CS-45 Tip "Won't return to Battery"

[SemperFuzz]

So i asked my Gunsmith about my new/unfired CS-45 and if i needed to re-spring the gun completely and he said "no" just shoot it, it should be fine. I asked about the recoil spring being compressed and sitting in a safe for 12 years and he said it's a non-issue.

Range Time. First 200 rounds had about 10 failures of slide to return to battery, had to smack the back of the slide to make it go home the extra inch or two so it would fire again.

2nd trip 100 rounds same thing. Luckily i had some new S&W recoil springs on hand. i looked at them side by side and the original spring was 1 1/2 to 2 Inches shorter and didnt feel as firm.

Installed the new recoil spring and 100 rounds later Perfection no failures and recoil felt much less. Old spring tossed in the Trash.

I know it's been said somewhere but how often round count wise is it a good idea to change the recoil spring on this model?

Are the other springs ok such as the firing pin spring and hammer return spring or should i replace those too?

Thanks All


BirdSong's Green-T Gun finish with Blac-T controls

[XAVMECH]

No help here, just a comment: That is one fine looking piece!

[Fastbolt]

The armorer class doesn't differentiate from the regular 3rd gen guns and the smaller CS models with the flat-wound, really short recoil springs. Every 5 years or every 5,000 rounds is the recommended replacement interval.

However ...

I tend to err on the conservative side of maintenance and replace the springs in my own CS9 & CS45 about every couple of years or every 800-1,200+ rounds. In the CS9 it depends if I'm shooting a lot of +P and +P+ loads. (The issued loads used to be a major brand +P+ and are now +P.) I don't like +P loads in .45, so I seldom use them in the CS45.

Depends how much I'm shooting them, too. When I started having the guns field stripped for cleaning and the springs looked significantly shorter than new ones, I decided to simply replace them, and that was the approx round-count interval when I noticed a lot of difference in the recoil spring length ... and saw the empty cases being tossed farther.

On the other hand, I just watched one of our guys come through with a CS45 he claimed had the original springs. He said he'd bought it back when the model line was first introduced, too. He reportedly really only fired it for required qualification, so it's not like it was heavily used over the years. He completed the normal course-of-fire without any observed problems ... but I strongly recommended he replace the recoil & mag springs due to their age (which was quite a bit past the 5-year recommendation ).

The rather small & short single recoil springs in the smaller CS model guns take a bit of a beating, I'd think, especially when you consider the reduced mass slides and slide velocities of the little guns.

BTW, I sent you an email regarding the 4506 questions.

[Martya]

I am getting a Gen III shortly, with 4-5,000 rounds thru it. Where does one purchase replacement springs?

[XTrooper]

Originally Posted by Martya

I am getting a Gen III shortly, with 4-5,000 rounds thru it. Where does one purchase replacement springs?

Smith & Wesson directly, Brownells, Midway, etc.