shooterx10 Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 What's the stock spring weight of the STI Edge? What spring weight do you other shooters use? Also, does lengthening the OAL of the .40 S&W to 1.200 do anything to reduce recoil? I load .40S&W for other guns with a OAL of 1.135 and they fed fine in the Edge, but recoil is a BEITCH! I'm too cheap to buy a Recoil Master or Sprinco recoil reducer so I'd thought I'd change the recoil spring to a heavier one to dampen the recoil. Any help is greatly appeciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 What's the stock spring weight of the STI Edge? not sure, but somebody here will post the weight shortly, I'll bet. What spring weight do you other shooters use? Most like a like a light recoil spring. Also, does lengthening the OAL of the .40 S&W to 1.200 do anything to reduce recoil? I load .40S&W for other guns with a OAL of 1.135 and they fed fine in the Edge, but recoil is a BEITCH! You want to set your OAL for maximum feed reliability. I don't even consider OAL when I want to tinker with recoil. I'm too cheap to buy a Recoil Master or Sprinco recoil reducer so I'd thought I'd change the recoil spring to a heavier one to dampen the recoil. Again, most like a light recoil spring. Any help is greatly appeciated! Tell us about your load??? Your grip and stance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBChaffin Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 From the STI FAQ: Q. What is the recoil spring weight in my gun? A. As follows: Hard Chrome Comp'ed gun 9 pounds Blue Comp'ed guns 10 pounds 5" 9mm guns 12 pounds 5" .40 S&W guns 14 pounds 5" .45 ACP guns 16 pounds 6" 9mm guns 10 pounds 6" .40 S&W guns 12 pounds 6" .45 ACP guns 14 pounds For what it's worth, I'll share my opinion. Although Flexmoney didn't mention it in his post here (?!?!?!?!?!), a lot more about the subject can be found using the search function on the forums. I shoot an SV which is not a whole lot different than an Edge. After reading about it here, I have gravitated to lighter springs. I used a 12 or 12.5lb. for a couple years and am now toying with a 10lb. experiment. The seems to recoil a bit more but also seems to stay "flatter." Some people say that loading longer lowers recoil. Maybe so, but I agree with Flex. Go for feeding reliability. I am about 1.180 in my gun and most I know are between 1.170-1.220 in S_I .40's. It has been remarked that my gun is very flat shooting, but there are too many variables to say it is the OAL. As Flex mentioned, what is your load? There are several good choices that may be better than what you are using. I'm sure you can find some help here. Good luck. Bryant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 I too shot an SV 5" in 40. I use 12.5 lb ISMI recoil springs and no shock buffs. I agree with Flex and DB on the OAL/recoil issue. If anything. there is a bit of a pressure decrease at a longer OAL (all other things being equal) that might yeild lower felt recoil. However, when I think of recoil management, ammo OAL is the last thing I think of. However, in terms of ammo and recoil. bullet weight and powder burn rate are things that do come to mind. Generally speaking, 1911 style guns feed more reliably with ammo loaded to a longer OAL than 1.135". However, if you are having 100% feeding reliability with your current load, why change to a longer OAL? What I might experiment with is faster powders (e.g. Titegroup, Vhit N320) and mid-weight bullets (e.g. 180 gr). However, these seem to be very subjective. I have friends who swear by 200 gr bullets, some heavier. Others shoot lighter bullets 135, 155, 165 gr. All around, at Major PF, I my best loads for all factors are jacketed 180's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Try a 12/13 lb. spring, 180 gr. jhp @ 1.175 oal & 4.8 gr. vv320, about as soft as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 I have shot my STI Edge with both an 11 & 12 # spring. I like the 12 a little better. basically same load as Mr. Hill posted above. 180 gr JHP over VV N320. 165-170 pf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 I've got an Edge 40 and it came with a recoil master which I switched out for a Camonelli frame saver tungsten guide rod with 2 shok buffs. I messed around with different recoil spring weights from 10 - 12.5 lbs, and settled on a Wolf 12 lb. . I load to 1.21 oal with 180 grn JHP's over VV n320. PF 168- 170. I also put on the SS magwell for a little extra weight and durability over the aluminum version. I'm through changing things on my gun. It shoots very soft with this setup, but not as soft as Clay's loaded out to 1.23 - 1.25. Initially, I had some feeding problems with short ammo , but after doing alittle feedramp polishing, it has been absolutely reliable with just about anything I put in it including the short factory stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 What's the stock spring weight of the STI Edge? What spring weight do you other shooters use? I'm not sure what the exact poundage is, but the factory spring that came with my Edge was at least 16lbs. Waaaaaay toooo stiff for what the gun is intended for. I use a 12.5 ISMI with 2.5-3 coils clipped off. Works like a clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Anderson Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 The weight of your recoil spring has more of an effect on muzzle flip than straight back recoil. Where does the front sight return to when the gun fires. If it is returning low, you have too heavy of a recoil spring, too high and it is too light. You should be able to tune the gun so that it returns to right where it started. There is no 100% answer to what recoil spring you should use 100% of the time. Also get a recoil spring tester. If you don't want to buy the SDM there was a thread on how to build one very cheap. I find that most recoil springs don't weigh out to what is printed on the package (this is with ISMI). I'm currently using what is marked as a 14 lb spring. It actually measures out to 12.5. This is in a lightened bushing gun however. Buy a couple springs between 11 and 14 pounds and see what feels best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvc40jim Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Long time no post but here goes. You can really change the way a pistol feels with varying recoil spring weights, but like was mentioned you don't go a long way in reducing recoil. If you opt for a heavy spring you can a will increase felt recoil at some point. The harder the spring the harder it is for the slide to start reward movement, so the more straight back recoil impulse is allowed to happen. Also with a heavier spring the slide is forced to slam back into battery harder, causing muzzle dip at the end of the stroke. The recoil spring answer is testing... lots of it. Most shooters settle for what works and don't try to see what works better. I personally run commander length springs in my limited guns, same general weight windows as full length springs, but shorter. The slide comes out of battery easier and back into battery easier. Trimming springs other than to fit, seems to have an effect that degrades the usable lifespam of the spring, don't ask me why. Of course I also run a Sprinco guiderod in all my guns, especially with the commander springs, the goal I set out to achieve was a super fast cycle time and a very flat sight plain and that is the way I found it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 You can really change the way a pistol feels with varying recoil spring weights, ....... the goal I set out to achieve was a super fast cycle time.... Though be aware (use the search function to get to a ton of posts about this), changing recoil springs has little or no effect on cycle time in conventional handguns. To change cycle time, you can i) lighten your slide and/or ii) lighten your mainspring. Basically, a lighter recoil spring will make the slide go backwards faster, but forwards slower by the same amount. No net effect. --Detlef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonub Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 The jury is out, most prefer the 12 pound spring with a 17 pound main spring. I tried using a 11 pound awhile ago and it was violent So back to my 12 pound recoil spring with the new buff setup. So in other words it really depends on what the individual wants. For what its worth here is my list 12 pound ismi recoil spring cominolli tungsten frame saver with 2 wilson blue buffs a black cominolli buff and a thin steel plate in front to protect the buffs from being cut. an a red cominolli buff in the rear. svi long dust cover pistol n320 4.8 grains on a 180 grain head to reach 175 pf in the Philippines with an oal 1.212" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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