Sig recoil springs

Enfield Von Mauser · May 19, 2001, 10:37 PM

Hi folks. The Sig forum is down again so maybe somebody here can help. I've got a 229 with both .40 and 357sig barrels. I bought a Wolff spring kit with 17, 19, and 21 lb springs. I was told the stock spring is 16 lbs. So starting at the top I put in the 21 lb'er with the 357sig barrel. It functioned perfectly. Was a little stiff at first, but it got better. I imagine the stock spring must have been allowing the slide to batter the hell outta the frame. Then just to see what would happen, I put in the .40 barrel with the 21 lb spring. It still functioned perfectly, although the empty brass was only ejected about 2 feet. So why do they (sig) use such a light spring? Anybody know? Am I gunna cause some unknown (to me) problem down the road using the heavier springs? Thanks for your tme.

George Stringer · May 20, 2001, 09:21 AM

EVM, I have to assume that the engineers at Sig figured the 16# was best for it. I always try to stay as close to original weights as possible in recoil springs for that very reason. Too light a spring will allow the slide to batter the frame but too heavy a spring will batter it in the opposite direction so to speak. A good rule of thumb is if your empties are ejecting 3 to 6 feet from the pistol you have the correct spring weight for that load. George

Rottweiler · May 20, 2001, 09:22 AM

The only problem that I can think of is as the gun "dirtys up" from extended shooting without cleaning (a few hundred+ rounds) you might experience a failure to eject or two. But then it's a SIG it may never jam. Even if it does a good cleaning will return it to it's happy shooting state.

Enfield Von Mauser · May 20, 2001, 09:42 AM

I was told the stock spring was 16#. I'm assuming it is. But, does it seem right to you that the same spring is used for both the heavy 357sig and the milder .40? BTW, the 357sig empties fly farther than 6' with the 21. Maybe I'll just use the 21#er for the 357 and try the other two weights (17 & 19) for the .40 and use the 3-6' rule and see what happens. None of this applies when it's loaded in the bedroom. At that time it's the stock spring and .40 Cor-Bons.

tstr · May 22, 2001, 11:55 PM

I've got a pretty light grip. Thus a heavy spring would probably cause more jams for me than it would for others. Sig tries to get a general purpose spring that handles all types of users and all powers of ammo.

tstr

George Stringer · May 23, 2001, 07:14 AM

EVM, yes it's probably right. You see this in other handguns also. The spring weights depend more on the model or size than the round being used. George

May 19, 2001, 10:37 PM	#1
Enfield Von Mauser Member Join Date: April 27, 2001 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 15	Hi folks. The Sig forum is down again so maybe somebody here can help. I've got a 229 with both .40 and 357sig barrels. I bought a Wolff spring kit with 17, 19, and 21 lb springs. I was told the stock spring is 16 lbs. So starting at the top I put in the 21 lb'er with the 357sig barrel. It functioned perfectly. Was a little stiff at first, but it got better. I imagine the stock spring must have been allowing the slide to batter the hell outta the frame. Then just to see what would happen, I put in the .40 barrel with the 21 lb spring. It still functioned perfectly, although the empty brass was only ejected about 2 feet. So why do they (sig) use such a light spring? Anybody know? Am I gunna cause some unknown (to me) problem down the road using the heavier springs? Thanks for your tme.

May 20, 2001, 09:21 AM	#2
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	EVM, I have to assume that the engineers at Sig figured the 16# was best for it. I always try to stay as close to original weights as possible in recoil springs for that very reason. Too light a spring will allow the slide to batter the frame but too heavy a spring will batter it in the opposite direction so to speak. A good rule of thumb is if your empties are ejecting 3 to 6 feet from the pistol you have the correct spring weight for that load. George

May 20, 2001, 09:22 AM	#3
Rottweiler Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2001 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 391	The only problem that I can think of is as the gun "dirtys up" from extended shooting without cleaning (a few hundred+ rounds) you might experience a failure to eject or two. But then it's a SIG it may never jam. Even if it does a good cleaning will return it to it's happy shooting state.

May 20, 2001, 09:42 AM	#4
Enfield Von Mauser Member Join Date: April 27, 2001 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 15	I was told the stock spring was 16#. I'm assuming it is. But, does it seem right to you that the same spring is used for both the heavy 357sig and the milder .40? BTW, the 357sig empties fly farther than 6' with the 21. Maybe I'll just use the 21#er for the 357 and try the other two weights (17 & 19) for the .40 and use the 3-6' rule and see what happens. None of this applies when it's loaded in the bedroom. At that time it's the stock spring and .40 Cor-Bons.

May 22, 2001, 11:55 PM	#5
tstr Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2000 Location: Oregon Posts: 233	I've got a pretty light grip. Thus a heavy spring would probably cause more jams for me than it would for others. Sig tries to get a general purpose spring that handles all types of users and all powers of ammo. tstr

May 23, 2001, 07:14 AM	#6
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	EVM, yes it's probably right. You see this in other handguns also. The spring weights depend more on the model or size than the round being used. George