Has anyone ever broken a recoil spring plug in a 1911?

defjon · October 25, 2018, 07:58 PM

Full length guide rod system, shooting 200 to 300 rounds. No issues noted at the range chugged along fine.

Got home to clean it, field stripped and noticed the plug had broken in three pieces. Two large pieces remain. Guessing the third was on the firing line.

Odd.

Switched to a gi system. No need for a bushing wrench.

Anyone ever seen this?

Tried googling but no luck!

KyJim · October 25, 2018, 10:39 PM

I haven't seen it but almost all of my 1911s have the GI system. Just curious as to brand of pistol.

RickB · October 26, 2018, 05:02 AM

An early form of shock buffer was a guide rod with a spring-loaded plunger protruding, and I'd heard they could/would punch a hole in a standard plug, but a plug coming apart in a stock gun?

ms6852 · October 26, 2018, 09:58 AM

I did not break it, my 1911 had the two piece guide rod system that required an Allen wrench to take apart. I shot a couple of hundred rounds without a glitch and did not notice the plug was missing until I got home to clean it. Called Sprinfield Armory and they sent me a new recoil guide rod system free of charge. I have since changed to a gi guide rod system.

gsparesa · November 2, 2018, 07:10 PM

Was the recoil spring installed correctly?

**Aguila Blanca** · November 2, 2018, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by defjon

Anyone ever seen this?

I've never seen it. I've been shooting 1911s since the Army in 1967 and I've never even heard of it. You just got lucky ...

rodfac · November 3, 2018, 07:27 AM

Never broke any spring in my 1911's, and that's from 1964 til the present day. And I rarely change them out...per Kuhnhausen's recommendation, I have maintained the original GI/JMB design. Rod

Jim Watson · November 4, 2018, 12:48 PM

I did, but the gun was so modified as to hardly be called a 1911 any more.

tipoc · November 5, 2018, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Full length guide rod system, shooting 200 to 300 rounds. No issues noted at the range chugged along fine.

Got home to clean it, field stripped and noticed the plug had broken in three pieces. Two large pieces remain. Guessing the third was on the firing line.

Odd.

Switched to a gi system. No need for a bushing wrench.

Anyone ever seen this?

Tried googling but no luck!

I've heard of this will full length one and two piece guide rods but I have not personally seen it. It's most likely a bad plug.

tipoc

D-Ric902 · November 5, 2018, 06:21 PM

I’ve broken the GI plug on a Colt Compact, never a full length

tipoc · November 5, 2018, 10:38 PM

Quote:

I’ve broken the GI plug on a Colt Compact, never a full length

I'm sure you didn't mean it this way but a GI plug is longer than the plug on a Commander. Which is shorter than a 5" piece so requires a shorter plug. The Officers and Defender have a different set up altogether so of course the GI plug wouldn't work. These latter "plugs", on the OACP, are known to have broken some in the early days of these pieces it was fairly common.

tipoc

1stmar · November 5, 2018, 11:34 PM

Have full length guide rods in 7 1911s, several with over 20,000 rounds. Never had a problem with rods or plugs. Never heard or seen of a plug breaking. Had to be defective especially with a low round count.

AK103K · November 7, 2018, 05:57 PM

I saw the plug (partial) and spring from a Colt Officers model go down range while the guns was being shot. Wasnt my gun, but that of the boy in the next booth over.

Apparently, it was fairly new and he hadnt done anything to it. Just bad luck I guess.

Over the years, Ive owned right around 40 1911's, and only one had a guide rod spring assembly when I bought it Springfield Loaded), which I quickly replaced with a GI type. That gun was a POS too, and wouldnt feed hardball out of the box.

Never had a plug break on any of my guns though.

1stmar · November 8, 2018, 01:50 AM

Older officer models were prone to plug failures. King and a few others were making reverse guide plugs for that reason. Good point, but never heard of an issue in a govt or dommander model

October 25, 2018, 07:58 PM	#1
defjon Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2005 Posts: 785	Has anyone ever broken a recoil spring plug in a 1911? Full length guide rod system, shooting 200 to 300 rounds. No issues noted at the range chugged along fine. Got home to clean it, field stripped and noticed the plug had broken in three pieces. Two large pieces remain. Guessing the third was on the firing line. Odd. Switched to a gi system. No need for a bushing wrench. Anyone ever seen this? Tried googling but no luck!

October 26, 2018, 05:02 AM	#3
RickB Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2000 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 8,518	An early form of shock buffer was a guide rod with a spring-loaded plunger protruding, and I'd heard they could/would punch a hole in a standard plug, but a plug coming apart in a stock gun? __________________ Runs off at the mouth about anything 1911 related on this site and half the time is flat out wrong.

October 26, 2018, 09:58 AM	#4
ms6852 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,394	I did not break it, my 1911 had the two piece guide rod system that required an Allen wrench to take apart. I shot a couple of hundred rounds without a glitch and did not notice the plug was missing until I got home to clean it. Called Sprinfield Armory and they sent me a new recoil guide rod system free of charge. I have since changed to a gi guide rod system. __________________ ONLY TWO DEFINING FORCES HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR LIVES FOR YOU. ONE IS JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SOUL AND THE OTHER IS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

November 3, 2018, 07:27 AM	#7
rodfac Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,624	Never broke any spring in my 1911's, and that's from 1964 til the present day. And I rarely change them out...per Kuhnhausen's recommendation, I have maintained the original GI/JMB design. Rod __________________ Cherish our flag, honor it, defend it in word and deed, or get the hell out. Our Bill of Rights has been paid for by heros in uniform and shall not be diluted by misguided governmental social experiments. We owe this to our children, anything less is cowardice. USAF FAC, 5th Spl Forces, Vietnam Vet '69-'73.

November 5, 2018, 06:21 PM	#10
D-Ric902 Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2004 Location: Northeastern Indiana Posts: 402	I’ve broken the GI plug on a Colt Compact, never a full length __________________ mercysdad.com

October 25, 2018, 10:39 PM	#2
KyJim Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2005 Location: The Bluegrass Posts: 9,142	I haven't seen it but almost all of my 1911s have the GI system. Just curious as to brand of pistol.

November 2, 2018, 07:10 PM	#5
gsparesa Member Join Date: January 3, 2013 Posts: 64	Was the recoil spring installed correctly?

November 4, 2018, 12:48 PM	#8
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,543	I did, but the gun was so modified as to hardly be called a 1911 any more.

November 5, 2018, 11:34 PM	#12
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Have full length guide rods in 7 1911s, several with over 20,000 rounds. Never had a problem with rods or plugs. Never heard or seen of a plug breaking. Had to be defective especially with a low round count.

November 7, 2018, 05:57 PM	#13
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	I saw the plug (partial) and spring from a Colt Officers model go down range while the guns was being shot. Wasnt my gun, but that of the boy in the next booth over. Apparently, it was fairly new and he hadnt done anything to it. Just bad luck I guess. Over the years, Ive owned right around 40 1911's, and only one had a guide rod spring assembly when I bought it Springfield Loaded), which I quickly replaced with a GI type. That gun was a POS too, and wouldnt feed hardball out of the box. Never had a plug break on any of my guns though.

November 8, 2018, 01:50 AM	#14
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Older officer models were prone to plug failures. King and a few others were making reverse guide plugs for that reason. Good point, but never heard of an issue in a govt or dommander model