You Lost Your Recoil Spring Plug in the Field?

[Kiwi cop]

There's on of those plugs hiding in my basement somewhere! Wear your goggles!

Have never lost the plug but I was putting together my bull barrel/reverse plug Springfield Armoury 1911 once when the recoil spring slid clear of the barrel lug. The standard length guide rod went sailing into the air, hit the man cave roof and landed I knew not where.

Searched all weekend without finding it then first thing Monday morning ordered a new guide rod. It arrived, was fitted to the pistol and all sweet.

Then about 3 months later I knocked something behind the gunsafe. I pulled out all of the boxes around the sides, lay down to reach behind the safe to pick up what had fallen and yes, you guessed it, picked up the "missing" guide rod.

I now have a spare in my spare parts box.

 

[GKC]

You gotta be careful with springs! A few years ago, I was cleaning a magazine, and when I was trying to put it back together, it came apart and the spring launched into outer space...or so I thought, since I couldn't find it anywhere. My wife had been wrapping Christmas presents in the adjacent living room, and was putting her supplies away. I gave up on finding it, and ordered a new one.

The next year, when my wife got out her Christmas wrapping supplies, she asked me "What the heck is this?" The errant spring had flown from the kitchen into the living room and landed unnoticed in her gift wrap box!

 

[stansdds]

That will work in a pinch, but a real 1911 recoil spring plug has a tab punched into its body that will capture the open end of the recoil spring. This was to keep the plug and spring together so that the plug would not go flying to destinations unknown during cleaning.

 

[Funflyer]

Never happened to ME, of course. That's why I carry a spare in my field kit . . ..

That's what I'd rather do than to take a chance with the bushing rotating. Spare plug $4 at Sarco.

.45 1911 Recoil Spring Plug

 

[Kurusu]

How did you figure that out? Personal experience in the field?
Pretty nifty fix.

It was designed with that solution in mind

 

[Stevie]

A good way to ruin a barrel bushing