1911 'factory' recoil spring poundage

[Widder, SASS #59054]

When you Wild Bunch pards buy a new 1911 in .45 ACP, what # is the slide recoil spring on most 1911 .45's.

 

And, after you tune them for your personal taste, what # recoil spring do you prefer for your light loads and heavy loads, like +P

type stuff.

 

Thanks

 

..........Widder

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

IIRC, if was a 16lb recoil spring in Colt made .45acp 1911's

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

I currently run Wolff 18.5 lb in my .45's.

I only shoot factory level loads.

[Dr. Zook]

16 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

IIRC, if was a 16lb recoil spring in Colt made .45acp 1911's

+1 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Heh heh...   I read that initial post and found myself thinking, "Recoil springs have numbers?"  Then I remembered that the number sign has come to be referred to as "pound" for some unknown reason.  Except in the UK where they call it "hash."    

Maybe we should all use £ for lb.  

Nah...   You gotta go to character map or remember the alt ascii code for it.   (alt 0163, btw)  

Actually that makes even less alt 0162, er ¢, I mean cents.   Err... sense.

I don't know any more.

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

16 minutes ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

I currently run Wolff 18.5 lb in my .45's.

I only shoot factory level loads.

Why so heavy?

Gateway Kid

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

3 minutes ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

Why so heavy?

Gateway Kid

More positive cycling. 

I also use a recoil buffer.

The gunsmith I apprenticed under for 5 yrs taught me that.

That gunsmith was Armand Swenson. 

[Rip Snorter]

Never shot Wild Bunch, IPSC, SASS and briefly, IDPA.  Whatever the gun, I used a load, within the rules, that I would not have worried about in a gunfight.  Even for Bullseye I shot middle range rounds.  Agree with LG on buffer & spring weight.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

16pnds 

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

Thanks

i generally load either 200 gr at about 780 fps (156 for WB) or 230 gr at about 730 fps (167 for IDPA). Don’t replace springs all that often and still working on a multi pack of Wolff 16#. My grip in my off hand is not super strong so a bit easier to rack with the factory springs works for me. 
again, thanks

Gateway Kid

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Yes, Colt and many other makers use a 16 pound recoil spring, and, for the mainspring (which affects the ability to rack the slide more than the recoil spring), they use a 23 pound spring.    That is what a 1911 usually needs to run factory ammo (185 PF) up to +P ammo without beating the frame to pieces.  

 

For running a 1911 that is well slicked up for the 155 to 165 PF range (as in Wild Bunch), I run a 15# recoil and a a 19# mainspring.    Most of the best gunsmiths doing 1911 tuning recommend "balancing" the recoil and mainspring weights when going to either a light recoil setup or a heavy self-defense setup.  Not just changing one spring weight and leaving the other weight alone.

 

A test I use (recommended by Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat Arms) to check that my recoil spring is handling the job well is to fire a magazine full of the ammo you run.  The recoil is considered well managed if the fired cases land 5 to 10 feet from where you stand.  Over-sprung if they fall closer, and under-sprung if they toss farther than 10 or 12 feet.   Also very important to this test is a well tuned extractor - that work should be done before testing the recoil and mainspring pair.

 

good luck, GJ

 

 

 

 

Edited April 2 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

44 minutes ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

Thanks

i generally load either 200 gr at about 780 fps (156 for WB) or 230 gr at about 730 fps (167 for IDPA). Don’t replace springs all that often and still working on a multi pack of Wolff 16#. My grip in my off hand is not super strong so a bit easier to rack with the factory springs works for me. 
again, thanks

Gateway Kid

My load is 200-230gn bullet with 5.5gn of WW231/HP38.

[Jackaroo, # 29989]

I run a 14# spring in my Tisas Classics with 4 grains of TB, a 230 gn pill giving a PF of 158 to 160.

Nice softer recoil. Never had a problem.

[Crisco]

I’ve always stuck with an 18.5# spring with everything from 180gr to 235gr bullets.  Never had any issues, but also never tried to load down for Wild Bunch.

[Boggus Deal #64218]

Widder, there is a LOT more to tuning a 1911 for different loads than springs. Locking lugs, firing pin stops, hammer face shapes, etc. etc. Even spring types make a huge difference. 
16# was the original spring rate for the recoil spring and 22# was the mainspring. A lot of manufacturers have went to 18-18.5# for recoil springs. 
This is from building 1911/2011s in everything from .22LR to .50GI from 3” to 6”. 

[Rip Snorter]

No Gunsmith, but this is not Rocket Science.  Good reference books, proper tools, and take your time.  Been doing  it for many years on and off, and they all work just fine.  I did have to back away from a snake bit comped 45 LS project for a while, patience a virtue I struggle with, but it works now. You probably can do what you need to do, closer to the original platform the better.

[Boggus Deal #64218]

1 minute ago, Rip Snorter said:

closer to the original platform the better.

If we went by that with everything, we would still be driving Model Ts…

[Rip Snorter]

1 minute ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

If we went by that with everything, we would still be driving Model Ts…

A "cranky"   comment!  I did mention a problem Comped Long slide - fact of the matter, it is easiest to start near the beginning when working on / modifying many devices. Advance from there when successful.  My great Granddad, an engineer drove a Stanley Steemer till he died - superior in an engineering sense, reliable, and faster - they were banned from racing. Go Figure!

[Boggus Deal #64218]

4 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

A "cranky"   comment!  I did mention a problem Comped Long slide - fact of the matter, it is easiest to start near the beginning when working on / modifying many devices. Advance from there when successful.  My great Granddad, an engineer drove a Stanley Steemer till he died - superior in an engineering sense, reliable, and faster - they were banned from racing. Go Figure!

