Should You Lighten A Recoil Spring On A 1911?
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 10 months ago
I have a Remington R1 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. Arthritis has invaded my hands and it’s getting harder for me to rack the slide. Would putting a lighter recoil spring in it be a bad idea? The factory recoil spring is 16 pounds. I bought a 12-pound spring for it, just to see if it solved my racking problem, and it did. I haven’t shot it yet, and I would like to get a knowledgeable opinion on it before doing so. The only thing I have been told so far about putting the lighter spring in it is that the recoil would be increased. I’m not as worried about that as I am about risking unnecessary damage to my pistol. While I’m sure other shooters have this same difficulty, I don’t know anyone in my area who does. Any insight and/or suggestions regarding how to tackle this challenge would be greatly appreciated.
Larry Jones, via e-mail[ … ]
While the recoil spring helps to attenuate recoil of the pistol, its main job is to return the slide forward, which strips the next round off the magazine and fully closes the pistol with the barrel and slide locked together, ready to fire the next shot.
The first thing I would do to aid in the function of the gun and help to prevent impact damage of the internal parts is to add a Wilson Combat Shok-Buff, or equivalent, to the recoil-spring guide for the lighter recoil spring to rest against. The Shok-Buff is a polymer shock absorber designed to help prevent slide and frame battering as they transition through the cycle of operation.
[ … ]
Keep in mind the recoil spring and Shok-Buff are being worked hard with the lower-power rating of the spring and should be replaced at 500-round intervals or when obvious signs of wear are evident. The Shok-Buff will start to lose its shape and the recoil-spring length will shorten by several coils, indicating it’s time to replace them.
To begin with, I’m no stranger to severe RA in my hands. Mostly, my right hand (shooting hand) is affected. It is affected to the point that my hand appears deformed, and I usually hide it when I meet people. It helps to put my hand in my pocket.
RA is caused by the same affliction as Psoriasis, that is, an overactive and confused immune system. My immune system thinks my cartilage is a foreign object and attacks it, making scar tissue of it. I have thus far refused to take a biologic like Methotrexate, and so I simply make it by day to day.
So I sympathize in the superlative with the writer. With that said, I find no discomfort in shooting .45 ACP. I enjoy it more than shooting any other round, and I enjoy shooting a 1911 more than any other firearm. I also find that the best thing for me is to exercise, and that means not being courteous to my RA. The more I can push myself, the better off I am.
One of my [modified] 1911s came with an 18# spring, not 16#. I didn’t know that the Remington came with a 16# spring. That seems a little light to me. Readers may recall that I replaced my 18# spring with a 22# spring from Wolff Gunsprings for my trip to the Weminuche Wilderness. I did that so that I can shoot 450 SMC out of that gun, achieving 1120 FPS with 230 grain bullets (the 450 SMC has to be purchased from Double Tap Ammunition). I still have that gun modified that way, although it’s an easy spring switch to change it back if I wanted to.
I also find that it eats all other .45 ACP ammunition flawlessly. The heavier spring doesn’t cause problems with normal bulk range ammunition, although I wouldn’t shoot 450 SMC out of my other 1911s without a similar spring modification.
Double Tap and Buffalo Bore make very hot .45 ACP +P ammunition (~ 1000 FPS), and the heavier spring would work well with that choice. If I switched to a light spring, like the analyst said, I would want to make sure I had put it through its paces to see what ammunition worked well with it.
As RA progresses, I wouldn’t be opposed to changing to a lighter spring, but I’m a long way from that.
On July 16, 2020 at 3:16 am, Dale Carlson said:
Hi,
I learned a technique in a shooting school that was aimed mostly at women and people with weak upper body strength. It may apply in this case with the arthritis in the hands.
When racking the slide on a semi auto handgun if right handed. Hold the gun firmly in your right hand close to your chest and then grasp the top of the slide overhand near the rear of the slide and push the gun forward with your right quickly and firmly releasing the slide to let it slam into battery.
Hope this is useful. I’m feeling the effects of arthritis at 63.
Dale
On July 16, 2020 at 6:30 am, Robert said:
Mr Smith,
You might find this interesting/useful.
Baking soda 2 grams per day for 2 weeks has been found to reduce systemic inflammation according to Scientists with the Medical College of Georgia.
Study published in Journal of Immunology:
J Immunol. 2018 May 15;200(10):3568-3586. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1701605. Epub 2018 Apr 16.
Oral NaHCO 3 (baking soda) Activates a Splenic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway: Evidence That Cholinergic Signals Are Transmitted via Mesothelial Cells
From the study’s discussion section:
“Our data indicate that oral NaHCO3 loading may provide a cheap, relatively safe, effective, and easily accessible and/or noninvasive method to activate cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways in humans, which may be of benefit to patients suffering from a multitude of inflammatory disease states. As such, our findings could potentially have significant clinical application to the treatment of human disease. Future studies testing the efficacy of oral NaHCO3 to limit injury in models of inflammatory disease will be required to determine the therapeutic potential of this stimuli.”
