Recoil Spring for M&P 9

[Taylor Murphy]

So from what i have read the factory recoil spring is in the range of 15-16#. Has anyone tried the SSS factory replacement recoil springs that are designed to work with the M&P's factory captured guide rod setup. If so what has been tried the 11# or 13# spring? I could always order both as they aren't that expensive, but as of right now i am shooting factory loaded federal rounds and in the future i may switch to reloads so it may be reasonable to wait and decide on a pound rating until i decide if i am going to shoot reloads. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[HI5-O]

from what I read, most are using the 13#. Try both with your set up and see what works for you.

other things that come into play are reduced power striker springs and trigger springs.

[mcracco]

I wouldn't change the recoil spring if you are shooting factory loads. I tried the 13# spring with my lower power reloads and I had issues with the slide not returning to battery. End of that experiment.

[mhearn]

11 lbs. Atlanta arms. 147 sub sonic ammo. No problems

[chuck s]

I use the 13lb non captured spring with the ss guide rod with 147 gr 135PF loads with excellent results.I have not changed any other springs on the gun

[RH45]

I don't remember the weight, but, I tried a lighter spring, that had been in my Glock 34, and also went to a reduced power striker spring. It shot ok, but, I could shake the gun out of battery.

I didn't like the idea of it accidentally firing, out of battery so I put the stock recoil set-up back in.

[PacMan]

I tried 13# and my 9 Pro had some issue with returning to battery so the factory setup went back in.

[TimMTP]

I actually ended up going the other way. I tried the lighter springs while building up some light loads for my 9L and 9 Pro. Didn't have much success in the accuracy department. I was suspect that I was having the early unlocking problem with the factory barrels. I remembered reading something by Burwell about a really stiff spring may help keep the barrel in battery a little longer. So, I tried heavier springs with factory ammo. I ended up with a 17lb spring running factory Federal 115gn loads. Accuracy improved. I've since installed a KKM barrel with the same spring and load and accuracy is much better. I haven't tried light loads with light springs with the new barrel yet. I'm happy with the way they are performing now so I think I'll leave well enough alone.

[Recoil45]

I'm using a 13lb spring and shooting 135's at about 132pf. I am very happy with how the gun runs.

[Taylor Murphy]

Thanks fir the feedback guys, I believe I'm going to give the 13# spring a try.

[Sin-ster]

Working with the factory rod was too much of a PITA for me when changing springs, so I picked up an aftermarket one. (Note that those designed for Glocks will work in the M&P 100%.)

I prefer captured rods over uncaptured for reference, although swapping springs on them can be a PITA at times as well.

My 9 Pro runs a 13# in this fashion with my 131 PF loads and has never caused an issue to date, somewhere in the realm of 25k fired in that condition. I do swap the springs when they start to get soggy to avoid out-of-battery issues, which seems to be around the 7500 mark, give or take. I run ISMI flat coils and the SSS guide rod designed specifically for the task.

The pistol was blackout accurate with the factory barrel and this set up, printing one hole at 20 yards off hand by one of our World Shoot Team Members in far from optimal conditions. It got even better when I dropped in a KKM barrel and learned to shoot off the bags better.