45 Raven Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 I have a 5" 9mm STI Tactical 5.0 that I have had for a few years. It is the bull barrel version with a 5" barrel and came with the "light" Recoilmaster recoil system in it. I seem to be in a very small minority of shooters who like this recoil setup in this pistol, but I haven't had any problems with it, although the recoil does feel a bit clunky and "2-stage". With that said I am happy with it. I recently purchased a NIB STI 9mm Eagle. This pistol has a standard 5" barrel with bushing. I want to set this pistol up to shoot ESP in IDPA as well as steel matches with no power factor required. I will be shooting 124 gr. MG bullets at a PF of 132-135 and want it to shoot as flat as the previously mentioned 5.0 Tactical with bull barrel, or as closely as possible. I need some advice/suggestions on where to start with the recoil spring setup. Would you recommend the purchase of one of the STI "Light" Recoilmaster assemblies made for the bushing barrel, or should I purchase a different guide rod/spring set-up? If you recommend a standard type recoil spring, can you also suggest a spring weight for use with the 124 gr. load mentioned above? Thanks very much for any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMike Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) Personally, I am not a fan of the RecoilMaster system for the "2-stage" clunkiness you mention. But that is just me. I have converted all my competition pistols to a regular recoil spring set-up. Having said all that, you might want to bump your PF down just a tad. I'm shooting a STI Trojan and running at a PF of right around 130. The Trojan uses a barrel bushing. I am currently running a 9 lb Wolf recoil spring and I really like how flat it seems to shoot. YMMV but good luck with whatever you decide to do. Edited June 7, 2016 by JMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted June 7, 2016 Author Share Posted June 7, 2016 Thanks for the information, and I agree that my PF factor needs to be bumped down a bit and I was going to shoot for 130-132. I'll look at the Wolff springs, too. I appreciate you taking the time to assist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&W686 Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 In each STI I own I remove the recoil master and replace it with a standard guide rod setup. I run a power factor around 130 and use a 10 lb Wolff spring. This has worked very well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted June 7, 2016 Author Share Posted June 7, 2016 Thanks very much for this feedback. May I ask you guys ( JMike and S&W686) to describe the difference in perceived recoil between the Recoilmaster and your Wolff springs with standard guide rod? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 The perceived recoil difference for me is that the guide rod wont break in the middle of a match. And the gun will still recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge40 Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 The first thing I do is remove the recoil master and replace it with a dawson tool less guide rod and run regular recoil springs. Too many people just don't like the recoil master for multiple reasons. Plus its so much easier to mess around with spring weights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted June 7, 2016 Author Share Posted June 7, 2016 Thanks again for the answers to my questions. I appreciate it. The DP tooless guide rod seems to be quite popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMike Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 I just didn't like the way the Recoilmaster felt. Like you said, there is a sort of "clunkiness" to it. It just doesn't feel as smooth as a regular recoil spring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 I'm a fan of just a plain 1 piece guide rod. Second favourite would be the 2 piece where you use a hex wrench to unscrew the front half leaving just a little gi size rod to remove. Using the little paperclip tool to capture the spring and reverse plug on the one piece is no hassle to me. The dawson tool less is a clever idea but I've seen them fail too. I've seen one lock the spring and reverse plug while the owner was shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMike Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I'm a fan of just a plain 1 piece guide rod. Second favourite would be the 2 piece where you use a hex wrench to unscrew the front half leaving just a little gi size rod to remove. Using the little paperclip tool to capture the spring and reverse plug on the one piece is no hassle to me. The dawson tool less is a clever idea but I've seen them fail too. I've seen one lock the spring and reverse plug while the owner was shooting. Hmm. Never seen that and I know a lot of people that run the Dawson's tool-less but without regard to my statements, that is great information. Thanks for posting! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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