I went to Galloway Precision and looked at their Guide Rod kit.
Nothing out of ordinary, but what they said about a Slide spring weight got me intrigued.

If you use a heavier spring it will reduce recoil. They're talking about the SD40VE at this point. I can see this, as it slows down the slide ever so slight.

Ok, the SD9VE uses a 17# spring, so if I go to a 20#, which is the only spring available next, wouldn't it too reduce recoil?

But at what cost? Short stroking, FTE, Double jam with spent case and live round piled on each other?

Anybody have this setup. Does it work as advertised and really reduce recoil without problems----assuming one uses good factory ammos of 125gr and up.

Haven't done it myself as I'm fine with the recoil as it is. I've seen many posts from members who've put the 22# in their SD40VE and commented that it did reduce recoil w/o affecting performance.


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JR
SD40VE and Shield 9

When I understood this stronger recoil thing correctly, they make the different ones for different loads. Stronger springs for hotter loads, weaker springs for reduced loads. I'm not saying that it won't help with taming the recoil when you put a stronger spring in. Me myself haven't done it because the recoil of my SD9VE with factory spring is fine.

the added recoil spring is not to reduce recoil but to insure feeding.
I have used them in 1911 guns and even with target reloads they eject perfect every time.

You can't really reduce recoil but you can spread it around a little (slow it down) with a heavier spring. Too light a spring for the load batters the gun and too heavy causes ejection problems. There is a little wiggle room within the acceptable range. Recoil sensation is highly subjective, and some like it snappier than others.

If your empties are landing 3 to 6 feet away, you're good.

The one sure way to reduce recoil is to use a weaker load and put in a lighter spring to match the load.

P.S. I wish companies would stop saying that "recoil springs reduce recoil" because you can't revoke the laws of physics. But it's a free country, and when the object is to sell your gizmo, well.....buyer beware

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Science plus Art

If I want to use Hornady Critical Defense .40 S&W 165 GR, in my SD40VE, what spring weight would you recommend?

Stock setup. I prefer a little snappier recoil instead of sluggish, and like some safety margin in a defense gun in case I don't have a perfect grip under duress. I've seen several "custom setups that work perfectly" cause issues just in an IDPA match where the stage forces an awkward position for the shot. One thing to stand flatfooted and grip the gun with both hands and quite another to hang sideways and fire weakhanded around a wall.

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Science plus Art

Go to Wolff Springs.com. This is what they do. Read their fact sheet.

I put the 22lbs spring and ss guide rod from galloway in my sd40ve......It does seem to me that it took a small amount of snap out of the recoil...shooting 180 gr rounds,,,, i shot 100 rounds and then put the stock 17lbs spring back and recoil seemed to me stronger so back to the 22.....let my buddy try it and he says he feels no difference, but he shoots a 9mm normally so it is hard to say, maybe just not being use to the 40 made it hard for him to notice a difference....I like the heavier spring myself

20 lb helps to eliminate limp wristing and a little on muzzle rise. By a steel one if you can? Galloway Precision makes a good one, but cost $30.

I installed the 20 lb spring in my SD9 and like it a lot. Works perfectly with everything but the light weight practice loads I put together to shoot in my Keltec PF9-they're only 3 grains of Hodgdon Clays and are SUPER light.

All other kinds of reloads and factory ammo have functioned perfectly.

Technically changing the recoil spring won't have any effect. Recoil is an Opposite and Equal reaction to the forces produced by the round being fired.

That said changing the recoil spring can have an effect on the specific pattern of the recoil reaction. If the recoil spring is worn or too light the slide will come back fast enough to act like a slide hammer on the slide stop. When this happens most will observe an increase in the muzzle flip. It's also not good for hte locking block in most semi automatics. If the recoil spring is too strong the locking block may not be contacted at all and you won't have that hard "knock" at the end of the slide travel and muzzle flip will be reduced for most shooters. However, tuning the recoil spring this close will usually result in a pistol that is Power Sensitive and tends to jam with any ammunition that doesn't produce enough muzzle energy.

So scooter123, are you saying to stay with the poundage type spring that factory designed? I understand that going with heavier spring could make problems with function of gun, depending on any ammo that is not suited for the purpose.

You like it & it works , but what if anything did it change ?

Keep in mind that bit about Opposite and Equal Reaction. At some point installing a heavier recoil spring will mandate the use of ammunition that produces MORE recoil. Something that goes against the intended goal of most of those posting in this thread. However, it's an excellent choice if you intend to only use the pistol for Defense and practice with a +P ammunition because it will reduce the battering produced by the more powerful ammunition.

If you are shooting standard ammunition you need to keep in mind the design goals of the manufacturer when they chose a recoil spring.

1) They want reliable function. With this aspect in mind they will choose a recoil spring that will function well with the weakest commercial target ammunition.

2) The want to reduce the potential for damage to the locking block in the pistol. So they won't choose a recoil spring that allows the slide to contact the locking block with enough force to cause damage that would shorten the service life of the pistol too much. BTW, depending on the price level I think you can expect a service life to be 20-50K rounds downrange before the locking block starts to fail. Basically, the M&P is designed to be longer lasting than a Sigma.

3) Lastly they will choose a recoil spring so that will provide a service life of at least 1500 rounds before it starts to get "too weak", so they will lean towards a spring that might be a bit close to the borderline when brand spanking new.

End result is that selecting the recoil spring can be a rather complex task for the manufacturer. So, many manufacturers will spend a fair bit of time testing recoil springs of different weights to try and achieve the optimum balance between Function and Service Life. As a result I run my semi's with a "factory" recoil spring.

However, I won't criticize someone installing a stronger recoil spring to reduce muzzle flip, I will simply point out that choice may require the use of ammunition that is on the More Energetic end of the scale. That could then lead to MORE muzzle flip instead of less.