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The SASS Wild Bunch Forum

Recoil Spring Weight


ODESSA

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Recoil spring and mainspring have to balance out - as one goes lighter, so does the other.  The best guide I have ever heard, then tried, is to shoot the load you want to run in matches.  Watch where the brass lands.  Closer than 3-4 feet, you need a lighter set of springs.  About 4-8 feet, you have the right springs already.  And brass thrown a long way out, you need heavier springs.

 

Most folks are interested in getting the effort needed to rack the slide down to a comfortable level for their style of racking the gun.  If you do that, a lighter mainspring is the main contributor to ease of racking, and to running a lighter but crisp trigger pull.  Recoil spring is key to getting proper feeding and chambering.   

 

With all that said, for my 165 PF loads with a 200 grain bullet, I find a 15# recoil (standard, not progressive) and a 19# mainspring works well for my guns.  Brass drops about 5-6 feet away.

 

The standard factory FMJ and mil-spec load is 230 grain bullet at 830 fps, or 190 PF.  For that, Colt factory installs 16 or 16.5# recoil and 23# mainspring.  Those numbers tell me I want (can use) just a little lighter springs than those factory springs when I'm shooting lighter WB loads. 

 

And folks who routinely shoot +P and defensive loads often like their recoil and mainsprings at 18# / 23-25#

 

 

 

 

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