It’s All In The Springs

When a customer asks you to regulate or debug an automatic pistol he doesn’t always hand you a platinum credit card to use for the expense of parts. Experimentation is not something many customers are willing to pay for. Today there are so many makers of parts, including springs and guide rods, that we may find ourselves confused. I think it is obvious that some parts must be better than others while some are better suited to competition than military and police use.

Heavy loaded hunting handguns or other pistols designed for special purposes area common consideration. When it comes to service guns or those used for personal defense we must be very serious and choose only proven, quality parts. Experiments are fine with personal handguns. This is exactly how I learned much of what I know concerning the 1911 pistol. Commonly produced O-frames such as the 1911 Government Model, 10mm pistols, and the Commander all have factory specifications.

Then there is the .45 Super, .460 Rowland and other, less common variations. A consideration that must be foremost is the proper springs for the application. Not all springs used in the 1911 are coil springs, although these get the most attention. The sear spring is a flat spring with three fingers in front of the grip safety. All sear springs are not created equal. The detents and protrusions of the sear spring are not as well defined on some leaf springs.

If we wish to improve upon the Colt then we must use good material. I have tested any number of so-called improvements. Twenty years ago I used a special sear spring with an odd curl in the leaf that bore against the disconnect. It often kept the pistol from firing! I have since returned to Colt and later, Wilson Combat, Ed Brown and Dave Berryhill parts. Lets look hard at the sear spring. As I refer to them, left or right is from a rear perspective.

The left arm of the sear spring regulates pressure of sear engagement or contact with the hammer hooks. This leg is sometimes bent forward toward the muzzle to increase pressure upon the sear, forcing it into the hammer hooks. This is an expedient used if you experience the hammer following the slide during the action cycle. I have to admit this expedient always works but I am more likely these days to replace the entire sear spring rather than bend one.

As a rule, I replace action components in matched sets from one manufacturer. A full auto burst is not something I have ever experienced and I wish to keep it that way! I suppose I trash some internal parts just because I can but in the end the handgun is all the better for it. The middle arm of the sear spring bears upon trigger compression. The arm may be bent forward to increase trigger pull weight and bending rearward reduces it.

In testing with the RCBS registering trigger pull weight gauge I’ve found the range of adjustment possible to be about eight ounces up or down. I suppose some handguns may register a bit different but this is an accurate predica tion. Note, if you bend this spring too far it will take pressure off the disconnect. Despite the availability of what appear to be high quality,

There is no way to know by just looking. Keep these stored in original packing! durable parts if more than a handful of bends are made in the spring over time I tend to discard and replace it. Most of the 1911s I work with are defense handguns and I am very serious in this regard. I will restate that if we are working with a competition handgun a bit of experimentation is a another matter. The right arm of the sear spring provides pressure for the grip safety.

I appreciate the grip safety of the 1911 very much and consider the grip safety a fine design feature. On the other hand, some shooters find the grip safety a problem, especially with the GI type. Before the general availability of affordable, high-quality beavertail safeties, a common expedient was to bend the right hand arm of the sear spring forward. This results in a faster activation of the piece as less pressure is registered on the grip safety. Firing pin springs should be inspected from time to time.

Some modern 1911 handguns have firing pin blocks. For those pistols lacking this feature I recommend using a heavier firing pin spring instead. This heavy spring will prevent the firing pin from running forward and cracking the primer if the pistol is dropped on the muzzle. The Series 80 design is not immune from such a discharge despite the firing pin block.

If the hammer is lowered on alive This spring can cause the handgun to have fits of malfunction and battering if not properly regulated. round and the trigger is not immediately released until the very end of the hammer’s downward travel under control of the shooter, the firing pin may be left in a forward position. The 1911 really should be carried cocked and locked! If the Series 80 is carried hammer down on a loaded chamber there is a possibility that the firing pin block is not positively engaged.

A heavy Wolff firing pin spring is a good idea for all 1911 handguns. For those using +P loads a heavy firing

After thirty years of using the 1911 the author recommends heavy duty firing pin springs across the board. In the text the author outlines the individual function of each finger. Deviate from specifications at your own risk! pin spring helps keep the firing pin from running forward as the slide slams into battery. I recommend them across the board. Note that the tapered end of this spring is oriented toward the muzzle of the pistol.

When checking a handgun for faults, you may find the occasional firing pin that does not retract quickly enough. If you see marks on the primer of a fired case resembling Glock firing pin strikes then the firing pin of your 1911 is not retracting quickly enough. Obtain anew firing pin spring. The greatest single misunderstanding in spring technology comes from the mainspring. The mainspring stores energy as the hammer is cocked and then releases that energy, sending the hammer crashing forward.

The 24 pound factory spring gives the hammer sufficient whoomp to crack practically any primer, including hard military types. Reduced mainsprings are longer than standard power springs and easy to recognize. The mainspring also controls hammer resistance to the slide and performs an important role in the function of a locked breech pistol. The slide must overcome 24 pounds of resistance when moving rearward and cocking the hammer.

If you desire to use lighter target loads, such as the classic 185 grain SWC at about 850 fps, the simple expedient of fitting a 16 to 18 pound mainspring will give a lighter action and you may not have to use a lighter recoil spring.

At one time it was standard operating procedure for shooters to replace the factory recoil spring of the Colt Gold Cup to convert these pistols for use with hardball ammunition but many shooters did not take into account the lighter mainspring and as a result many such pistols were battered. Mismatched springs can be a real problem. An example might be a novice who fitted a heavy recoil spring for use with +P loads but then installed a light mainspring to improve the trigger action.

