slide springs

[FISHMAN@TP.NET]

in a 1911, you can swich slide springs around untill the gun "feels" balaecned. can you do the same on a glock? and if so,were can i get a good selection. and i own a g24 longslide ported, in a 1911, with a comp, the heavyest you want to go is about 14-15lbs not 20lbs. dose the same hold true with the factoy porting from glock?
thank you very much for your time!
rich.

[glockshear]

Glock puts 17# springs in all their guns. This is deliberately low to accomodate all loads and increase accuracy but it causes more wear on the gun. I use 20# springs now and get them from TopGlock.com(this is just one company as there are others), call them on their toll fre line and they will answer your ?'s and give advice.
Albert

[Delmont]

glockshear-

Where does it cause more wear on the Glock? Any data to share with us? Have you seen this happen?

Rich-

Yes, you can change recoil springs to change how your gun recoils. Some like to go lighter, some like to go heavier. A number of competitive shooters like lighter springs to help fight front sight movement. I'll try to find some links to some past discussions.

[Bongo]

Yes, you can use a variety of springs to "tune" your Glock. Go to Wolff's web site www.gunsprings.com where you can buy a set of springs to test out with your gun.

However, you can save some time and just get a couple ISMI springs, a 13 and 15 lb spring which would be better for your comp'ed long slide. I use a 13lb spring in my 35 for IPSC/USPSA Limited, shooting Major loads and find it a better performing set up than going to a heavier spring. Using a comp'ed gun, where the comps take away some of the slide speed, using a lighter spring will help ensure ejection. You can get ISMI springs at www.Topglock.com , www.custom-glock.com or directly from ISMI at www.ismi-gunsprings.com , all good companies to deal with.

[Custom Glock Racing]

YOu can definitly tune the spring on your glock. Most of mine are set up with 13-15 ISMI that have been cut. WE have an ISMI 5 pack that is ideal for experimentation.
http://www.gunracing.com/Qstore/p000026.htm

Matt

[Delmont]

Matt,

Any idea what the final weight is after you cut the 13 lb ISMI? Do you just use the 13 as a starting point and go down from there?

BTW, Bobby Carver let me shoot his unlimited gun at the Carrollton GSSF match. Nice trigger!

[glockshear]

Delmont, according to Glock the springs are a lighter poundage to accomodate different loads and make slide retraction /jam clearing easier. The 17# springs are a compromise (between 13# & 20#). For a duty gun or carry gun they recommend 20# to use with full power or +p loads. Use lighter springs for lighter loads. The area that receives the brunt of the slide stopping would be the rear of the guide rod-barrel contact.
ALBERT

[Fireglock]

Originally posted by glockshear
Delmont, according to Glock the springs are a lighter poundage to accomodate different loads and make slide retraction /jam clearing easier. The 17# springs are a compromise (between 13# & 20#). For a duty gun or carry gun they recommend 20# to use with full power or +p loads. Use lighter springs for lighter loads. The area that receives the brunt of the slide stopping would be the rear of the guide rod-barrel contact.
ALBERT

Who recommends 20 lb. springs for duty or carry?

[Custom Glock Racing]

What Fireglock said...

My cut 13 in my 9 is about a 10-11 in all likelyhood but I cant tell you for certain without a spring tester.

Cutting springs is a bit tricky becuase if you go too far you just ruined your spring. I usually start by taking off 3 coils and then shoot and adjust if neccesary.

Delmont,

glad you liked the trigger, its our specialty.

matt

[glockshear]

Ok, this is what I was told by Glock armorer tech. and TopGlock armorer. I am just repeating it. Ihave found that my 17/22/21 do work better with the 20#. I tried their recommendation and decided to stay with it. If you guys keep beating me up I'm going to go back to 1911's.
Albert;f ;f

[glockshear]

When I was an LEO we only had S&W Model 10's for issue and I carried a Star BM for off duty(now you now I'm olldd). After the previous discussions I did a little further checking and found that heavier springs can cause bullet deformation on the feed ramp and bullet setback during chamber loading(maybe a reason for KB?). I think I will take your position and go back to the lighter spring.
Stay safe,
Albert

[Fredalso]

On the other hand, a light recoil spring will result in battering deformation of the frame, where the slide tang stops against it. Yes, I have seen this - in my G20. Now for some folks, the frame seems to be nearly a throw-away item, to be replaced inexpensively (relatively). I prefer the more conservative approach. And if anyone lives in Mass, how are you going to get a new frame (i.e. new gun) into the state?

Those who have been here for awhile should remember MarkCO's post on the subject. His qualifications appear valid, although I won't go thru them all for this. Check if anyone wants. His investigations show that most Glocks are undersprung from the factory, and do indeed batter the frame with full power ammo and good conditions. Maybe the price of reliability with lesser ammo and field conditions. He had some recommended spring weights for the various models.

The general idea, as it seems to me, is that a lighter spring may be good for competition, since slide cycle time is shorter, and the dynamics may result is less muzle rise. Also, note competition ammo is likely to be less than full power. A stronger spring is likely to give lower felt recoil and longer gun life. And it won't throw your brass into the next county.

Better chance of setpack with a stronger spring? Good point, especially with the bottlenecks. Also more chance with steeper feed ramps, such as may be found on other guns. Seems like a tossup, for the general handgun population.

Be aware of the various agruments, and choose the path you believe is best for you. Personally, I long ago grew weary of arguing the point.
I have stronger-than-stock springs in my Glocks, and am quite happy with those.

Oh yes, there is also the fact that a weaker recoil spring will have less force available to close the slide. This can lead to an out-of-battery condition, and hopefully just a failure to fire (rather than a kB!).
This can be countered a little with a lighter firing pin spring.
Which is likely to cause failures to fire unless you use Federal primers.
........ and on and on

[glockshear]

Fredalso, thanks for a very articulate and informing post. I agree.
Stay safe,
Albert