ltwguns.com

OK, we test 1911 springs at full compression, and measure them so they don't fully stack. Is this something we should do in the BHP? Is it something you actual gunsmiths do (I just pretend, and write about it) and how do you measure it?

Pat, You have inside the recoil spring tunnel on the slide, 1.740" worth of room (on a current MK III anyway). A stock Browning recoil spring has 33 coils of .046 diameter wire, which stacked solid comes to 1.518". Now if you add in the flange on the recoil spring guide, which is .056 thick, you come up with 1.574 inches. This leaves you with free space of .166" with the stock spring. Now, if you start using different spring rates your free space may increase or decrease depending on the number of coils and wire diameter. I've never encountered a coil bind situation with the HP, but it appears there is plenty of room left.

_________________
Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Very good info. Sounds like these are measurements that you have made at least a couple of times, Mr. Williams. I am going to take your word for it. Does the Wolff 18.5 lb. differ significantly in diameter from the standard 17 lb. spring?

Well I'm no BHP cogniff.... cogner.... codness..... expert, but every off the shelf one I pick up, I say to myself, wow, that is so oversprung. Hammer and recoil springs, firing pin spring too, they all seem like overkill to me. Think mine has a 15 pounder in it and a reduced but not Nancy-boy, match-only hammer spring. Works fine but I don't shoot it much so mine ain't the best one to hold up as an example.

Hey Ned....I think I know a good gunsmiff I can get to look at that for you!!

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

ruggedtrail, Strangely enough the Wolff 18.5 lb straight wound spring has wire of .0445 diameter and 35 coils, which gives it a stacked length of 1.558" which is less than the stock Browning spring. The coils also are slightly smaller at .355" O.D. vs. .360" for the stocker. I can only guess it has something to do with the type of wire used, but I'm not an engineer. At any rate, there's still plenty of room.

_________________
Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

Ned, one of the guys at my gun club has/had two T series BHPs he carried daily. (Yes, two guns, he lives in Detroit.) He bought them used many years ago, and had shot them a lot. They had never failed. However, using the Scott Mulkerin spring tester revealed that his two guns had spring in the eleven pound range. Seriously tired.

It takes some real work to get a BHP with an 18.5# spring to malf, so I prefer it to soak up the heat of defensive 9mm ammo. Were I shooting just 125PF match ammo, I'd probably use a 17# spring just because it'd be easier to manipulate. Springs get tired, the more you start with the longer you have something left. But could we have too much?

This got started from a PM from one of our members here (ruggedtrail), and I had never even thought of checking the BHP specs for spring stack.

BHP's have to be overspring because otherwise the recoil lug would shear off the barrel...right?...there has to be a reason it has 32# hammer spring!

_________________
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

CHECK OUT MY CUSTOM 1911 BLOG
http://thearsenalofdemocracy.blogspot.com

Actually, I think it is the recoil lug in the frame that will crack.

I love my Novak BHP's, but don't shoot +P or +P+ ammo in them, and keep a careful eye on the recoil springs.

_________________
No good deed goes unpunished.

From talking to Bill Laughridge, the locking lugs on the slide can experience setback if you use +P or +P+ ammo, on the old guns.

As for the rest, the list apparently is long, but none I have experienced. I would not worry at all about volume of shooting, using a Mk III. An older one, I'd be more gentle, if only because it is an older gun and tough to replace.

For the 'smiths, regarding BHP spring weights.

I have stayed with the factory setup for a couple of BHP's that I am shooting quite a bit. My feelings are that the full power hammer spring soaks up the rearward thrust, allowing the use of the regular weight recoil spring to keep from beating the gun up on the foward stroke. Also, the guns seem to shoot[recoil] "flatter" with the lighter recoil spring weight. I know I could probally reduce my trigger pull a bit by going to lighter hammer springs, but I would rather have reliablity and durabilty, if this set up helps? I shoot WW white box for practice, and regularly a few mags of plus P carry loads to make sure everything is working OK. I carry Corbon DPX plus P or Plus P Gold Dots. The guns are current FN P35's.

Thoughts?

_________________
Best Regards,

Will Fennell
http://www.willfennell.com

I have found WW White Box for $150/M recently at the local discount store, by the way.... much to my surprise, since 5.56 has gone up three-plus-fold, supposedly because of the cost of materials.

What you're saying Will makes a lot of sense. A seasoned IPSC shooter told me a long time ago about using a lighter recoil spring with a heaver mainspring (1911) to make the gun flip less. I never really worked with it but it kinda makes sense although as you say there would be some penalty in trigger pull.

To be perfectly honest I just don't have the personal ownership and range-time experience with a BHP to say what works best and what holds up best...... I've had one for 23 years and put a lot of rounds through it but many of them were before I started knowing what to look for, and before the reliability, handling, accuracy and durability matrix had solidified for me in that order. It's been through a couple different "phases".... it was my first dab into high-cap guns with optics actually (not the best approach as it turns out).

Ned,
Thanks for the reply. The heavy mainspring, light or normal recoil spring has been good to me in 1911's for years. Especially in 10mms......I'm even running 25lb hammer springs in my heavy loaded 10mms....and getting better feeding because of using 18-20 lb recoil springs.

BTW, I shot Lombardo's longslide 10mm you built .....VERY NICE

Any other HP smiths care to chime in.....I want to shoot my HPs a lot....and I would rather not beat them to death.

_________________
Best Regards,

Will Fennell
http://www.willfennell.com