9mm 1911 - 11lb Wolff spring vs. stock 14lb spring

[RickT]

I was at the range today with my wife shooting different loads. One of the loads was marginal for cycling so I installed an 11lb Wolff spring as a replacement for the 14lb stock spring (or whatever it is after 500 rounds). Just wanted to see if the lower tension spring would make a difference.

I knew when installing the Wolff spring that it was higher tension than the stock. What's the strategy for testing various spring tensions? I understand that stock spring specs can be questionable. Should I install a "stock" (14lb) Wolff spring and use that my point of reference or just order a 9lb Wolff spring to try? How many rounds down range with a brand new spring before the spring "breaks in" (if they do at all)? I'm going to order a 9lb spring just to have one on hand.

[Rob01]

What pistol? STI ships their 5" 9mm with 10 pound springs. The .40s come with 14 pound. 14 pound is too much spring for a 9mm in my opinion.

I put a 9 pound in my STI Trojan and I ended up going back to the factory 10 pound. It felt better for me while shooting. Only way you can really find what works is to shoot them. Springs aren't too expensive so buy one of each and try them.

[RickT]

Should have mentioned the 1911 9mm is a Springfield which comes with a 14lb recoil spring. The 11lb Wolff spring I installed at the range actually felt heavier when installing and didn't improve cycling. I suspect the Wolff whatever its tension was actually heavier than the stock spring but I have no means of measuring.

[Bluemooncricket]

Should have mentioned the 1911 9mm is a Springfield which comes with a 14lb recoil spring. The 11lb Wolff spring I installed at the range actually felt heavier when installing and didn't improve cycling. I suspect the Wolff whatever its tension was actually heavier than the stock spring but I have no means of measuring.

I'm running an 11 lb spring in my RO with great results. Perhaps the spring you received was packaged incorrectly or there may be an issue with another part of your pistol.

[ltdmstr]

14lb is very heavy for a 9mm. And 11 is on the heavy side. I run 9lb with no problems. Lighter spring will recoil faster but move forward slower, so sights dip less. You need to have the barrel ramp and extractor set up correctly to feed reliably regardless of which spring you use. It's even more critical with a lighter spring. Magazines can also be an issue.

[RickT]

I've ordered both 9lb and 10lb Wolff springs. Will give the 9lb spring a go. Wolff does describe their spring needing some work to take a set in order to reach its design performance. I suspect that is why the Wolff 11lb spring felt stiffer than the stock spring. I'm leaving the 11lb spring in my gun and we'll see what happens as it breaks in.

[wurm]

Are you sure the stock spring is 14 lbs? My 9mm Springfield Loaded came stock with a 9 lb. I think (don't quote me on this) that Springfield 1911s in 9mm with the ILS come with 9 lb springs, while guns without ILS come with 14 lb springs. At least that is what the internet says. Might be why the 11 lb Wolff feels heavier. Either way, 9 lbs is a great weight for my Loaded.

[Steve RA]

I run a 10lb variable and a 17lb mainspring in my 9mm and have no problems with it.

[bountyhunter]

What pistol? STI ships their 5" 9mm with 10 pound springs.

My 9mm 5" Trojan came with a 12# spring.

[Rob01]

What pistol? STI ships their 5" 9mm with 10 pound springs.

My 9mm 5" Trojan came with a 12# spring.

http://www.stiguns.com/resources/faq/

Q: What is the recoil spring weight in my gun?

A:

• Compensated pistols 8 pounds
• 5″ 9mm guns 10 pounds
• 5″ .40 S&W guns 14 pounds
• 5″ .45 ACP guns 18 pounds
• 6″ 9mm guns 8 pounds
• 6″ .40 S&W guns 12 pounds
• 6″ .45 ACP guns 14 pounds

[Bunsen]

Thanks for the links on the STI Springs

[bountyhunter]

What pistol? STI ships their 5" 9mm with 10 pound springs.

My 9mm 5" Trojan came with a 12# spring.

http://www.stiguns.com/resources/faq/

Q: What is the recoil spring weight in my gun?

A:

• Compensated pistols 8 pounds
• 5″ 9mm guns 10 pounds
• 5″ .40 S&W guns 14 pounds
• 5″ .45 ACP guns 18 pounds
• 6″ 9mm guns 8 pounds
• 6″ .40 S&W guns 12 pounds
• 6″ .45 ACP guns 14 pounds

They changed that since I bought my Trojan around 1995. But it did come with a 12# spring and I have always run it that way. I know because I called to ask them when the gun was new and it would "short" occasionally when the gun was still very tight. They said I could go down to 10# to break in then put the 12# back in. 12# runs perfect with standard 115 gr factory FMJ ammo, probably fired 30k rounds or more. I am sure it could run with a lighter recoil spring but I don't see any reson to beat it up. No guarantee 12# is the best for every gun, but that's what mine shipped with and I never had a reason to change it.

FYI, you can see Wilson Combat's opinion on recoil springs. They call out 10 - 12#.

http://blog.wilsoncombat.com/1911/a-guide-to-1911-recoil-springs-by-wilson-combat/

Edited January 11, 2015 by bountyhunter

[bountyhunter]

Wolff calls out 14# for 9mm which I think is too high:

http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%20Pistols/COLT/1911%20GOV%27T%20PISTOL/cID1/mID1/dID1#3

[RJH]

I also run a #12 in my 9mm. It is the factory weight in that gun and it works fine.

[RickT]

My 9mm Springer has the ILS which apparently has a standard 9lb recoil spring and a beefier main spring. Doesn't give much margin for reducing the recoil spring. Most seem to ditch the ILS, reduce the mainspring and up the recoil spring. I'm going to look into this as it's a very inexpensive change and I've not seen a single post from someone who actually uses the ILS.

