Internl replacement parts for Glock/Springfield Armory

[amboy49]

I apologize if this has been covered before - this is the first time I have visited this section of INGO. I have a Glock 34 and a Springfield Armory 5.25. Both are 9mm handguns that I use for USPSA and IDPA shooting events. I am a long way from being and most likely never will be much better than a sharpshooter level shooter. My gun class is production or SSP ( basically stock ).

I occasionally get advertising material from one company or another talking about guide springs and other items. My goal is (1) have a reliable functioning gun and (2) reduce recoil as much as possible to minimize muzzle jump allowing me to acquire the front sight quickly for second shots. I think I have done as much with my reloads to keep muzzle flip down. Now I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I could do with the "internal" components of either gun.

Are there gunsmiths who are knowledgeable about this kind of thing or is it trial and error ? I would think the trial and error method would be costly and would like to refrain going that route. Perhaps I don't need a gunsmith if the items are drop in parts without fitting being required - but I need insight re: what type of parts I should be considering. Looking for help/suggestions to make my gun more shootable in competition while maintaining reliability.

Once I get this figured I'll move on to what to do with my Springfield Armory Range Officer.

Thanks in advance

 

[red_zr24x4]

A buddy of mine has a dampening guide rod in his Springfield 1911, he claims it helps ,and that you can feel it moving.
Check out top gun supply, maybe Brownell`s if your interested in this

 

[engineerpower]

I've seen stainless steel and tungsten recoil spring guides, designed to put more weight put front. Can't see as it making that much more of a difference, especially on tupperware. A comp would go far further.

 

[throttletony]

I've seen stainless steel and tungsten recoil spring guides, designed to put more weight put front. Can't see as it making that much more of a difference, especially on tupperware. A comp would go far further.

this. but using a comp puts you in a different class (although it would be fun, and if you don't take the competitive stuff too seriously, this'd be an option)
running a comp can present new problems as well -- you need to use powerful enough ammo to run the comp well, otherwise it sucks too much juice out of underppowered ammo and may not cycle properly.
Not sure about the restrictions in SSP/Production, but you can certainly smooth the triggers/actions a bit (polish, or ghost connectors, etc.)

It may be worth looking at springs - but there's danger there too... (I'd only adjust 1-2 lbs in either direction). If you go way too heavy or light and then try to handload ammo to match, you run the risk of getting the timing way off - i.e. slide cycling too slow or fast because of spring vs. ammo.

You don't have to look far to see example of bad engineering with springs -- when the XDM 5.25 9mm came out, it had a light spring and would sometimes not fully return to battery (multiple youtube vids on subject), they've since changed the spring and they seem very reliable now. The factory spends a lot of time and money to get these stock guns as reliable as possilbe.

 

[red_zr24x4]

My buddy said the spring guide he has contains mercury inside to dampen the recoil impulse.
So not only is it stainless, there's the added weight of the mercury plus the movement of it going back and forth

 

[BE Mike]

I can only address the SA Range Officer. I think that a long spring guide is the last thing I would consider, since any improvement to the shootability of the pistol is so slight. I just took a two-piece one out of my SA Trophy Match and replaced it with a standard recoil spring guide and ss plug. A really nice trigger can add substantially to the shootability of the pistol. This can result in more accurate shooting. The hammer and sear that come on it aren't top quality. If you want a really nice 4# trigger, you might want to have a Cylinder and Slide kit installed. This will include a new hammer, sear, disconnector, main spring and 3 leaf spring. These hardened parts eliminate the mushy feel of the stock trigger and make it lighter weight. In my experience, some of the parts require fitting, so it is not a DIY project unless you are very familiar with working on 1911's. I recently installed this kit in one of my 1911's: 1911 Tactical II Chamfered 4 lb. Trigger Pull (5 piece) Set

 

[rvb]

I My goal is (1) have a reliable functioning gun and (2) reduce recoil as much as possible to minimize muzzle jump allowing me to acquire the front sight quickly for second shots. I think I have done as much with my reloads to keep muzzle flip down. Now I'm trying to figure out if there is anything else I could do with the "internal" components of either gun.

The brutal truth is lots of practice and a good strong grip and correct grip technique will do the most for your recoil control. Everything else is almost in the "noise."

You say you've tuned the ammo, but unless you've done that in conjunction with your hardware changes, it may not mean much. The general rule of thumb is to reduce muzzle rise, you combine light recoil springs w/ a heavy bullet over a fast powder. Of course, there is LOTS of room for personal preference in there.

For instance, my USPSA/IDPA load for 9mm is Titegroup under 147jhps. I run my recoil springs about 4lb lighter than factory, varying a bit depending on gun.

You can also add heavier guide rods, but to me that difference has always been almost imperceivable.

Be aware that there is reducing felt recoil, and there is reducing muzzle rise. They aren't necessarily the same thing. Light recoil springs may help reduce muzzle rise, but at the cost of the slide hitting the frame/hand a little harder. One of the reasons I like that setup is it conversly closes the slide a little slower making the sight easier to track/guide back on target. Some people don't like that "sluggish" feel and want to sight to get snapped down faster.

You can go to brianenos.com and spend your entire weekend reading about ammo/spring combinations that reduce muzzle rise for practical pistol purposes.

-rvb