Replacing a Recoil Spring

[Leveraction44]

I wanted to hear what the experts had to say.

I have never had a reason to replace a recoil spring with a non-stock spring.

I have heard that a stronger recoil spring will allow a pistol to have less wear and tear while shooting hot ammo - say +P rounds.

Assuming that the pistol is able to eject and chamber without failure and lock-back on last round, is there any potential problems using a stronger spring?

If a modern pistol is NOT rated for +P ammo, will a stronger recoil spring prevent most issues?

I am considering shooting +P 380acp in an LCP. I like the underwood 68 grain Xtreme Defender ammo. I would think that the 68 grains versus the standard 90 grain bullet would also help with the issue.

What is your opinion?

 

[jpm2953]

If the gun isnt rated for +p then don’t shoot +p in it. The spring weight isn’t the issue.

 

[ReservoirDawg10]

If the gun isnt rated for +p then don’t shoot +p in it. The spring weight isn’t the issue.

This exactly

 

[ReservoirDawg10]

And Lcp's have enough cracking/splitting/detonating in hand issues with weak range ammo.

 

[Leveraction44]

How does one make a 1911 chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland? Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

How does one make a Glock chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland. Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

The point is that a suitable recoil spring seems to solve a host of issues, especially wear and tear from a slide being slammed open from a hotter round.

Certainly the difference between a 380 acp and a 380 +P isn't anywhere near the step up in power as a 45 to a 460.

 

[jpm2953]

How does one make a 1911 chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland? Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

How does one make a Glock chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland. Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

The point is that a suitable recoil spring seems to solve a host of issues, especially wear and tear from a slide being slammed open from a hotter round.

Certainly the difference between a 380 acp and a 380 +P isn't anywhere near the step up in power as a 45 to a 460.

Go for it then! It’s your hands and your gun.

 

[ReservoirDawg10]

How does one make a 1911 chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland? Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

How does one make a Glock chambered in 45 acp capable of shooting a 460 Rowland. Recoil spring and barrel replacement.

The point is that a suitable recoil spring seems to solve a host of issues, especially wear and tear from a slide being slammed open from a hotter round.

Certainly the difference between a 380 acp and a 380 +P isn't anywhere near the step up in power as a 45 to a 460.

That's only part of it. The barrel has to be able to take the pressures. The slide has to be able to take the pressures. Glock and most 1911's use far superior steel than that of a bottom rung budget handgun. And the chambers have more metal. There's a reason that so many budget guns aren't aren't rated for +p, and it isn't the recoil spring.

 

[Boot71]

No expert by any means, but before I got a G42, I kept a Ruger lcp II in my pocket. No advice on +p, but I can tell you it was MUCH more pleasant to shoot with a 12lb recoil spring setup.
I don't believe there's an actual saami rating for +p380, and that's partly why manufacturers don't recommend it.
Just go with the standard pressure 68gr underwood, don't beat the guts out of your pistol trying to make a few extra fps. Real world performance between the two probably isn't enough to justify the extra stress/wear/tear. I've been considering some of those extreme defender's for my glock.
The bullet style is pretty well spoken of in handgun hunting circles.

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[cmshoot]

TOO MUCH recoil spring can definitely cause reliability issues.

 

[87KJH]

I would be leery of using +P ammo like the Underwood 68 gr 1400 fps loads in the little Ruger, but the 68 gr 1300 fps loads or the 90 gr 1100 fps loads from Underwood provide good results without the risk of the higher velocity/pressure loads.

Here is the e-mail response from Ruger when asked about +P ammo in the LCP:

The Ruger LCP was not designed for use with +P ammunition. Given the LCP’s lightweight and compact design, the use of +P ammunition in this particular model may result damage to the firearm or personal injury.