recoil spring of 1911 commander

Question
QUESTION: Hi! I'm Rickie Austria from the Philippines, I have here
a rock island 45cal commander size pistol. I'm planning to
change the recoil spring of my gun its original is #16 lbs. I read in some articles that in order to make it more accurate and less recoil spring should be change to #22 lbs. I'm so confuse whether if it is a right move. Because its much harder to cock the gun with this #22. Please give me some advice if 18.5 would be just right for this. Thanks in advance

ANSWER: Rickie,

I'm confused as to whether you are actually talking about the recoil spring or the hammer spring, so I'll give you information on both.

The original specs for the 1911 call for a 16 lbs recoil spring and a 23 lbs hammer spring.

In the early days of playing with springs, people theorized that by INCREASING the recoil spring weight you would DECREASE recoil. They would regularly increase the weight to 18 lbs - anything more than that often caused the hammer to follow the slide, and the gun would "double."

Experience taught us that this formula in fact is not correct. The heavier the weight of the spring that the slide pushes against, the more force is exerted against your hand. So if you want to decrease recoil, you must decrease the spring weight.  However, doing so will shorten the life of your gun as the slide batters the frame. If you are going to lighten the recoil spring weight (many competition shooters like 14.5 lbs), I would look into some form of shock buffer for practice, but take it out when you're done at the range, as these sometimes adversely affect reliability, and that is critical in a defensive gun.

The old U.S. Mil-spec hammer spring was 23 lbs - much heavier than it needed to be = more engagement surface on the hammer hook = less-than-optimal trigger pull. The 23 lbs was spec'ed to ensure that the firing pin would push through a muddy or otherwise dirty breech face aperture. But a 16-18 lbs hammer spring will easily pop the cap if gun is kept clean, and allow for better tuning of the trigger.

I hope this helps.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response, I'm still at the office working
ovetime. What I mean is the recoil spring. I am shooting the range at 7 to 10 yards, but with the original spring all my shots are inside the center ring of the target. I will try to experiment, I will change the recoil spring by 18.5lbs after 1000rnds of firing. What other tips can you advice in customizing my gun for easy handling. Thanks

Answer
I think you misunderstood me.  If you want to REDUCE recoil, you need to REDUCE the weight of your recoil spring.

The recoil spring will have no effect on intrinsic accuracy. A lighter spring will get you back on target faster, however, for faster follow-up shots.

The Rock Island guns are pretty stock affairs.  I'd recommend a beavertail grip safety (which will necessitate the replacement of the hammer), a lightweight aluminum trigger with a trigger job done to a crisp 4.5#, and an extended thumb safety - none of this improves intrinsic accuracy, but will improve practical accuracy and handleability.