[BrianATL]

8# here

[RickT]

Are you sure the stock spring is 14 lbs? My 9mm Springfield Loaded came stock with a 9 lb. I think (don't quote me on this) that Springfield 1911s in 9mm with the ILS come with 9 lb springs, while guns without ILS come with 14 lb springs. At least that is what the internet says. Might be why the 11 lb Wolff feels heavier. Either way, 9 lbs is a great weight for my Loaded.

Your right. I hadn't read the fine print about ILS for non-ILS. I'm going to look into eliminating the ILS so I'll be running a more conventional range of spring "weights".

[19852]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF. As soon as I get my super back from the smith I'm going to try a 9# in it. Still using the factory main [Colt].

[Rob01]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF.

Yup they do. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=8000191F-1391097312

BH, if your 9mm runs with a 12 pound then that's great but a lot run less and even STI has changed what they use obviously. The 10 pound doesn't beat the pistol up at all. I tried the 10 pound that came with the pistol and also a 9 pound and the 9 pound felt fine but my double taps were tighter with the 10 pound. Everyone should try a few and tune their pistol to their shooting.

[bountyhunter]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF.

Yup they do. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=8000191F-1391097312

BH, if your 9mm runs with a 12 pound then that's great but a lot run less and even STI has changed what they use obviously. The 10 pound doesn't beat the pistol up at all. I tried the 10 pound that came with the pistol and also a 9 pound and the 9 pound felt fine but my double taps were tighter with the 10 pound. Everyone should try a few and tune their pistol to their shooting.

Not sure why I would change when 12# has always worked perfectly. And if my engineering degrees were worth their money, a stronger recoil spring stores more energy on the rear stroke = less battering when the slide hits the frame. Don't know why I would change what works to increase frame battering.

Edited January 12, 2015 by bountyhunter

[motosapiens]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF.

Yup they do. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=8000191F-1391097312

BH, if your 9mm runs with a 12 pound then that's great but a lot run less and even STI has changed what they use obviously. The 10 pound doesn't beat the pistol up at all. I tried the 10 pound that came with the pistol and also a 9 pound and the 9 pound felt fine but my double taps were tighter with the 10 pound. Everyone should try a few and tune their pistol to their shooting.

Not sure why I would change when 12# has always worked perfectly. And if my engineering degrees were worth their money, a stronger recoil spring stores more energy on the rear stroke = less battering when the slide hits the frame. Don't know why I would change what works to increase frame battering.

'battering' of a 9mm 1911 frame is one of those things that is purely theoretical imho. How many broken 9mm 1911 frames have you seen?

if you like the 12lb spring tho, that's fine. it might even make it easier to switch back and forth between 45 and 9mm, since the 12 lb spring will cause slightly more muzzle drop when it goes back into battery. I don't really worry about that since i naturally adjust my grip after the first few shots when changing recoil spring weights. Some people do seem to shoot tighter groups with one weight or another. I just try to pick one that runs the gun and doesn't let the brass fly too far to easily find. Currently using an 11 lb in my 9mm 1911. I'll probably order a 10 and/or 9 just to try some day, but the 11 works great.

[ltdmstr]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF.

Yup they do. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=8000191F-1391097312

BH, if your 9mm runs with a 12 pound then that's great but a lot run less and even STI has changed what they use obviously. The 10 pound doesn't beat the pistol up at all. I tried the 10 pound that came with the pistol and also a 9 pound and the 9 pound felt fine but my double taps were tighter with the 10 pound. Everyone should try a few and tune their pistol to their shooting.

Not sure why I would change when 12# has always worked perfectly. And if my engineering degrees were worth their money, a stronger recoil spring stores more energy on the rear stroke = less battering when the slide hits the frame. Don't know why I would change what works to increase frame battering.

Nine pound spring is not going to beat up the frame with minor power factor 9mm, particularly if you run a shock buffer. Most competition types are more concerned about sight alignment when the slide comes forward than the speed in which it recoils. With a lighter spring, recoil is faster, but forward motion of the slide is slower, so sights dip less. That typically makes for faster follow-up shots.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I use a 9lb ISMI recoil spring, 17LB ISMI mainspring and contour the firing pin stop. No shock buff is needed. Thanks, Eric

[Rob01]

Pretty sure Dawson calls for a 9# spring for .38 Super Auto, 5" uncompensated, minor PF.

Yup they do. http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=8000191F-1391097312

BH, if your 9mm runs with a 12 pound then that's great but a lot run less and even STI has changed what they use obviously. The 10 pound doesn't beat the pistol up at all. I tried the 10 pound that came with the pistol and also a 9 pound and the 9 pound felt fine but my double taps were tighter with the 10 pound. Everyone should try a few and tune their pistol to their shooting.

Not sure why I would change when 12# has always worked perfectly. And if my engineering degrees were worth their money, a stronger recoil spring stores more energy on the rear stroke = less battering when the slide hits the frame. Don't know why I would change what works to increase frame battering.

You don't have to change but people wanting to tune their pistols might want to to see which weight works best for them to shoot quick doubles. Your frame isn't getting battered enough to make any problems with a 10 pound.

In case someone hasn't seen it and it might help

[motosapiens]

I must be insensitive because different recoil springs made no significant difference for me shooting quick doubles or bill drills. The first bill drill i did after changing would start a little high or low (depending on which direction I went with the recoil spring weight), but the 2nd and subsequent ones were where they were supposed to be, with the same splits and group sizes as before. I just try to watch the sights.