Reduced power springs

[BobS761]

Just received the new springs for our pistols. We have 3 XDm .40 and an XD .40 tactical. With minor loads the XDm cycle but it seems a bit sluggish and the XD will throw an occasional stove pipe. We are not pushing the floor on power factor, so I bought the next lower weight springs. The new springs came with a firing pin spring. Is it necessary to change this as well? I'm afraid that may be beyond my skill level.

Thanks,

B

[Bunchies95]

I have been told that you should change the striker spring as well. Some people say that you shouldn't mix and match spring power levels, but I haven't had a problem doing it.

That spring is really easy to change, it will want to shoot parts everywhere so be careful. All you need is a punch. Here is a video from Springer Precision on how to detail strip the slide:

Other videos from Springer:

http://www.springerprecision.com/videos.php

[grapemeister]

Have you cronographed your rounds? I suspect that you're not reaching power factor if the rounds are not cycling the gun. But, maybe you're not worried about power factor? I could be wrong, and maybe a lighter spring is the answer. But, I have my doubts about that. The stronger striker spring should not be necessary. If anything, you might find a lighter striker spring to be more beneficial.

You see, the two springs work against each other, and if you go with a really light recoil spring, less than 16 pounds, you may have problems with the gun staying in battery and/or excess ware and tear to the gun. A lighter striker spring may keep that from happening. I found that 14lbs was too light, and was most likely a cause to some of the ware to my gun; cracked slide, and some other worn and cracked parts. Of course, that's back when I was shooting 25,000 to 30,000 rounds a year.

I should add that back when I was using a 14lb spring, I didn't go with a lighter striker spring. I didn't find out about the benefits of a lighter striker springs until later. It was TGO that brought it up and suggested it on this forum. I ended up going with a 16lb pound spring, and have stuck with it. I think it's a good balance with the factory striker spring. I just have to replace the recoil spring on a regular basis. The lighter recoil springs do ware out faster. It doesn't take long before it's actually a 15 or 14 pound spring. I change mine about every 5 or 6 months, depending on how much I shoot. If you do end going with a lighter striker spring, you'll most likley have to use Federal primers, or some other softer primer.

Edited January 11, 2013 by grapemiester

[BobS761]

Have you cronographed your rounds? I suspect that you're not reaching power factor if the rounds are not cycling the gun. But, maybe you're not worried about power factor? I could be wrong, and maybe a lighter spring is the answer. But, I have my doubts about that. The stronger striker spring should not be necessary. If anything, you might find a lighter striker spring to be more beneficial.

You see, the two springs work against each other, and if you go with a really light recoil spring, less than 16 pounds, you may have problems with the gun staying in battery and/or excess ware and tear to the gun. A lighter striker spring may keep that from happening. I found that 14lbs was too light, and was most likely a cause to some of the ware to my gun; cracked slide, and some other worn and cracked parts. Of course, that's back when I was shooting 25,000 to 30,000 rounds a year.

I should add that back when I was using a 14lb spring, I didn't go with a lighter striker spring. I didn't find out about the benefits of a lighter striker springs until later. It was TGO that brought it up and suggested it on this forum. I ended up going with a 16lb pound spring, and have stuck with it. I think it's a good balance with the factory striker spring. I just have to replace the recoil spring on a regular basis. The lighter recoil springs do ware out faster. It doesn't take long before it's actually a 15 or 14 pound spring. I change mine about every 5 or 6 months, depending on how much I shoot. If you do end going with a lighter striker spring, you'll most likley have to use Federal primers, or some other softer primer.

I have chrono'ed the rounds and PF is 144. Going from 18# to 16# on the XDm's and 17# to 15# on the XD. Still going to try to get down to 130ish PF in load development.

[grapemeister]

I just realized that your loading 40 cal. Sorry, I overlooked that. It's been a long time since I've loaded 40 cal. so can't offer much advice. But, after some more thought, it dawned on me that I haven't ran a factory recoil spring for several years, and it's quite possible that my 9mm loads probably wouldn't cycle the gun, or maybe not consistently, if I had the stock recoil spring in it.

Maybe lighter recoil springs will help you get to where you want to be. I would be careful with the 14lb spring. I still think they're too light for the XD, but maybe you'll be ok with it. Like I said before, TGO recommends putting in a lighter striker spring when using light recoil springs, and it's hard to argue with the TGO, and the expereince he has with XD's.