That load ought to run a 16 lb spring.

If the rails were blasted, the increase in friction may be dragging things to a halt.
I had to have a 9mm Miller Major re-lapped after the finisher roughed up the nice smooth rails from the gunsmith.

Have you tried some regular AE hardball since?

Good luck with the clean and lube.

 

...
Have you tried some regular AE hardball since?

No, but that's part of my plan to test fire it after taking it down to the pins and thoroughly cleaning, lubing and re-assembling it. Shoot the AA ammo, and if I have an FTF, swap out with standard velocity ball and see what happens.

I appreciate your point about the rails losing some of their slickness. I'll pay particular attention to that, and possibly lap or polish them a bit. I like to run Weapon Shield or Slide Glide Lite grease on the rails when it's warm, but think I'll stick with plain old Weapon Shield liquid lube now that it's gotten colder.

No sense in adding one more variable that could retard slide travel.

Thanks very much, Mr. Watson.

 

Hello: I use a 14lb ISMI recoil spring for major and minor loads. I have even used a 12.5lb ISMI recoil spring for 130PF loads. I also use Mobil 1 to oil it. Thanks, Eric

 

Hello: I use a 14lb ISMI recoil spring for major and minor loads. ...

Eric, thanks. I'd be comfortable putting a 14 pound spring in, but doubt I can get my hands on one locally, in short order.

Thanks for the recommendation - I'll probably order one from Brownell's just to try out later.

 

My .45acp major PF load is 170-172 PF, and I run a 14 lb Wolff recoil spring. I'd say, give your pistol a good cleaning, lube it up so it runs wet and shoot it a bunch. I agree that the 16 lb spring should run that load just fine.

 

Similar to several others' posts, I would try other things, including a thin lubricant for the slide/frame rails, before going below a 16# recoil spring.

If you find that you still need to make a spring weight change, consider the recoil spring and the mainspring in tandem. When a competitive shooter such as yourself (who obviously knows quite a lot about shooting and 1911s), goes down on the recoil spring weight, there is a certain point where it is also advisable to go down (just a fraction) on the hammer mainspring weight. These two springs should be in balance with each other, although fortunately with 45acp ammo, there is a fairly wide margin of lattitude. Since what you have already works most of the time, maybe try a fractional adjustment via snipping-off a fraction of wire from the open end of your existing recoil spring ... e.g., change the spring from 16# to an effective 15.5#.

 

Thank you, 2MoreChains and chrysanthemum.

Weather is cool but nice today, so now that I have my client work out of the way, I'm going to go vote, then tear down the pistol, clean, lube and shoot it.

Going to put at least 100 rounds of standard ball through it, to eliminate the lower-pressure/velocity variable, and to provide some "caveman lapping" of the rails. Then I'll switch to the AA ammo and see how that does.

Thanks again to all.

Six

 

You could probably get away with a 12# spring, if you like how the gun feels, but I've always used 14# springs with major loads. 16# is needlessly stiff for major.

 

I also use 14lb for major loads. Someone on the enos board did some high speed filming with different recoil spring weights and the heavier spring weights cause the muzzle to dive when returning to battery. Also the light springs weights let the slide "linger" towards the rear longer. I prefer the feel of the 14 to 16lb also.

 

With the reduced load ammo, how far is the brass ejecting? And how far with the AE loads is the brass ejecting? That will determine what spring is needed. Tracy

 

Remember, springs work in both directions. The stronger the spring, the more it retards rearward motion during recoil -but it also causes the slide to slam forward more forcefully. That forceful forward motion is what can cause the muzzle to dip.

For a .45acp at 170-ish PF (which the 230 gr @ 375 fps is at), you don't really need the 16 lb spring to cushion recoil, and the added force of it going forward can be detrimental for quick follow-up shots. Hence the 14 lb spring is the preference by many who have responded.

Lubing up a gun well and shooting it a lot while dirty can be a poor-mans way of lapping the rails. The lube holds all the dirt in suspension and provides the lapping compound.

Have you ruled out ammo as the cause of your FTF? Some guns prefer a certain OAL.

 

For a .45acp at 170-ish PF (which the 230 gr @ 375 fps is at),

Nope its a 86 PF.

 

Maybe he meant 735?

 

Yeah, typo. 735 fps is what the OP cited for his ammo.

My bad.

 

Guys, believe me, if I could throw a 230 grain bullet at 375 fps and still make major power factor, I'd be doing it in a heartbeat.

I need all the advantages I can get.

I might have to hold pretty high for the 20-25 yard shots, though, with a pumpkin roller setup like that.

 

Years ago, my early pin loads (before I realized how important hot loads were), I was loading 3.6 Unique w/255lswc. Guy at a pin shoot brought his chrono.

10 rd avg was 536 fps. You could watch the rd going downrange.

 

Another vote for 14#.

 

Not to hijack a thread, but you guys using 14lb spring, do you prefer wolf variable springs or regular springs? Thanks

 

I personally prefer stardard rate 14 lb. recoil spring....No variable rates for me

 

230 grain fmj at 735fps

Curiosity: First, if it won't return to battery
what makes you think the recoil spring should be lighter?
Just asking. That ammo runs any spring 12 to 18.

Curiosity: Why did you bead/sandblast your gun?
Was there a problem with it, or just refinishing?

No criticism from me, just asking.

 

...No criticism from me, just asking.

Nick, no offense taken, no worries. I was grasping at straws, and wanting not to have to use full power ball, and/or have the slightly increased muzzle dive of the 16 pound spring if I could get the lower power (but still major PF) ammo to work.

Yes, the frame was blasted with a combination of glass and aluminum oxide beads, imparting a duller, grayer, slightly rougher finish (to the touch, anyway) than the original glass bead blast I finished it in. The frame ramp wasn't the mirror polish smooth I had on it, but I didn't have any more Cratex bits to smooth it with, and my last tube of Simichrome was so old that what oozed out of it was like varnish.

Determined that what was causing the FTRBs was too much extractor tension that had been applied to it by a friend with good intentions who's forgotten more about building 1911s than I'll ever know. It was just enough more that the extractor needed an occasional nudge to get the extractor over the case rim. Didn't occur to me that the method we used to set the tension when building the gun (dummy round trial & error) hadn't failed me in three+ years of shooting it, and that we should have left well enough alone.

Too soon old, too late smart. Story of my life.

 

an occasional nudge to get the extractor over the case rim.

Hi, Bulldog.

Extractor doesn't snap over the case rim,
the rim rises up from the magazine under the extractor.
This is a basic feature of the 1911, and an important one to understand.
We always focus on the feed ramp, but
the smoothness of the breechface,
allowing the base of the cartridge to slide up it,
is equally essential to reliable feeding.

 

On my 5" Government, shooting 166-170 PF ammo, I run a 15lb recoil spring. With that spring, my hammer pairs look like this ..

 

While shooting your regular load, shoot a single shot with the 16# spring in it. When the gun goes into battery, does it cause the muzzle to dip way below the target? If so, the spring is too heavy for that load.

I run a 12# spring. My load is 230 Bayou RN W/ 3.7 Clays. 170 PF. Going into battery, it leaves my front sight pretty much on target.

 

what does spring 'pounds' mean?

is it, pounds(force)of change per inch of compression,
or pounds(force) at some installed length?