Man I had no idea this thread was still going.You guys should keep pumping 1/74 he is way too modest about his expertise.John was also a swat team member for years before SIS and holds a couple black belts with high degrees if Im not wrong. One day he should do a book it would be as good as Cirillo's. John Lisa says hi!
To answer 18's question,we never allowed any aftermarket parts that the manufacturer didnt approve.So all springs were factory springs ,sometimes we did action jobs on the guns (reliability package)S&W called it but that was ok'd by S&W as we were all trained armorers and everything was kept within factory specs.
The main reason for this was liability issues that could arise if their was a problem with a gun or a shooting. Now we do nothing to the guns because of those same issues. Hogue grips have always been approved ,Yes Guy Hogue was an LAPD armorer ,the last in a long line of LAPD gripmakers Stark ?/ Farrant,Hurst,Hogue if Im not mistaken all great fellows, from what Ive been told,John Hurst(olympic shooter)and Mr Hogue were always great to LAPD guys.
About the S&W 45s and springs I know this from servicing thousands,the full size guns recoil spring is massively overbuilt and very seldom if ever needs to be replaced unless something is wrong with it (bent,nicked etc). So if you have a feed problem with these models ,look to the mags.The 4566/63, once that spring takes a 1/2 inch set or more it needs to be replaced.How soon depends on how hot the ammo you are shooting is (wear on the spring) normally 4-500 rds a year qualifying and training days,gun never gets too hot every 4-5 years. If you shoot alot,remember heat effects the metal in the spring 500 rds a day for a week ,I would check the spring.
The smaller guns have been covered, for a duty gun ,I would change it once a year or more if I shot it alot.
Another thing with the .45, look at your rounds, I discovered looking at duty ammo turned in after qual(we issue new ammo every six months) lots of the rounds would be shorter than normal.We all load and unload our guns alot,for administrative purposes.Normal officers think nothing of it but that round in the chamber and the first round in the mag get changed back and forth.The round in the chamber is ok but if that first round in the mag has the bullet setback and is shortened it may cause a feeding problem.The ogive of the bullet needs to strike the feedramp at a certain spot and angle and timing sequence for the gun to function at a premium.So replace those rounds or put them in the bottom of the last mag or whatever every so often.WHEW, I havnt typed this much since my last travel request.
Some of this stuff is my own thoughts and that of guys I work with so take it for what value you can and good luck bob