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View Full Version : what's more reliable, a new recoil spring or an old one?


skyugo
03-09-10, 22:56
sounds like a stupid question, right? new spring has to be better..
the gen4 glock debacle got me thinking though. a gun with a weaker recoil spring would seemingly cycle with a wider range of ammo, and be more likely to cycle despite a weak grip. now obviously there's cutoff point here, where the spring will be so weak that the slide will slam hard against the frame stops and bounce back into battery so fast the mag can't present a bullet.
also considering most of us carry +P ammo for defensive use, the stronger spring should be fine...
any opinions?
varoadking
03-10-10, 01:27
the gen4 glock debacle...

I guess I must have missed something. What debacle would that be?
tpd223
03-10-10, 02:44
Worn out recoil springs in Glock .40s tend to lead to broken parts and damage to the gun.
skyugo
03-10-10, 07:40
I guess I must have missed something. What debacle would that be?

the new 9mm's don't seem to like light ammo. it's the same spring used in the new 40's.

obviously the correct answer to my question is that the recoil spring should be tuned to the gun/cartridge. but that doesn't seem to always happen.
John_Wayne777
03-10-10, 07:45
sounds like a stupid question, right? new spring has to be better..
the gen4 glock debacle got me thinking though. a gun with a weaker recoil spring would seemingly cycle with a wider range of ammo, and be more likely to cycle despite a weak grip.

There are too many variables for a generalization to work there. A well-broken in recoil spring might be just fine on a 4th gen G17 but can lead to serious malfunctions (and even out of battery kabooms) on a .40 caliber Glock, or a complete lack of function on a small 1911, etc.
awm14hp
03-10-10, 09:22
Worn out recoil springs in Glock .40s tend to lead to broken parts and damage to the gun.


I am not sure about the 9mm ones but I do replace my 40 cal glock recoil assemblies about 2-1 over the 9mm ones just to be safe.
ToddG
03-10-10, 10:10
Are you talking about a new vs. old spring of the same design, or a new design vs. an old design? They're two completely different things.

Barring something out of the ordinary, replacing a spring with the same design should be a 100% reliable switch.

When you change design, it becomes anyone's guess.

The trick is that you may not know the design has changed. The Gen3->Gen4 Glock change was obvious, but other companies have made changes to the material or rate of recoil springs in a way that's invisible to consumers. A few years back, one of the major handgun companies had huge problems with recoil springs that appeared normal but were actually being manufactured by a new sub-vendor. The "new" springs were becoming visibly distorted in less than 100 rounds, and the pistol company was forced to replaced thousands and thousands of recoil springs for LE agencies.
varoadking
03-10-10, 16:06
...the new 9mm's don't seem to like light ammo.

I clearly didn't get the memo...my Gen4 G17 has been flawless with 115 grain WWB right out of the box...

'Course, GotM4 hand picked it for me...
skyugo
03-10-10, 18:54
I clearly didn't get the memo...my Gen4 G17 has been flawless with 115 grain WWB right out of the box...

'Course, GotM4 hand picked it for me...

he must have calibrated slide pulling hands :D