12 year old EDC, time to replace springs?

[9mm]

I have a Glock 19 that is now 12 years old. Only 1500 rounds or less have been fired, and I haven't shot it in 5 years or so.

I was reading online people replaced their guns every 5 years (or striker spring) . Is this spring under constant tension in the firing pin channel?

Should I replace any springs on it?

I saw a nice Gen 3 G19 in FDE Maybe I need to upgrade(downgrade gens)

[Jim Watson]

Could you just shoot it and find out if it still works?

[JERRYS.]

what that guy ^^^ said.

[9mm]

It works just fine last time I used it. I am not trying to add more wear on the gun, thats why I stopped shooting it.

I just thought springs had to be replaced every 10x years or so from compression, and age.

[JohnKSa]

You absolutely do not need to replace the gun every 5 years. It is possible that law enforcement departments replace their guns that frequently, but that's kind of a different situation.

You don't need to do any spring replacements. Certainly that round count does not suggest that anything is likely to be worn out.

If your gun is has the single recoil spring, you could replace the recoil spring assembly every 5000 rounds, just for fun/peace of mind, but in reality, the 19 and 17 are very easy on recoil springs and you should be able to go much longer than that.

Probably a good idea to get it out to the range every so often. You really don't need to worry about wearing it out. You can get a little practice and also a warm fuzzy that everything is still functioning properly.

[Shadow9mm]

Springs do not wear out from being under tension unless they are over compressed, which should not happen in a property designed gun. They wear out from being flexed, or worked. So it comes down to round count, or lots of dry firing.

Im short, its fine, you dont need to replace it.

I was a glock armorer at one point. Did weapons inspections for my agency for a little while. We had gen 2 and 3 glocks in service then. About 7yrs ago we switched to 9mm and got all new guns. In my time helping inspect those older guns, and with my issues weapon, the only things i ever saw replaced were magazine springs, and recoil spring assemblies. And those very infrequently, probably around the 5000rnd mark, if not longer.

[Jim Watson]

1500 rounds is barely "broken in" your Glock has a service life of maybe 100000.

I have heard of Glock magazine springs "taking a set". Has the gun been left loaded for 12 years? Then it might benefit from a magazine spring.

I am only shooting about 250 a week so the only things I have had to replace were magazine springs in my Wednesday pistol.

[Shadow9mm]

The newer glock mags are better. But my 3rd gen g22 needed mag springs replaced after 5 years and about 5000 rnds. They were loaded 24/7 in my duty weapon. They started having feeding problems.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by 9mm

It works just fine last time I used it. I am not trying to add more wear on the gun, thats why I stopped shooting it.

I just thought springs had to be replaced every 10x years or so from compression, and age.

If it worries you, replace the springs and move on. Springs aren't expensive.

[SSGN-Doc]

Springs wear from being repeatedly compressed and returned to rest. Round count will be far more critical than age of the spring.

Years ago I bought a Glock 17 police trade in with a round count that only the Devine would know for sure. I fired an additional 1,000 round through it before a complete spring and internal parts change was done on it. Never a hiccup. Since I have owned it, I refresh springs at between 5k and 10k rounds.

Pretty sure your 19 is just fine.

[totaldla]

Originally Posted by 9mm

It works just fine last time I used it. I am not trying to add more wear on the gun, thats why I stopped shooting it.

I just thought springs had to be replaced every 10x years or so from compression, and age.

Of all the guns, a Glock isn't going to become a collector's item. IMO, if you're going to keep it - shoot it. And no, it doesn't need a spring refresh due to time. Round count is the useful metric - every 5k is a good number for a G19. I have a 28yr old G19 with 8k rounds through it that has had the recoil spring replaced - everything else is original. I figure I've only got another 100k of life left in it

[Onward Allusion]

I consider a gun with 1,500 rounds still barely broken in. Your G19 can go for 10,000 rounds easily without a thought to wear on any parts, including springs.

With regard to the springs - they only wear through the compression-depression cycle. Think garage door spring...

Now, that's not to say that springs don't retain some of that compressed memory. They certainly do. That's why some brand new magazines need to sit at minus-one round for a week to get that last round in.

