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I just talked to a guy who put a 28 lb spring in his DE because it softens his recoil, but won't this damage other parts when it goes back into battery? Is this asking for trouble. What weight spring can I advise him to use?
Marsh

I use a 20lb recoil spring with a 23lb mainspring and a square EGW firing pin stop on all my Deltas. They all run perfectly with all types of ammunition. I have to thank Jason Burton and Don Williams for recommending the above setup.

But, do you think that a 28# will damage the gun, maybe the feet of the barrel.
Marsh

And it most definately will NOT soften recoil!

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Yes, I think it will be hard on the barrel feet, slide stop, and the slide stop's hole in the frame. The next question is how quickly will the damage occur.

I don't know, but wouldn't be interested in letting one of my Delta's be the test bed.

I'd use the combination that Mr. Smith posted, myself.

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The most I've ever heard of was 24, and that will dip the muzzle terribly when the slide cycles.

I used to use 20 or 22# with full power loads, but after fitting new extractors to my carry gun our very own Ned Christiansen advised me to use the 18.5# springs I use for training all the time- and needless to say he was right- the gun runs faster and the frame is holding up just fine.

Brent

I was afraid of that. I have already advised my friend to "cease and desist", I just hope he listens. I will print out this thread and maybe he will.
Thanks for the advice.
Marsh

Someone - famous gunsmith, can't remember who - did a test regarding recoil springs, etc etc, and function tested all the way down to NO spring, and IIRC, he conclusion he came to was that you only need enough spring to get the slide going forward with enough to strip the next round reliably.

That meant you had a few factors to take into account - caliber, mass of the slide, etc etc - but as I recall he said you should never use less than 10, but never need more than 20.

On a 1911 specifically, there are other, more effective ways to reduce recoil/slide velocity. See the EGW firing pin stop thread - a 18-20 lb spring, square FPS and a 25 or 26 lb mainspring will be much easer on the gun and accomplish the same thing.

That said, a others mentioned, Deltas should run perfectly well with a 20 lb recoil and 23 lb mainspring.