that in because of hard primers that he was forced to use during the shortage). I looked at it and found that when the striker was down, the slide was being held closed forcefully by the RS. If you cocked the gun, you could push it out-of-battery easily. It felt like it had a 5 pound RS in it until you moved the slide back to the point where the striker was lifted off of the sear, then it got tough again.

I say that to say this: On a Glock, with the standard Firing Pin Spring, you'll PROBABLY be okay with a 13# spring. With a 4#, you'll definitely be alright. If you try to go with an 11#, it probably won't work with the 5.5# FPS and may be intermittent with the 4#.

Not sure I follow the relationship between a recoil spring and a striker spring. The striker spring doesn't assist in bringing the gun into battery - that's all in the recoil spring.

The only thing you might get with a lightened striker spring is light strikes on the primer - FTF's. Not failure to go into battery.

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The thing about going light on the Recoil Spring on a striker-fired gun (of which Glocks, M&P, and XD's are prime examples) is that you end up playing a balancing game between the Recoil Spring and the Striker Spring. Go with a "too light" RS and the standard power striker spring, you end up with a gun that won't quite go into battery, especially if there's any little hiccup with the incoming round catching on anything.

Had a guy at last month's local match shooting an XDm 5.25 in 45 and having all sorts of problems. He has a slightly lighter-than-stock RS with the standard Striker spring (left that in because of hard primers that he was forced to use during the shortage). I looked at it and found that when the striker was down, the slide was being held closed forcefully by the RS. If you cocked the gun, you could push it out-of-battery easily. It felt like it had a 5 pound RS in it until you moved the slide back to the point where the striker was lifted off of the sear, then it got tough again.

I say that to say this: On a Glock, with the standard Firing Pin Spring, you'll PROBABLY be okay with a 13# spring. With a 4#, you'll definitely be alright. If you try to go with an 11#, it probably won't work with the 5.5# FPS and may be intermittent with the 4#.

Not sure I follow the relationship between a recoil spring and a striker spring. The striker spring doesn't assist in bringing the gun into battery - that's all in the recoil spring.

The only thing you might get with a lightened striker spring is light strikes on the primer - FTF's. Not failure to go into battery.

What Braxton1 said was correct, the striker acts in the opposing direction of the recoil spring in a Glock. Don't know about other plastic guns. Edited by leemoe83
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The thing about going light on the Recoil Spring on a striker-fired gun (of which Glocks, M&P, and XD's are prime examples) is that you end up playing a balancing game between the Recoil Spring and the Striker Spring. Go with a "too light" RS and the standard power striker spring, you end up with a gun that won't quite go into battery, especially if there's any little hiccup with the incoming round catching on anything.

Had a guy at last month's local match shooting an XDm 5.25 in 45 and having all sorts of problems. He has a slightly lighter-than-stock RS with the standard Striker spring (left that in because of hard primers that he was forced to use during the shortage). I looked at it and found that when the striker was down, the slide was being held closed forcefully by the RS. If you cocked the gun, you could push it out-of-battery easily. It felt like it had a 5 pound RS in it until you moved the slide back to the point where the striker was lifted off of the sear, then it got tough again.

I say that to say this: On a Glock, with the standard Firing Pin Spring, you'll PROBABLY be okay with a 13# spring. With a 4#, you'll definitely be alright. If you try to go with an 11#, it probably won't work with the 5.5# FPS and may be intermittent with the 4#.

Not sure I follow the relationship between a recoil spring and a striker spring. The striker spring doesn't assist in bringing the gun into battery - that's all in the recoil spring.

The only thing you might get with a lightened striker spring is light strikes on the primer - FTF's. Not failure to go into battery.

What Braxton1 said was correct, the striker acts in the opposing direction of the recoil spring in a Glock. Don't know about other plastic guns.

So if you lighten the striker spring, wouldn't that make the gun go into battery more easily?

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Yes it will. That's why I specified the difference between OEM springs and the lightened "competition-only" Firing Pin/Striker Springs.

We're only talking about the last 1/4 inch of going into battery, because that's where the striker will engage the sear.

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Agreed with the 13lb recoil and striker spring. My G34 & 35 would not go into battery with a 13lb recoil spring. They hang about 1/8-1/4 out of battery, once swapping to a ZEV lightened spring it went in just fine.

Please realize that if you run a lightened striker spring you should really run a lightened striker too. It is just extra insurance against light primer strikes.

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Of course there are numerous other factors that play a role in a Glock not going into battery... I love shooting minor 40, 200gr, with an 11# spring, but I really have to mind the cleanliness of the firearm... It can get dirty quick!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'm running 147gr in my G34. I tried a 13 lb ISMI spring in it last weekend, and I think it is oversprung -- the empties were falling very close to my feet. I've put in an 11 lb spring, but I haven't had a chance to test it yet. I'll try it this weekend.

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