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Should I install a shock buff in a 1911 between the recoil spring guide rod and frame or between the recoil spring guide rod and recoil spring?

And how often should the buffer be changed?

Georgezilla wrote:Should I install a shock buff in a 1911 between the recoil spring guide rod and frame or between the recoil spring guide rod and recoil spring?

And how often should the buffer be changed?

It mounts on the recoil spring guide rod under the spring, and whenever er it show wear. Will not work on the compact 1911's, not enough room for the gun to work.

Thank you very much! I had a 50/50 of guessing where to install it and of course, I guess wrong. It will be mounted in the manly sized government model so no worries.

My recommendation would be to use the correct recoil spring instead. If your measurement of the collapsed spring is less than 1.6" (taken when the slide is at full rearward movement) you may have a spring that is actually stacked solid and not performing as a recoil spring should. (Bullseye correct me if my memory is off a bit on the 1.6").

When in full recoil your recoil spring should be strong enough to keep the slide from slamming into the frame. If you need a shock buff, your spring should be slightly stronger or your load may be too hot.

A gunsmith friend of mine told me once that in your last shot fails to lock the slide back (when shooting limp wrist), and your brass is in a nice pile 2-3' behind and to the rear then your spring is matched to your load.

FWIW

If memory serves I decided to install one based on advice from Bullseye. Not positive though as it took me awhile to get around to ordering them.

One is OK. Just don't be like some of the guns I see, where someone thought that if one was good, then two must be twice as good.

R,
Bullseye

Bullseye wrote:One is OK. Just don't be like some of the guns I see, where someone thought that if one was good, then two must be twice as good.

R,
Bullseye

Two, might be twice as good but who wants a single shot 1911????? Have heard of guy trying them on the short barrel guns but they will not work, am not sure if they will work on a commander or not.

I installed the Ed Brown shock buff today. Unfortunately I ran into a problem. With the shock buff installed the slide doesn't have enough rearward clearance to allow the slide stop to function properly. There is enough rearward movement to allow the slide stop to engage and hold the action open, however there is not enough clearance to rack the slide using the sling shot method -- when I tried the sling shot method the slide was only pushing the slide stop down about 3/4 of the way.

So what would you suggest I do? I was thinking maybe sanding the shock buff down a bit to make it thinner, or cut a coil off the recoil spring (or just buy a new buff)

No, don't cut the spring coil. The shock buff is not an essential part of your pistol. Some 1911 pistol tolerances are too tight to use one of these buffers. If your gun has problems with clearance for the slide stop then don't bother using one. Are you seeing signs of battering on the spring guide or the rear dust cover of the slide? If not, then you really don't need a buffer.

R,
Bullseye

I am not really sure what is expected wear and what is not, so I just took some pictures.

Frame:


Spring guide (front):


Spring guide (back):


I noticed a couple things while inspecting these areas, but again I am not sure what is considered normal. On the front side of the spring guide I noticed the marring, presumably from the recoil spring. On the back side of the spring guide I noticed that the top part of the U shape appeared to have had the metal pushed down or recessed, but after inspecting the frame I noticed the same thing except it was the top part of the frame that was recessed -- So I think that might be by design to allow the two parts a nice fit. I wasn't sure so I figured I'd mention it

How many rounds through the pistol?

R,
Bullseye

Around 2,200. About all the rounds save for 50ish have been Winchester 230grn FMJ's to build up a good brass supply.

The wear is not excessive even though it's a fairly low round count. You should be OK. If you continue see more progressive wear with more Hardball then you may want to consider a little stiffer recoil spring.

R,
Bullseye

Bullseye, have you ever tried a firing pin stop with the small radius the way JMB designed it originally but the Army wanted it changed because it made it harder to hand cock the gun?? Slows the slide down a little on the way back and also helps reduce muzzle jump, I use a 14# progressive spring as well as I can remember and also use a shok buff. The gun is an SA Parkerized Loaded and it runs just great even with my 200 grain LSWC practice loads.

Out of curiosity which part of the spring guide was showing the wear?

If I were to install a stiffer spring for hardball what weight would you recommend? Right now it throws the cases (hardball) about 4' or 5'. For that matter could you recommend a few springs for pet loads because I am going to be getting into reloading very shortly and I'd rather ordered a good selection rather than make a few separate orders.

Thanks