Recoil Springs:How often do you replace?

[TAZ]

Subject sais it all. I have 2259 rounds through my Wilson CQB Compact and it appears the recoil spring has got to be replaced. A few weeks ago it satrted dinging brass into my face. Last night when I broke it down for cleaning I noticed that the nylon recoil spring guide/recoil buffer was smashed after only 300 rds. Not pleased at all.

 

[James K]

Mostly, I change about every 3000 but really go until the action starts to appear sluggish. Hot loads make a difference. I almost started my rant about plastic parts where they don't belong, but am gritting my teeth to avoid saying it.

Jim

 

[Mikey]

One of the easiest ways to tell if you have the right spring weight and to check for a need to replace is simply to pay attention to where your brass lands during a firing session.

If it's going much more than 6 to 8 feet then the spring is too weak or is worn. If the brass goes less than 3 feet you might have too much spring weight.

Weak or worn recoil springs also account for a large percentage of failures to fully chamber.

Mikey

 

[TAZ]

I used to think the same thing about plastics, but have seen some really great things in that area so i hold my tongue also. Wilson's decided to replace the nylon part with a metal one under warranty so that eliminates the plastic issue for the future. The guy stated that springs should be replaced every 3-500 rds, but I think he got the buffer confused with the spring. My thoughts on the subject were 1.5-2K if shooting hot loads or 3-4K under normal wear.

 

[faiello5]

I think 1.5k - 4k is far too many rounds, regardless of how hot they are. Recoil springs are cheap insurance against unnecessary battering of the frame. I replace mine every 1k rounds. This may be overkill, but my guns are a lot more expensive than the replacement recoil springs I buy.

Frank