1911 recoil springs

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Georgezilla
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1911 recoil springs

Post by Georgezilla » Fri May 15, 2009 4:41 pm

When it comes to 1911 (government) recoil springs, does brand really matter?
Most of the Ed Brown springs are close to $11, a brand called ISMI are around $6.50. If the Ed Brown springs are really better I'm willing to pay the extra cash. If not, $4.50 makes a difference when I'm going to order 10 or so springs.

What does it mean when a spring is 'variable power'? I only assume that it means it is OK to stretch that spring to add weight.

Lastly, if I post a picture of a recoil spring of an unknown weight next to a #10, can anyone here make a decent guess as to what the unknown is? I'm told the Baer hardball pistol I've been shooting has a #18 spring in it. However I don't think that's what they put in it as it cycles 200gr SWC on 4.1gr of green dot just fine.

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Post by Bullseye » Fri May 15, 2009 8:16 pm

There is a difference in springs. The spring steel can lose its tension in poorer quality springs. Higher grade springs don't lose that tension. There's no way to visually see the steel and see how high the spring steel grade is but the better makers have the higher grade springs.

A variable spring is one where the coils are spaced at different intervals. The spring will not act lineally for tension. It will act like a weaker weight spring for soft loads as the spring does not compress completely. For higher powered loads the spring will compress farther and the tension weight will be increased. Basically the variable spring is flexible to react to the load of the cartridge.

It is really impossible to tell tension by sight. Different grade steel in springs have different effects on the tension. A physically shorter spring can actually have a higher tension weight. The best way is to check the tension weight using a spring fixture. Your spring could be #18 in the Les Baer and function with the load that you mentioned, there's no hard fast rule on spring sizes. They are all different based on the physical properties of a particular pistol. #18 spring can work in your pistol, especially if the slide does not have a red dot scope mounted to it. If there is a scope mounted directly to the slide then a lighter weight spring would be appropriate.

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Georgezilla
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Post by Georgezilla » Fri May 15, 2009 11:20 pm

Thanks, Bullseye. Very informative. I asked what weight spring came in the Baer hardball on m1911.org, someone said theirs had an 18 1/2 variable, at the time I read it variable meant nothing to me.

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