First question to ask yourself is, "Did the manufacturer install a Shok-Buff and specify its use?"
Second question, "Did the designer of the 1911 install anything remotely like a Shok-Buff and specify it's use?"
Third question, "Can running a Shok-Buff negatively impact my 1911 while engaged in a life-threatening shoot-out? Or is this just a fun range toy and I like to play with difference accessories?" (Which is perfectly fine, it's how we learn).

First answer - "No." Second answer - "No." Third answer, absolutely!"

So what's the downside? The simplest place to start is that Shok-Buffs take a beating and tend to get mashed up and broken into pieces which could find a way to impede the pistol's function. Many will point to the damage seen on Shok-Buffs as evidence of vital they are to "saving the frame," but no such linear relationship exists. Shok-Buffs REMOVE about 1/4" of slide travel, while inserting a springy substance that WILL impart energy into the slide. Both of these work against reliability. By reducing slide travel, the gun's timing is altered - dwell time reduced, increasing the chance of an overrun during chambering, or a feedway stoppage due to the breechface smacking the rim slightly lower than full lift, thus forcing the rim downward and under the breechface as the nose is forced upward creating a classic stoppage.
It gets worse - the slide as designed should arrive at full back with very low "energy" - remember, the "recoil spring" doesn't do anything materially to retard slide cycling, it's the mass of the reciprocating parts. The recoil spring's job is simply to get the slide moving forward with sufficient force to strip off another round and complete the chambering, lock-up cycle.
[This is why you can shoot a 1911 without a "recoil spring" all day long without breaking it]
The Shok-Buff acts like a "helper spring" in that it gives the slide a bit of forward assist, or "kick" which seems innocuous enough, but this too acts to shorten dwell time, making the pistol less reliable. Doesn't mean your particular gun will become a jam-o-matic with a Shok-Buff, but it's moving AWAY from reliability.

As for saving the frame claims, the 1911 has been around longer than most of us with millions of frames, meaning billions of shots fired. Limited to standard pressure "mil-spec" ammo, 1911s have recorded well in excess of 100,000 rounds fired with no frame damage. That equates to approximately 28 hours of continuous firing, or broken into normal usage terms, well beyond the average number of shots most shooters will EVER fire from a single gun. Granted there are people who blow off ammo like someone else is paying for it, but FEW will expend $30-$50 THOUSAND dollars in ammo purchases unless they're a pro and someone else is paying the freight.

So the final answer is, No, do not add a Shok-Buff. The only benefit it will provide is the transfer or money from your pocket to their pocket.

There does exist an "upgrade" that will make your 1911 frame last as close to forever as the laws of metallurgical physics currently allow and that's the V2 Recoil damper available from 460 Rowland. While marketed for use in .460 Rowland conversions, the V2 pneumatic piston system replaces the guide rod (you should not have) and slide return spring (which you should NEVER replace with a stronger one), with a tiny "motor" that brings the slide to a halt fractionally before it meets metal, but more importantly, with ZERO residual energy! Thus, even with the mighty .460R pushing over 1,000 foot-pounds of energy, one need only run a slide return spring adequate to chamber the pistol, and coincidentally, the spring that allows it to run .45 ACP from a compensated Rowland, is the same spring that a standard, non-modified .45 ACP would run which is around 9-11 pounds believe it....or not.
I currently have a 9 pound reaction spring installed in my 1911 Rowland and the gun shoots softer than it ever did with the 20 pound spring, with zero timing issues because dwell time is preserved. I never ceased to be shocked when shooting it that it's putting out .44 magnum power and kicks no more than a standard 1911 with OEM ammo.
So if you want to add money for something that actually works, THAT actually does what it says it will do.


What is always forgotten in the world of "upgrades" is that the purpose of a fighting handgun is to RELIABLY function under as broad a range of conditions as possible, NOT to last forever, though they last plenty long if not abused.
Shok-Buffs should never be used.
Any spring rated higher than stock should never be used! As said before, the slide return spring job is to chamber and lock the pistol, NOT to "resist recoil" that's the duty of the reciprocating mass. Adding more spring weight does NOTHING for the first half of travel other than force the muzzle upward sooner, and at the back half, can limit travel - damaging dwell timing, but also siphon out just enough energy to induce stove piping - COMMON with over sprung guns, AND feedway stoppages!

Best way to modify a 1911 is to not, other than the V2 system but that's costly modification not needed for STOCK pistols.