AR Rifles

[JonB]

Ian, thanks for the info. I'll keep that in the back of my mind if I ever decide that Hot loads are the way to go.

 

[462]

No, Jon, that is a common misconception. The recoil spring on a 1911 is ONLY for returning the slide to battery, not absorbing slide inertia.. the hammer spring is what's supposed to control the slide. What you need for hotter loads is a firing pin stop with a smaller radius on the bottom. The smaller radius puts the slide recoil force closer to the pivot point of the hammer, making for less mechanical advantage ( and makes the slide more difficult to rack, too, which is why many 1911s have too much radius).

Hmmm . . .
Okay, Ian, I'm far from as 1911 knowledgeable and experienced as you or Bill/Pistolero, and I understand your reply, to Jon, because Bill wrote of it, too. However, with a heavier (18 or 20 lbs.) recoil spring, in my .45 ACP Randall, spent brass ejects and drops at my feet, and a standard weight spring (16 lbs.?) sails the brass about upwards to 10 to 12 feet away. It's been five or six years, so my memory may be faulty.

The firing pin stop is factory, so reckon it has a large radius, and the hammer spring is factory, also.

 

[Ian]

A heavier slide spring will reduce the ejection energy (case head not hitting the ejector as hard) but causes other problems like slamming the slide home with too much force. The system needs to be in balance.

Bill explained a lot about extractor tuning for both feeding and ejection consistency and pattern that I didn't know before, kind of a practical explanation which isn't covered so well in books (at least not in a way I understood fully).

 

[Brad]

A small radius firing pin stop made a big difference on my 1911. When I changed extractors I saw a change in ejection pattern, it got far more consistent. I went with one from Cylinder and Slide, their “ultimate extractor”. I use a standard 16# spring.

Like Ian said, a heavier spring has its own issues. It does slow rearward travel but it also accelerates forward travel meaning it can batter the frame.

 

[462]

A heavier slide spring will reduce the ejection energy (case head not hitting the ejector as hard) but causes other problems like slamming the slide home with too much force. The system needs to be in balance.

Bill explained a lot about extractor tuning for both feeding and ejection consistency and pattern that I didn't know before, kind of a practical explanation which isn't covered so well in books (at least not in a way I understood fully).

I printed Bill's writeup and happened to reread it a few weeks ago.