ISMI or Wolf captured spring guide rod for G23?

[Jayne]

Have a gen 2 G23 that I want to bump up the recoil spring weight in to soften the recoil up a bit. Mostly to protect the old slide, especially when using the 357sig conversion barrel. Willing to potentially give up some reliability to reduce wear, this is only a range gun.

Anyone have experience with the ISMI or Wolf captured spring guide rods? Looks like I can get a rod and several springs and tune it to the ammo I'm loading.

Wolf sells a selection of springs, ISMI sells them as individuals but I should only need the 2 heavier springs, dropping to the OEM weight isn't the goal.

 

[NKD]

I have the ismi one I believe. I just wanted to convert from gen 4 to gen 3.
Actually to do the opposite: lighten the springs.
Seems to work well.
Are you positive increasing spring weight will reduce wear? It’s going to close the slide a lot faster.
Might not soften recoil either.

 

[Beef15]

I've had 3 guide rods from NDZ, two steel, one tungsten (not NDZ branded) . The highest round count steel blew the washer off and became uncaptured this winter. 99% certain I use ISMI springs, they're fine, well over 10k service life one the lighter ones anyway. Have Wolff springs in a couple non Glocks, no complaints there either.

I doubt heavier will save anything, probably won't hurt either, recoil may feel lighter, but gun may dip on closing.

 

[Derek8404]

I have the ismi one I believe. I just wanted to convert from gen 4 to gen 3.
Actually to do the opposite: lighten the springs.
Seems to work well.
Are you positive increasing spring weight will reduce wear? It’s going to close the slide a lot faster.
Might not soften recoil either.

I did the same thing; lightened my spring and converted it to use a gen 3 in order for my comp to work reliable with light range ammo.

 

[Jayne]

Are you positive increasing spring weight will reduce wear? It’s going to close the slide a lot faster.
Might not soften recoil either.

Rumor suggests it lightens up the recoil. I assumed all the 'wear' was when the slide slams open at whatever speed it is, not the spring closing it back again.

 

[NKD]

Rumor suggests it lightens up the recoil. I assumed all the 'wear' was when the slide slams open at whatever speed it is, not the spring closing it back again.

Well, honestly "frame battering" isn't really a thing you need to be concerned with, imo. Is the slide really "slamming open"? Recoil may "feel" softer with heavier spring, but shooting flatter is what we want, no? And heavy spring closes slide hard and dips muzzle, and can cause problems stripping rounds on return to battery.

Consider this: there likely isn't a single person at a USPSA match that is going to go with a heavier-than-stock spring. I would think it's safe to say 95% or more are going the other way.
I use 9 lb for 9mm minor and 10.75 lb for .40 major personally.

IMO, you should try lighter and heavier, do some slomo vid of your gun and your grip, and determine which provides the flattest gun. Just my opinion.

This guy has some good info:

 

[Jayne]

Well, honestly "frame battering" isn't really a thing you need to be concerned with, imo.

In this case it's all I'm concerned with. I'm using a 357sig barrel in my 1993-era G23 to just play around with 357sig. I bought the barrel and dies and stuff way way back in the day when it was first out and just hadn't used it much. I paid the money for all that crap, might as well make some use of it even if it's 15 years later. If another $30 in parts makes it 'easier' on the gun, that's what I'm after.

 

[NKD]

In this case it's all I'm concerned with. I'm using a 357sig barrel in my 1993-era G23 to just play around with 357sig. I bought the barrel and dies and stuff way way back in the day when it was first out and just hadn't used it much. I paid the money for all that crap, might as well make some use of it even if it's 15 years later. If another $30 in parts makes it 'easier' on the gun, that's what I'm after.

Yeah, I ran right over the .357 sig part.
I would expect to possibly need to go heavier because I guess it's high pressure. But I would still test it and see. Might be fine.

At any rate, the ability to quickly and easily change springs seems right for your application.

 

[NKD]

BTW: This is a quote from John Travis that you might find relevant.

"For the failure to lock on empty issue, drop down to about 18 pounds on the recoil spring. The spring's function is returning the slide to battery...period...not decelerating the slide. Every 10mm pistol I've handled was oversprung."

 

[BatteryOaksBilly]

Chuck Taylor did the most comprehensive long term test on a G17 1st Gen. He changed the recoil spring at 200,000 rounds. I'm thinking he knows a little something about this. He is now at 300,000+ on the Same gun.

 

[JRV]

Stiffer recoil springs do not soften recoil. If anything, they make the gun behave more like a revolver (more force counteracting the slide’s desire to reciprocate), so they transfer the energy back into your hand. It might change the feel/duration of the felt recoil, but it is not a reduction.

Imagine putting a spring so strong into the slide that it effectively locked the gun shut. Fire a round, and all of the force goes into your hand. It’s like a truck with stiff springs and shocks... the energy is transferred hard into the cab.

Then you have added wear on the gun from the slide closing faster with the stronger spring. Plus the use of a steel guide rod in a design built around a flexible polymer rod. That can, and has, cracked slides around the recoil guide rod hole.

SAAMI spec max pressure for .357 Sig is only 5k PSI higher than .40, and with factory ammo, the pressures are likely not too far apart.

I would keep relatively fresh stock recoil springs and guide rods in the gun and feel absolutely sure the slide is protected. 2-3K round intervals would be more than cautious enough, and Glock OEM recoil assemblies are incredibly inexpensive.

 

[Average Joe]

Have a gen 2 G23.

Is your pistol a 2 pin or 3 pin model? IIRC all 23’s regardless of generation are 3 pin models. Glock began as 2 pin frames and because of pressure issues with the Glock 20 10mm and Glock 22 .40 S&W they moved to a stronger 3 pin frames. Based on their business model on production they moved all their models to 3 pin frames to keep things simple and cost effective. .357 sig does have around 5000 psi of pressure than the .40 S&W and 2500 psi more than the 10mm. As long as you have a 3 pin frame you should be good to use factory Glock 32 spring weights. As the Glock 23 and 32 frames and slides are made to the same specs regarding strength. Like mentioned above over weighted springs do not equate to less energy on the frame or recoil. They change the how the impulse is distributed on the gun and you. Let us know how it shoots I have a 23 and been thinking about a .357 Sig conversion too.


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