Glock with 13 lb recoil spring: change striker spring also @ minor PF?

[Kenaxford]

I will do my diligence on this with testing (I've ordered a 13lb & 15lb recoil spring) but until they arrive: I wonder who (if any) also needed to swap their striker spring when using a 13lb recoil spring with a Glock and reloads at the lower end of minor power factor?  (130 give or take).  It seems that any lower than 13# (like 11#) and a number of members have failure to return to battery so they need to swap striker spring also but didn't see much about that at 13# or 15#.  

 

For reference: I'm using 135gr and 147gr reloads near 130 PF, I had a number of FTE (failure to eject).  I dont' want to swap out too much internally so I'm trying recoil springs first then may just bump up my powder by 1 grain or so.  My question is just out of curiosity since I couldn't' find anything specific to that question on the forum.

[Sniperboy]

Assuming you are using an OEM 5.5lb striker spring, you are going to need to change your striker spring to a weaker one if you reduce your recoil spring as these springs act in opposite directions and have to be balanced.  The result, as you noted is an out of battery situation.

[bowenbuilt]

The proven combination is a ISMI 13 lb flat wound spring and a Wolff 4.5 striker spring. If you combine these 2 springs and don't deviate from these 2 brands throw them in there and you are done. You can use the 15 lb spring for hotter loads but for Minor this is the ticket.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello, depends on what gen Glock you are running? For the Gen 3 and older the 13lb ISMI with a Wolff 4lb has worked very well for me in a G17 and G34. For the Gen 5  G17mos I am running a Wolff 12lb recoil and a Wolff 4lb for carry optics. Check what the hits on your primers look like to see if you need a stronger striker spring. Thanks, Eric

[Kenaxford]

Thanks guys.  Good info so far.  Keep it coming.  Based on your recommendations I ordered a 4.5 striker spring too since it was cheap and just to try it out or if it was needed.

 

follow up question:    Did any of you swap striker springs because you “had to” or just felt like you should or maybe liked the feel of it?  
 

And has anyone used a 13# spring (or thereabouts) without needing to change the striker spring?

[Southpaw]

I've used a 13lb. recoil spring with OEM firing pin spring and it worked fine. As long as pulling the trigger doesn't move slide out of battery then you should be fine. Might not work in a Gen 5 though as spring is under less pre-tension.

 

Also agree with bowenbuilt on that being a good spring setup. 

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello, let the primer hits be your guide. I did try the 13lb ISMI with the stock striker spring. I did have some light primer hits that did not go bang. Changed to a 4lb and everything works great. Your results may very since the striker cups may drag more or less and the sleeve inside the slide maybe very smooth or kinda rough. Hope this helps. Thanks, Eric

[Jager1147]

The ISMI 13# will take a set after a while, remember to change approximately every 3000 rounds. I think of it like an oil change at every 3000 miles.... Good idea to perform the in battery test as well. Empty pistol pointed up vertically, and slowly depress the trigger. Slide movement =  too light recoil spring for your striker spring. (Or too heavy striker spring for your recoil spring). Oh, website finally fixed sorry guys for the delays in shipping.

 

Thanks, Billy

 

[Kenaxford]

More great info guys.  Thank you.  Also didn’t know about the “in battery test” so that will be a good pre-test before stepping to the line with different spring set ups. 

[Artemas]

Test it for yourself and see.  I never felt the need to change the striker springs in my gen4 34. If you have a new factory striker spring the gun will be slightly out of battery if you ease the slide forward, which is not how the gun works while  firing. This will fix itself in a few hundred rounds or if you rather just leave the gun cocked (empty) in the safe for a week and that often sets the striker spring enough.  I do change out my 13lbers about every 3000-4000 rounds and the gun is lubed prior to a match weekend.

 

I tried briefly going to a 5lb striker spring and all I got for my trouble was a pile of light strikes

[deerslayer]

20 hours ago, Kenaxford said:

And has anyone used a 13# spring (or thereabouts) without needing to change the striker spring?

 

I shot a gen 3 34 with an ISMI 13 lb recoil spring and a stock striker spring for years and never had any issues.  I eventually experimented extensively with 4.5 strilker springs and finally swore them off due to light strikes, but I used stock strikers.  4.5 w/ stock striker is supposed to be reliable but it wasn't from my experience (even with Federal primers).  Nowadays, I use 5 lb springs and am happy with them.  I did switch from stock 5.5 to 5 on my 34.5 and 17.5 with Timney triggers, because I was having slight lockup issues with 13 lb springs and stock strikers springs.  Like someone above said, the gen 5 guns' recoil springs have less pretension.  

Edited August 4, 2021 by deerslayer

[Kenaxford]

Thanks again for your help guys.  Just wanted to update for anyone in the future who comes across this post.  I ended up just needing the 15lb recoil spring and that worked great.  My pistol (Shadow systems MR 920 which is basically a glock 19 gen 4)  still went solid into battery, fired consistently and ejection was predictable and strong.  (all other parts are factory including striker and 5.5lb striker spring)   Side note, I decided to increase my loads by 1 grain so that my power factor was about 134 rather than the 130pf that I was shooting.  I couldn't really tell a difference (and certainly wouldn't be able to tell a difference under stress of competition) and that allows a little fudge room just to be sure both for reliability but also if I have to chrono at a match.   I also tested factory self defense rounds that shot pretty hot (about 140 PF) and that functioned reliably.  Good to make small change and have things work well now with my own reloads!

 

- Ken