I am back to my XD40 OEM recoil spring assembly

[kraigster414]

I know this is going to sound like blasphemy to many of the Don Guide Rod fans out there and admittedly my gun (XD40 Service) may be the exception, but I have taken out my DGR, 22# recoil spring, and new style bushing and replaced them with the factory recoil spring assembly. Reason being, I was experiencing on average 3 or 4 failures to fire out of each box of factory ammo (a variety of different brands - all premium stuff, no reloads). Simply put, the slide would stop just short of going into full battery (this is a gun that is well broken in keep in mind), and live rounds would hang on the mag follower vice being propelled into barrel. Please note that the 22# spring used with the DGR is relatively new. Also when racking the slide back and forth, the after-market accessory felt a little mushy.

Today I went back to the range with the OEM recoil spring assembly re-inserted. I fired 150 rounds of assorted factory ammo. Not one single failure to fire. Yes, the gun was a bit "jumpier" but my groups out to about 15 yards, were tight.

Is my gun the exception? Should I try another recoil spring? Perhaps. I would say that if your gun is working with the DGR and the 22# spring, that's great because it does reduce felt recoil and gets you back on target faster but if you are having problems, you might want to give that good 'ol factory recoil spring assembly another chance. No shame in that and it works.

Don, in no way do I want to demean your excellent product. You have legions of fans so I suspect it's just one of those things. You have made a great contribution with your innovative parts and great customer service.

[KYDoc]

Originally Posted by kraigster414

Is my gun the exception? Should I try another recoil spring? Perhaps. I would say that if your gun is working with the DGR and the 22# spring, that's great because it does reduce felt recoil and gets you back on target faster but if you are having problems, you might want to give that good 'ol factory recoil spring assembly another chance. No shame in that and it works.

Wonder if the spring was wearing out and just needed to be changed? How many rounds did you fire with the 22# you were using?

If another 22# doesn't work, you could always try the 18# and still use your fancy stainless steel guide rod

[kraigster414]

Originally Posted by KYDoc

Wonder if the spring was wearing out and just needed to be changed? How many rounds did you fire with the 22# you were using?

If another 22# doesn't work, you could always try the 18# and still use your fancy stainless steel guide rod

I thought about the possibility of a worn spring too but the problems started almost from the start. I may give a lighter spring a try. For now, I am just going to leave the factory recoil spring assembly in. Thanks.

[KYDoc]

That's interesting. I thought you had the 22# spring in your sig a long time ago.

(shrugs) use what gives you the best performance.

Has anyone else had this problem?

[hacker15]

I ordered a DRG, #22 and #20 springs. I fired about 200 rounds through each. Went back to the OEM spring. The OEM spring assembly has about 3500 rounds on it and still feels OK. The welded end join (part that rests aainst the barrel stop) still looks solid.

Not sure if it's the replaced locking block or the new Trijicon sights, but mine was shooting less then "tight" groups at anything over 10 yrds with the replacement springs (everything low/left). The OEM springs were better - but still not acceptable (low /left at 15/20/25 yrds). I sent the whole gun back to SA to have them check to see what the problem was.

One lesson I learned from this:

NEVER CHANGE MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME WITH YOUR PISTOL!!!

I had the sights changed and installed a slip on grip without shooting the pistol. It went back to SA for the locking block change before it was fired with new sights and grip. Now, I can't hit a cow in the a*s with a shovel full of sand using that gun.

Hope SA can spot the problem. I removed the grip and installed it on my old Taurus 9 mm. Left the sights and OEM spring in when it went back.

[kraigster414]

Originally Posted by KYDoc

That's interesting. I thought you had the 22# spring in your sig a long time ago.

(shrugs) use what gives you the best performance.

Has anyone else had this problem?

I did (have it for a while) but never ran a lot of rounds through it and had problems early on and late on. I let it ride in the beginning thinking that maybe the gun needed to be broken in a bit - I had the slide Cobra Coated by Tripp so I thought that might have had something to do with it but the problem persisted. Who knows. What amazed me was that as soon as I went back to the OEM assembly (today), the problem completely disappeared.

