S&W 1911 ejection question

[highlander]

I need some advice from the dedicated 1911 fans.
I just purchased a S&W 1911 full sized and I'm quite pleased with the pistol except in one area it throws brass a good ten feet over my right shoulder.Question is should I send it back or go to a heavier recoil spring?
Called S&W and asked what weight recoil spring they use was told 18 lbs thinking a 20lb might solve the problem any advice would be appreciated

 

[squarooticus]

I just purchased a S&W 1911 full sized and I'm quite pleased with the pistol except in one area it throws brass a good ten feet over my right shoulder.

This is a problem? I think it's highly amusing when newbies I bring to the range (wearing safety glasses, of course) get a piece of brass right in the face. It stings a bit, we laugh, and then they move to the other side.

Cheers,
Kyle

 

[Bugs100]

I have 2 S&W full size 1911's with the 18 lbs springs and they throw the brass about 10 ft too. It's just the nature of the beast.

If you go with a 20 lb spring it's going to be even harder to pull the slide back. It's also going to slam back the slide a lot harder and changing to a heavier spring can some times throw a pistol out of timing causing stove pipes..

 

[adweisbe]

I am a big fan of sticking with 16 pound spring and putting in an EGW firing pin stop. The EGW firing pin stop will slow down the slide just like a heavier recoil spring, but it won't send the slide slamming back home any harder. May also help reduce felt recoil. The only time I will ever deviate from a 16 pound spring is to shoot lighter loads with a lighter spring to help the slide cycle completely. I never put on a heavier spring, a heavier spring does not delay unlocking, the only thing it does is "prevent" the slide from battering the frame. If you have battering issues stop shootin heavy loads ;-) If you absolutely must shoot heavier loads then get a revolver. That being said, even with hot loads and a 16 pound spring the gun will last a very long time.

Now, if you really absolutely think your gun must eject into a neat llittle pile a foot away from you, and the EGW firing pin stop doesn't help, then you might want to look into adjusting the ejector/extractor, you should not NEED a heavier recoil spring when shooting factory (230 grain @ 830 FPS), the gun was designed to do that with a 16lb spring and an EGW style firing pin stop and a 23lbs mainspring. I don't know the procedure for adjusting the extractor/ejector, so you might want to ask elsewhere or get a gunsmith to do it.

 

[GTOShootr]

This article shows ejector tuning:
Ejection Perfection

I like the 16# spring too.

 

[highlander]

I neglected to mention that the load I'm using is relatively light
5 gr 231 with either a 200 or 230 gr cast bullet.
I can see cases being thrown with factory loads but not with these loads I'm a cheap skate i don't mind losing a few cases but when you can't find 50-70% of your cases it's a little depressing ps My para commander doesn't throw them that far half the distance in fact

 

[adweisbe]

What kind of velocity do you get with 5 grains of 231? According to this load data http://www.wwpowder.com/data/handgun/45acp.php your not all that far from max. I don't reload so I may be misreading the situtation.

For 230 grain lead (not sure if it's the right type of bullet I am indexing) 5.3 grains is the published max load which is right around 830 FPS. A good crimp with 5 grains might edge you even closer. I wouldn't be too suprised if you get 8-10 feet of ejection out of that. Is 8-10 feet even really that far off?

 

[highlander]

I'm using info from the most recent Lyman handbook 48th edition
according to their chart 225gr bullet with 231 5.8 gr is max no idea what the velocity is.
According to the wollff spring websight 3-6 feet is ideal if more than that a heavier spring is need

 

[adweisbe]

I'm using info from the most recent Lyman handbook 48th edition
according to their chart 225gr bullet with 231 5.8 gr is max no idea what the velocity is.
According to the wollff spring websight 2-3 feet is ideal if more than that a heavier spring is need

I would PM 1911Tuner on thehighroad.org, 1911forum.com, or m1911.org about this, but 2-3 feet doesn't sound mil-spec to me, that sounds like the new preference for reloaders or people who are afraid of "wearing out" their guns, or maybe those who think they can positively effect (affect?) felt recoil with a heavier spring. 2-3 feet to me seems like the gun is just on the edge of stovepiping, but maybe I'm wrong and that is what JMB intended. I'm in over my head on what is the correct ejection distance. The truth is that both are probably acceptable, although I would rather have it eject a little farther then risk stovepiping and battering the slidestop.

Ahh, found this:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=68029&highlight=ejection+distance

1911Tuner takes a different tack on 1911 smithing then most others. He doesn't always see tight and consistent as a good thing depending on the area.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=57405&highlight=ejection+distance

Another thread. Man, 1911 tinkering is FUN!