If you really have the desire, you can get every spring in your 19 replaced for less than $50 and get it done in less than 1 hour while following a YouTube video.

[CDW4ME]

Originally Posted by 9mm

I have a Glock 19 that is now 12 years old. Only 1500 rounds or less have been fired, and I haven't shot it in 5 years or so.

Thread title: 12 year old EDC, time to replace springs?

You have not shot your EDC in 5 years?

[JohnKSa]

I have heard of Glock magazine springs "taking a set". Has the gun been left loaded for 12 years? Then it might benefit from a magazine spring.

It wouldn't hurt; I have heard of some of the early Glock mags that would relax enough from being left loaded to cause issues. A range trip would turn up any problems.

You can do a quick check on the mag springs with an unloaded gun. Put the unloaded mag in and rack the slide really quickly. You're trying to see if the slide will lock back. If it does, things are likely to be in good shape. It's not foolproof--a range trip would still be a better option for testing things.

Or you could just replace the mag springs. They're not expensive.

[9mm]

I change my primary magazine every 12 months, along with the ammo. The spare magazines maybe 18 to 24 months. I have a ton of magazines by now, that get thrown in a box for my ar9.

[Sgt127]

Clear the gun. Remove all ammo. Check again.
Cycle the slide. Point the gun straight up. Pull the trigger.
Retract the slide and let it very slowly go forward (still pointing straight up).

if it fails to go into battery, replace the recoil spring.

[Aguila Blanca]

Most of the responses have addressed the magazine spring or the recoil spring. The question, however, was about the striker spring.

Originally Posted by 9mm

I was reading online people replaced their guns every 5 years (or striker spring) . Is this spring under constant tension in the firing pin channel?

[Shadow9mm]

Originally Posted by Aguila Blanca

Most of the responses have addressed the magazine spring or the recoil spring. The question, however, was about the striker spring.

I did but not in as direct of a way as i could have.

In short, no your fine.

Long answer, springs wear out from use cycles, being compressed over and over, not from being under tension from being partly compressed. And not from age/time.

While i no longer hold a glock armorers certification, i did have one at one point, and still have the manuals. I also armored a bunch of guns for my agency. Replacing the striker springs at any intervals was never addressed and i never encountered one that had failed.

Lastly, imho, guns were made to be shot. That gun will run well over 100,000 rounds easily with only minor maintenance. Get it out and shoot it. Buy some spare recoil and mag springs, change as needed.

[RickB]

I have a couple of compact guns that need new recoil springs every 500-1000 rounds, and I know from experience that they really do need new springs that often.
Larger guns, with more room for springs, and more slide travel time/distance to decelerate, can go many thousands of rounds without need for spring replacement.
Either way, springs are cheap.
The age of springs, in years, makes no difference; it's not the age, it's the mileage.

[JohnKSa]

The question, however, was about the striker spring.

I saw that, but didn't address that part of the question because there's no reason to replace it with 1,500 rounds through the gun. Probably not a good reason to replace it with 50,000 rounds through the gun either. The spring is only partially compressed with a round in the chamber and is only compressed to the design max for the brief instant that the trigger is pressed. Of all the springs in the gun, I would rate it as the least likely to wear out.

[kymasabe]

...I'm still stuck on EDC that hasn't been shot in 5 years.
I hope it at least gets monthly or quarterly cleanings.

[jaysouth]

glock 19?

clean and replace recoil spring every three years whether it needs it or not.

[Alan0354]

Originally Posted by jaysouth

glock 19?

clean and replace recoil spring every three years whether it needs it or not.

That sound a little excessive. As long as one doesn't lock the slide open(like after shooting the last round) and let it sit for a long time, I don't see that is necessary.

OP only has about 1,500 rounds, that doesn't sound like a lot of rounds. Unless the firing spring is kept in half cocked 24/7, then maybe. Still it's not like those full cocked and locked where the spring is compressed all the way. Even that, people debate whether that matter or not.

[eflyguy]

My XD and daughter's G17 have several thousand rounds thru them in competition over the past decade and the springs are working just fine.