Hold on to those factory recoil spring assemblies folks. You never know when they might have to be called back into service.

In the meantime, if you have a DGR and it works, to coin an expression from a poster at another gun bb, "shoot it like you own it!"

[jednp]

My gun started feeling very very mushy not long ago as well. I put a new spring in and it's a lot better now. I was starting to get a lot of brass hitting me in the head and my gun would easily come out of battery just by slinging the gun back and forth in my hand. I'm wondering if you don't just have a worn spring.

But as far as the factory spring, cant you get a new one from SA? I thought they would ship those since it's a part that is normal wear and simple to replace. I think they recommend you replace that spring every 1500-2000 rounds.

I'd give them a try, and I'd also purchase a new 22 lb spring for dons guide rod. Compare the two together when new and see if you have your problem with either.

[jednp]

Originally Posted by hacker15

I ordered a DRG, #22 and #20 springs. I fired about 200 rounds through each. Went back to the OEM spring. The OEM spring assembly has about 3500 rounds on it and still feels OK. The welded end join (part that rests aainst the barrel stop) still looks solid.

Not sure if it's the replaced locking block or the new Trijicon sights, but mine was shooting less then "tight" groups at anything over 10 yrds with the replacement springs (everything low/left). The OEM springs were better - but still not acceptable (low /left at 15/20/25 yrds). I sent the whole gun back to SA to have them check to see what the problem was.

One lesson I learned from this:

NEVER CHANGE MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME WITH YOUR PISTOL!!!

I had the sights changed and installed a slip on grip without shooting the pistol. It went back to SA for the locking block change before it was fired with new sights and grip. Now, I can't hit a cow in the a*s with a shovel full of sand using that gun.

Hope SA can spot the problem. I removed the grip and installed it on my old Taurus 9 mm. Left the sights and OEM spring in when it went back.

good point. I haven't changed anything on my gun except the guide rod. But I do notice my grouping is horrible past about 15-20 feet. I think I'll try my original guide rod out and see if I notice any difference when I go today. I've got the 18 lb spring on my guide rod and have a 22 lb spring also. So I'll see if I notice any difference between the three.

Not that this is good for don, a huge supporter of the forum, but it'd be nice if SA didn't have that dang captive guide rod that's prone to failing. You shouldn't feel the need to change anything in your gun at all, to make it unlikely to fail and leave your gun jammed. My guide rod is showing plenty of wear at the end where the weld is, I wouldn't be a bit suprised if it would go bad.

[kraigster414]

I've put back the original guide rod assembly and have a factory spare onhand just in case. 'Ordered the extra a long time ago, not sure from who. How many of the OEM captive recoil spring assemblies have actually failed? I am not aware that it is a systemic problem. It certainly is not a systemic problem with the Glock OEM captive recoil spring assemblies so I don't know why it would be any different with the XDs.

As far as I'm concerned, the OEM captive recoil assembly works very well in the XD40 Service (I can't speak for the Tactical as I don't own one), accuracy is more than adequate at combat range, and while the recoil with the stock assembly is more pronounced compared to the DGR and 22# recoil spring, I don't find it to be objectionable - and I was shooting some pretty hot factory loads today.

My XD40 Service is principally a defensive weapon. I did not buy it as a target gun, I can handle the recoil, and my follow-up shots are fast enough (keeping a tight grip is part of the secret). Nevertheless, I probably will try a new 22# spring on the DGR at some point, but for now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[hacker15]

Mine is a duty weapon - carry it just about every day working as a Court Deputy. I didn't buy it as a target gun - it's strictly for work. I shoot the standard police course to qualify once a year, but practice the course every month or so, with my own (at cost) ammo. The department pays for my carry ammo. I tried both the stuff I buy (WWB and Remington 180 gr FMJ) and my extra carry ammo - neither would group in anything like a qualifying score with the DRG, #22, or the #20 springs. When I switched back to the OEM spring, I still wasn't real satisified by the groups at 15, 20, 25 yrds, but they were better (no where near what I shot in May at qualification, but better).