Obviously this is contra indicated and out of balance. The recoil spring is often coupled with a full length guide rod. Several of my most accurate 1911 handguns use a FLGR, but not all. If the pistol is to be used in a hostile environment with a demand for frequent cleaning, I would not fit a FLGR. True, the FLGR is not a spring but we really need to discuss spring accessories as well. As an example the shock buff is quite popular and I am certain a shock buffer slows wear and tear on the handgun.

But again this little piece of synthetic material is counter indicated for use in a dedicated defensive pistol. There are a number of reasons. First, the buffer impedes complete rearward motion of the slide. If you have a combination of a dud round and a small slide window of the GI type then you are going to have a very difficult time clearing the malfunction and will have to drop the magazine and let the loaded round fall out the bottom of the magazine well.

There is no problem ejecting spent cases but even in administrative handling and unloading the piece there is difficulty. This varies from gun to gun but I do not wish to use a shock buff in a personal defense handgun. I have a strong suspicion that a shock buff may alter the spring rate. I like shock buffs for practice and for competition guns but do not carry them in defense handguns.

As for the recoil spring I think shooters understand the recoil spring better than ever before, but occasionally we find a mismatched recoil spring. The standard 16 pound recoil spring will do just about anything we need to do in a Government Model .45. Heavier springs are needed only when +P loads are used or when we perform a caliber conversion. It is important, however, that the recoil spring is changed every three thou

sand rounds or so, perhaps a bit more frequently with +P ammunition. If you keep anew spring on hand it is easy to tell when the spring needs to be replaced. When the spring has lost an inch of free length it is well worn and needs to be replaced. The plunger tube spring seldom gives trouble. Rather, the plunger tube comes loose from its staking and causes a problem long before this little spring gives us any trouble. Just the same we need to be aware of its function.

The plunger tube spring ensures the slide stop and slide lock safety are properly locked and indented. If the spring is not strong enough then neither of these parts will function correctly. Another small spring that doesn’t get much attention can really ruin the day of a 1911 shooters. I have experienced several problems with the magazine latch in quality 1911s during the previous few months. In one case I purchased a parts kit that was quite simply done on the cheap.

The magazine catch assembly was too cheap to keep working and stopped a fifteen hundred dollar gun from functioning during the first range test. On another occasion a rather expensive and heavily advertised factory handgun suffered exactly the same problem for the same reason. Although well finished, this handgun was basically a parts gun with a slide and frame made from an outside vendor. The parts seemed to be catch as catch can. There is nothing wrong with this program as far as it goes.

Both Smith and Wesson and SIG have put together — and I mean this in the literal sense of putting together rather than manufacturing — excellent 1911 pistols by outsourcing parts from first class vendors. But when the parts are purchased on the cheap there are many problems. The pistol in question was under warranty but time and shipping costs caused the author to replace the factory unit. Even simple parts like a magazine spring can definitely cause a problem.

In this particular application I have enjoyed excellent luck with ISMI replacement parts. When it comes to magazines and magazine springs I wish to stress that magazines area high wear part that should be replaced when they give problems. They are subject to wear, abuse, and hard knocks. Magazine lips are bent, often beyond repair. I find 1911 shooters cling to magazine past their useful life and replace grips more often! Go figure. Magazine springs usually do a fine job.

By the time magazine springs are worn out the magazine body probably is as well. However, for best results I often replace factory springs with quality premium springs. I ordered a substantial quantity of ISMI springs some time ago and still use them with excellent results. The main problem encountered with magazine springs comes when the recoil spring is not mated properly with the magazine spring. If we use +P loads slide velocity is increased.

When slide velocity is increased the ability of the magazine to feed properly is compromised. The slide may outstrip the ability of the magazine to feed resulting in short cycles. The need for a heavy duty recoil spring is clear. There is also a possible need for heavier than normal magazine springs. Heavy duty magazine springs also area good idea for personal defense application. In the case of eight round magazines it is asking a lot to feed from full compression to almost no compression with the last round.

Over long periods of time I have found seven round magazines more reliable in extreme testing. The new breed of eight round magazines, including the Wilson Combat ETM, certainly have addressed this issue and see to answer every fault with eight round magazines. They are modestly longer than the seven round magazines, offering a larger space for a longer, strong spring. The final spring we will address is the extractor.

Original specifications for the extractor were that it be made of tool steel but they have been made from everything else it seems. Extractor tension is debatable, as I have measured extractors with very little tension that worked just fine. The extractor must be a good fit. It must not clock or move in the extractor tunnel. I do believe there is a specific upper and lower end for extractor tension.

In the old days we simply shoved a loaded .45 ACP cartridge under the extractor with the slide removed from the frame. If the cartridge did not fall out all was well. If it did, the extractor did not have enough tension. This is still an acceptable preliminary. Sometimes there is a decade’s supply of varnished oil and unburned powder under the extractor. Today the accepted technique is to test extractor tension every one thousand rounds or so.

Weigand supplies the shim for checking with a conventional trigger pull gauge. Slip the gauge under the extractor and pull the extractor with an RCBS trigger compression gauge. I often test and reset extractor tension on the 1911. To increase tension I simply half-way remove the extractor while still resting in the extractor tunnel. Turn the extractor 180 degrees away from the original position and bend the exposed end away from the slide.

Naturally, an extractor that loses tension more than once should be replaced. The most recent fix I have used is to replace a well worn Colt extractor with the Ed Brown extractor. When you fit the new extractor, simply file the hump until the extractor fits cleanly with good tension. A generation ago Colonel Jeff Cooper remarked that peening the firing pin stop was standard operating procedure for the 1911.

I used to do so but if the firing pin stop (or plate as it is sometimes called) is too loose peening by striking with the punch and hammer will only keep it from falling out. A too loose firing pin plate will allow the extractor to clock or move in the frame. Peening is a band aid. Fitting a proper over sized firing pin plate to the slide and then filing the plate to a good tight fit is the proper procedure. AG