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Thoughts on recoil springs...


fbzero

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At matches and on these forums, I hear questions asked a lot about what weight to use, variable springs or not, etc. and everyone has their own bit of wisdom on the topic on what works for *them* and *their* gun.  The key words there are *them* and *their*.  Your situation is unique.  You aren't using the same ammo.  You don't have the same amount of upper body/grip strength, and on and on. 

Originally, I had taken the most frequently offered advice from experienced shooters and tried it, plus up and down a pound and went with the one that "felt" the best, then never re-approached the subject until I had some time to kill recently.  It seemed that most people suggested recoil springs in the 11/12lb range.  The following was completed with a 5.5" CK Arms 2011 in 40 S&W.  My test methodology was simple, and the results ended up surprising me.

 

I put up a 1/3rd size target, stood at 7 yards, and did "double taps" using my normal grip with the various spring weights to see where the impacts were.  The assumption was that a first hit followed by a high hit meant I needed more spring weight(not enough dip on the close), and a first hit followed by a low hit meant I needed to back off the spring weight(too much dip on the close).  I did 12 rounds on each target this way and then compared them when finished.  I paid no attention to how anything "felt", as that never seems to register during a stage anyway.

 

As expected, some springs had vertical streaming up from my point of aim and others had vertical streaming down from my point of aim.  The surprise was that what ended up being the most consistent, for me, was a 16lb variable recoil spring.  I suspect a lot of people who recommend the lighter ones would consider this to be "over-sprung" like a factory pistol, but I can't argue with the hits on paper.  Anyway, the whole point of this post is simple.  Other people can't tell you what's going to work for you.  You need to test it and find out for yourself...


 

Edited by fbzero
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