You should be able to buy the heavy duty spring from Brownell's, and there stuff is good.

Replacing the spring requires removing the internal workings, but that is a relatively simple job too. It will be well worth the effort, and you can learn how to break down your gun while replacing the spring. Just be careful while removing the rebound slide, that the spring doesn't go flying. I would suggest doing the disassembly inside a large zip loc bag if it's your first time. That way anything that falls out, or goes flying is captured and doesn't get lost.

Take a digital camera and take pictures of where everything is located, and in relationship to each other.

Order an oversized stop to go along with the spring while you are at it. Don't over lube the gun when re assembling it either. S&W's are made to work properly with minimum lubrication.


If you have never taken a Smith sideplate off, be careful in doing so. You can really mess up the edges of the sideplate if handled roughly while removing it.

Too remove the sideplate, hold the gun in your left palm with the right side facing up. Keep your fingertips on the sideplate while rapping the grip frame to prevent it being damaged or flying off and landing where it can be damaged.

Use a wooded mallet, hammer handle, or plastic hammer head (like a shooboy ) and rap on the right side of the grip frame, not the sideplate! Never pry on the sideplate, ever!! Rap the grip frame only. The sideplate will pop up and out of its recess.

When re-installing it, never force or tap it in with anything. If everything is lined up correctly, you will be able to seat it almost completely home using only thumb pressure. The final few thousandths can be taken up with the sideplate screws. If you can't get it to go back on with thumb pressure only, something is out of alignment and needs to be re-adjusted. Usually it's the hammer block, and once it is fitting in its mating groove in the sideplate, everything goes back together quite easily.