Not cranky! Just facts!! The original 1911 had sights that were rudimentary, at best. Lots of things have changed since then. Better metals. Better heat treat. 

[Rip Snorter]

8 minutes ago, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

Not cranky! Just facts!! The original 1911 had sights that were rudimentary, at best. Lots of things have changed since then. Better metals. Better heat treat. 

Model T had a crank starter.

[Boggus Deal #64218]

Just now, Rip Snorter said:

Model T had a crank starter.

Exactly!

[Blackwater 53393]

My Model T is in the late stages of rebuild! I’ll be driving it again by the time it’s a hundred years old!! 😜

[Dr. Zook]

You could get your m1911 in any color as long as it was 'black'...😛

Edited April 4 by Dr. Zook

[El Chapo]

16 recoil/23 main is the original in a 5" gun

 

I have run a 14 pound recoil and 19 pound main in my 5" .45s for a couple decades.

 

I run 12.5/17 in my .40 and 9 or 10 and 17 in my 9mm guns.

 

In my experience it's more important to have somewhat fresh recoil springs than a particular weight.  My hypothesis is that companies overspring guns because they don't know if you'll ever replace those springs.

 

If I was shooting +P .45 I might go as high as a 18 pound but likely I would just run a 16, it really depends on the load and how the front sight returns.

 

Within some range, recoil spring is preference as long as it stores enough energy to feed.  The stiffer the recoil spring, the more your gun will be flippy when it comes back and the more it will dip when it closes, which is why I run as light a spring as I can get away with without compromising feed reliability.

Edited April 4 by El Chapo

[Boggus Deal #64218]

7 minutes ago, El Chapo said:

16 recoil/23 main is the original in a 5" gun

 

I have run a 14 pound recoil and 19 pound main in my 5" .45s for a couple decades.

 

I run 12.5/17 in my .40 and 9 or 10 and 17 in my 9mm guns.

 

In my experience it's more important to have somewhat fresh recoil springs than a particular weight.  My hypothesis is that companies overspring guns because they don't know if you'll ever replace those springs.

 

If I was shooting +P .45 I might go as high as a 18 pound but likely I would just run a 16, it really depends on the load and how the front sight returns.

 

Within some range, recoil spring is preference as long as it stores enough energy to feed.  The stiffer the recoil spring, the more your gun will be flippy when it comes back and the more it will dip when it closes, which is why I run as light a spring as I can get away with without compromising feed reliability.

Remember, experience and success, or lack there of, speaks volumes. 

[Shawnee Hills]

8 hours ago, El Chapo said:

16 recoil/23 main is the original in a 5" gun

 

I have run a 14 pound recoil and 19 pound main in my 5" .45s for a couple decades.

 

I run 12.5/17 in my .40 and 9 or 10 and 17 in my 9mm guns.

 

In my experience it's more important to have somewhat fresh recoil springs than a particular weight.  My hypothesis is that companies overspring guns because they don't know if you'll ever replace those springs.

 

If I was shooting +P .45 I might go as high as a 18 pound but likely I would just run a 16, it really depends on the load and how the front sight returns.

 

Within some range, recoil spring is preference as long as it stores enough energy to feed.  The stiffer the recoil spring, the more your gun will be flippy when it comes back and the more it will dip when it closes, which is why I run as light a spring as I can get away with without compromising feed reliability.

Count me as another fan of reduced power springs.

 

Not sure it it's still the case in USPSA/IPSC but running lighter springs was commonplace in the 80s and 90s.  I can't remember exactly but the recoil spring in my open 38 Super is somewhere in the 10-12 range and my limited 45s are in the 12-14 range.  Not sure what the mains are but they're lighter than factory.  These pistols are fast and have had tens of thousands of rounds through them with zero damage.  Buffers are used in all but replaced frequently.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

In 2013, I shot the Wild Bunch Match at End of the Trail with my 1911 made in 1913.  I did this to celebrate the pistol's 100's birthday.   The original recoil spring has been replaced with a new factory spring because the original one was worn out.  The original barrel had a pitted chamber and would not eject cases, so I replaced the barrel with a new one.   Other than that, everything else on the pistol is original, and it works great.  I run 230 grain lead round nose bullets, unjacketed for WB.  I have heard this referred to as "softball" ammo.   

Yes, I shot "Traditional."   

The point is, the gun is 90%+ original, it was 100 years old, and it went through the match with nary a hiccup.  A well made 1911 doesn't "need" to be tuned to work well.   You can of course do so if you wish, but you don't have to.
 

Edited April 4 by H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

[SGT. ELI 35882 GUNFIGHTER]

Widder, I use an 18lb. mainspring and a 15lb. Wilson Combat flat recoil spring in all my builds for Wild Bunch loads. 230 gr. over 3.9 grains of WST. I will put in a 17 lb. Wilson Combat flat recoil spring for factory hardball.

Edited April 5 by SGT. ELI 35882 GUNFIGHTER

[El Chapo]

On 4/4/2026 at 12:17 AM, Boggus Deal #64218 said:

Remember, experience and success, or lack there of, speaks volumes. 

 

I hope my 40,000 rounds through one pistol is that?

[watab kid]

On 4/3/2026 at 11:38 PM, Dr. Zook said:

You could get your m1911 in any color as long as it was 'black'...😛

you could , in 1918 you could get the BLACK ARMY , i have one , the very worst finish ever put on a firearm - it comes off 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I shoot 200gr lswc at approximately 875-890fps for 175pf. Primarily USPSA. 16 pundits recoil spring.