The only thread I've seen on this topic is nearly ten years old so I thought it could stand a revisit. When we build our handguns, we consider the following:
1. load pressure range (initial rearward speed of slide)
2. spring tension(s) (forward speed of slide)
3. weight of slide (momentum, recoil and material durability)
Naturally these factors interrelate so what works the best for the greatest number of scenarios?
My aim here is to fully examine the pros and cons of each controllable parameter. The first and most important aspect of accurate shooting for me is recoil and torque yaw. Recoil is both front and back so as your load pressure increases on a gun with balanced action, the rear recoil will increase and the front recoil (barrel drop) will decrease. Many pro shooters lighten their springs in order to eliminate barrel drop, so as to keep their sight on the horizon line but this puts durability demands on the frame and increases back (felt) recoil. Let's discuss the pros and cons of lightening the slide.
Even though a lighter slide will increase the speed of the rearward recoil, the spring will now have less mass and momentum to act upon so the frame does NOT get hit harder by the slide. This is important to aluminum frame builders. Anyone who has seen an elongated plunger hole or other related frame deformity should understand exactly what I mean. Additionally, the lighter slide will reduce the front recoil and improve ejection but may introduce feeding problems. Does anyone here see it different?
Once we all accept this as a postulate we can move on to the reasons why a lighter slide might feel like it recoils more and we'll take a look at what happens to the feeding mechanism with the increased action speed of a lighter slide.
1. load pressure range (initial rearward speed of slide)
2. spring tension(s) (forward speed of slide)
3. weight of slide (momentum, recoil and material durability)
Naturally these factors interrelate so what works the best for the greatest number of scenarios?
My aim here is to fully examine the pros and cons of each controllable parameter. The first and most important aspect of accurate shooting for me is recoil and torque yaw. Recoil is both front and back so as your load pressure increases on a gun with balanced action, the rear recoil will increase and the front recoil (barrel drop) will decrease. Many pro shooters lighten their springs in order to eliminate barrel drop, so as to keep their sight on the horizon line but this puts durability demands on the frame and increases back (felt) recoil. Let's discuss the pros and cons of lightening the slide.
Even though a lighter slide will increase the speed of the rearward recoil, the spring will now have less mass and momentum to act upon so the frame does NOT get hit harder by the slide. This is important to aluminum frame builders. Anyone who has seen an elongated plunger hole or other related frame deformity should understand exactly what I mean. Additionally, the lighter slide will reduce the front recoil and improve ejection but may introduce feeding problems. Does anyone here see it different?
Once we all accept this as a postulate we can move on to the reasons why a lighter slide might feel like it recoils more and we'll take a look at what happens to the feeding mechanism with the increased action speed of a lighter slide.