On July 16, 2020 at 6:38 am, Nosmo said:
I’d also suggest frequent inspections of the internals to look for frame battering. The Colt Delta Elites (10MM) started cracking frames at a machined notch around 1500 rounds. It wasn’t a very serious thing, only “just serious,” but it points out the energy from recoil has to go somewhere, and if it’s the wrong place something has to give. TANSTAFFL – physics will not be denied.
I’ve not seen many guns that did not benefit from higher poundage recoil springs. It may be beneficial to seek the assistance of a gunsmith specializing in customizations for the disabled. No idea who that might be.
On July 16, 2020 at 8:41 am, Sanders said:
I run an 18# spring in my Springfield Loaded, as I like my reloads a little on the warmer side at ~1,100 fps for 185 gr XTP’s.
On July 16, 2020 at 8:49 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Nosmo,
I actually don’t think there’s a benefit to running 10mm. If you want that kind of power, it can be matched with the 450 SMC, which can be run out of 1911s, and perhaps out of other .45 ACP guns. The energy delivered is essentially the same.
If you want more power still in a semi- gun, then run the 460 Rowland (but let a good gunsmith look at your setup before running it). Brownells has 460 Rowland packages for sale in both 1911 and other guns.
The 460 Rowland and 450 SMC are similar rounds. I would also have to say that I wouldn’t run 450 SMC for thousands and thousands of rounds without having a detailed evaluation performed by a qualified gunsmith.
On July 16, 2020 at 9:02 am, Fred said:
I called Springfield about the +P and 450smc and they said; “not as a steady diet.”
On July 16, 2020 at 9:05 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Fred,
Most manufacturers should warranty their guns for SAAMI specs, and SAAMI includes the +P loads. I’m not surprised at their reluctance to say that 450 SMC is okay. It does surprise me to hear that about +P loads.
On July 16, 2020 at 9:09 am, Fred said:
Yep, the problem with that is, training like you fight. If you have to train with regular loads you will not be used to the recoil of SMC and therefore, also the time it takes to re-acquire a target.
On July 16, 2020 at 9:12 am, Tom said:
Great thread, thanks! Grab your foil hat and read this all you RA and A people:
http://cancer.cytoluminator.com/cancer-photodynamic-therapy/httpwww.health-science-spirit.com%20borax.pdf
As a side benefit it will increase free test.
On July 16, 2020 at 9:37 am, Herschel Smith said:
Thanks Tom, but there is no magic for RA. It’s an immune problem. There is no cream, no food, no vitamin, no supplement, no heat treatment, that can make it go away.
There are biologics. Those drugs can lead to cancer since they effectively turn your immune system off (or recalibrate it).
On July 16, 2020 at 9:47 am, James said:
This was a good article but was all the comments that I learned a lot from and hope the initial e-mailer finds a way to keep using his 1911 with less pain.
I would say have read that someone(S&W?)makes semi-auto pistols with arthritis/ect. in mind.I realize tis not a 1911 but may for folks who cannot find relief in other ways at least keep them in the pistol game.
I just did a quick look on net and there is a lot out there in regards to arthritis and pistol shooting,seems to be a unfortunately pretty big issue,hope all find workable solutions.
On July 16, 2020 at 11:14 am, AZM said:
You could try using essential oils for managing the RA. Turmeric Or Frankincense specifically. Not a cure but management of the issue.
On July 16, 2020 at 11:44 am, ambiguousfrog said:
Nice topic. I recently purchased my first 1911 after being used to polymers. Reading the manual I was curious why it said spring life was only 1500 rds. So, I purchased a spring from Wilson Combat that would last 3000 rds. It was approximately a half inch longer. No issues at the range either. Less recoil and harder to rack slide. Still consider 16# spring.
On July 16, 2020 at 12:34 pm, Wayne said:
Mr Smith,
RE the RA. You might want to ask you rheumatologist about hydroxychloroquine. Get an EKG done first to make sure you don’t have QT prolongation issues.
On July 16, 2020 at 1:48 pm, NOG said:
Some folks just don’t get it. RA is a progressive disease. That means in one direction. (seems everything “progressive” has negativity with it). As our host noted, the only thing you can do is kill yourself slowly while in misery (biologics) or keep using the joints, with misery, as best you can, both only slowing the inevitable.
Though mine is not RA, just progressive (that word again) arthritis from some other auto immune problem that also caused my heart disease end result is the same. I carried a Glock 23 for many years. Then had to down grade to a Glock 19. Then I had to downgrade to a Bersa 380 (strangely I really like this gun- I can make hits very well). Next up will likely be a .22. Getting old sux, but it still beats the alternative.
On July 16, 2020 at 5:09 pm, John said:
If you reload you can play with lighter powder charges and bullet weights while using
lighter springs. The 1911 spring is easy to change and some experimenting can give
you a practice load that’s easy on your pistol and your hand. Just keep that ammo
and spring marked separately for practice only.
On July 16, 2020 at 5:14 pm, John said:
Oh yes. Also be sure to follow your reloading manual for powder types and weights.
Some powders are very sensitive to undercharging and can be unsafe.