The only figures I've ever seen for slide forces in operation are for the 1911. The figures are from, of all sources, Leupold as someone mounted a scope on a 1911 slide and they got curious about what kind of loads are involved.
On a stock 1911 the shock load when the slide is in full recoil is 700 Gs. The force going into battery while feeding a round is 750 Gs. So installing a heavier than stock recoil spring will decrease the recoil force while substantially increasing the force going into battery. Which, in the 1911, is absorbed by the barrel under lug and slide stop. Some other designs will use either the slide stop or a take down latch and the barrel under lug to absorb the force of the slide going into battery.
After watching several slide assemblies go down range after under lug/slide stop failures, I've often wondered why people think they're smarter than the designers.
