Performance Of .45 ACP In A Modified 1911 With A Spring Intended For 450 SMC
BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 2 months ago
As readers know, I modified a S&W E-Series Performance Center 1911 by installing a 22# spring purchased from Wolff Gunsprings in lieu of the 18# spring that came with the gun.
Since then, it has performed flawlessly with 450 SMC, albeit a little stiff on the recoil. Recall that the 450 SMC round comes with a rifle primer rather than a pistol primer, leaving more room for powder. With stippled wooden grips I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to shoot more than three or four dozen rounds before getting some hand sting. I would need to install different grips if I intended to shoot 450 SMC all day at the range.
But the question came up about this round whether the higher spring constant affected the gun’s ability to properly cycle .45 ACP (i.e., does the weaker ammunition incompletely cycle the slide and cause a FTF/FTE)?
I can confidently say after having shot several brands of .45 ACP with the stiffer 22# spring that I’ve had no malfunctions at all. To me this is good news since I won’t have to change the spring for my choice of ammunition.
On October 14, 2019 at 6:12 pm, ROFuher said:
It is worthwhile experimenting with your recoil spring, even if you don’t change cartridges. In addition to the recoil, the slide dynamics returning to battery affects the muzzle movement for follow up shots.
Wilson Combat has a kit, 6 springs and a few bits, for less than the cost of 3 new springs individually. That’s good value, even just for keeping spares in your range bag.
On October 14, 2019 at 8:24 pm, Fred said:
I was among them that were wondering about this.