[ChrisD46]

It has often been stated that Glock tends to" over spring" the recoil springs to handle +P loads reliably ... In the case of a G17 Gen 3 the stock recoil spring is #17 pounds . For factory target loads (Blazer , American Eagle , etc.) what would be the ideal spring weight to drop down to for better ability to cycle and get back on target in gun games such as IDPA ? *I'm thinking somewhere around #13 lbs. to #16 lbs. (Wolff) would be the range for factory target loads (custom reloads I'm sure would be down around #11 lbs. ~ #12 lbs. possibly) ... Your experiences with factory 9mm target loads and ideal reduced recoil spring weight ? ... Thanks in advance !

 

[ChrisD46]

Digging around my tool box I found a non capture steel guide rod (Wolff) with a Wolff #14 lb. and a #15 lb. non - captured guide rod springs . *Considering the G17 spring is supposedly "over sprung" (according to IDPA Tactical magazine writer) will there be any harm done to test Blazer , American Eagle target loads with a the above spring weights ? P.S. I understand unless I load my own reduced power loads , improve technique , I may not see any improvement - I mainly just want to see what difference it makes in the slide action and hopefully won't slam back into the rear too hard (at #14 lb. and #15 lb. with factory target loads I would not think this would be the case as I'm not dropping down to #12 lb. or #11 lb. where the chances would be greater of the slide pounding the rear with factory target loads) .. Your thoughts ? Anyone done similar testing for grins ?

 

[ChrisD46]

The G17 is not "over-sprung" IDPA tactical writer? What? Course I've only run over 400,000 rounds thru various Glock models since 1992, and over 270,000 rounds thru one G17 alone. Again, spring weights are used to match cycle times and power floor.

*Good to hear about your G17 & experience ! ... Just quoting an IDPA writer whose "own belief" is that the stock G17 spring at #17 lbs. is on the heavy side for standard pressure rounds ... So in the end , I will try three shot strings (about max for what I would ever shoot on one IDPA target) with each of the #14 lb. , #15 lb. and stock #17 lb. recoil springs and see if I notice any difference in accuracy and speed to acquire target with factory standard loads . **If I see a difference I'll report back - if I don't see a difference then I will consider the experiment over and simply stay with the stock #17 lb. recoil spring .

 

[ChrisD46]

9x45 Are you saying you don't like the #13 lb. and #15 lb. springs for your hand loads , duty loads , or both ? Also , are you saying then that you only use the #17 lb. OEM weight spring weight ? Thanks to clarify ...

 

[ChrisD46]

Thanks for the replies !

 

[ChrisD46]

"you can put them on the OEM guide rod. Lock the slide back, pull the tip off, change spring, push the tip back on, done". *Not sure how to do this with a Gen 3 OEM plastic Guide Rod ? ... Also I found I actually ended up a #16 lb. and a #14 lb. springs from Wolff (*it was all I could do to get the uncaptured #16 lb. spring into place - that was tough and definitely safety glasses required !!)