208 recoil spring weight

by Rodger Barthlow 12/10/2024, 6:29 pm

I picked up a few spare recoil springs from Red Feather for my 208 and was wondering if anyone had weighted them to see what pound the spring was.
The AMU replaced a recoil spring for me a few years ago and Brad said their specs call for a 10lb recoil spring.
I measured the size of the wire and counted the coils, the wire diameter for both springs is .25", the AMU spring had 52 coils with one end open so I assume the spring had been cut, the Red feather spring has 54 coils and I don't know what the tension weight is.
I cut one of the Red feather springs to 52 coils and then closed the end of it so it was flat.

This past Sunday I shot and indoor 900 match using SK Standard plus ammo and had 2 failures to feed using the AMU spring. The range was heated to about 65 degrees so not summertime temps. Tomorow I'm going to try the Red Feather spring outdoors and the temp should be in the 50s. If it doesn't work I'll cut another coil off.

by SW-52 12/10/2024, 7:02 pm

Rodger Barthlow wrote:I picked up a few spare recoil springs from Red Feather for my 208 and was wondering if anyone had weighted them to see what pound the spring was.
The AMU replaced a recoil spring for me a few years ago and Brad said their specs call for a 10lb recoil spring.
I measured the size of the wire and counted the coils, the wire diameter for both springs is .25", the AMU spring had 52 coils with one end open so I assume the spring had been cut, the Red feather spring has 54 coils and I don't know what the tension weight is.
I cut one of the Red feather springs to 52 coils and then closed the end of it so it was flat.

This past Sunday I shot and indoor 900 match using SK Standard plus ammo and had 2 failures to feed using the AMU spring. The range was heated to about 65 degrees so not summertime temps. Tomorow I'm going to try the Red Feather spring outdoors and the temp should be in the 50s. If it doesn't work I'll cut another coil off.

The 208s recoil springs from Red feather are Made in Texas by Interarms..... I don't find another choice from Factory Swiss Made.

by Jack H 12/10/2024, 7:43 pm

It is possible the Interarms Hammerli springs are copied from a 208s spring I sent to Alan. That spring was from Larry Carter many years before. BTW, I have many many HS NOS shorter recoil springs for the older HS models like HD. And many springs for extractors. Talkin 100s. If you want some, ask.

by NukeMMC 12/10/2024, 7:50 pm

SW-52 wrote: The 208s recoil springs from Red feather are Made in Texas by Interarms..... I don't find another choice from Factory Swiss Made.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. I bought a couple springs from RFO last year but the OD was too big for my 208s. Sent them back and the replacements they sent had too much mass. They compressed fully but were still 1/8" too long to reinstall the slide.

I bought my replacements from InterarmsTx and they fit and functioned 100% from the get-go.

by SW-52 12/10/2024, 8:21 pm

NukeMMC wrote:
SW-52 wrote: The 208s recoil springs from Red feather are Made in Texas by Interarms..... I don't find another choice from Factory Swiss Made.
I wouldn't be too sure about that. I bought a couple springs from RFO last year but the OD was too big for my 208s. Sent them back and the replacements they sent had too much mass. They compressed fully but were still 1/8" too long to reinstall the slide.

I bought my replacements from InterarmsTx and they fit and functioned 100% from the get-go.

by fc60 12/10/2024, 8:23 pm

Greetings,

This may be a recoil spring.

https://schiesssport-billharz.eu/2742024-1201260-Vorholfeder

It looks like the new Walther Part number.

1.201.260 I think is the original Haemmerli part number.

Contact Judith and ask.

Walther is still making some parts for the 208 and Judith is glad to sell them to you.

Cheers,

Dave

by gwhite 12/10/2024, 10:21 pm

One thing to be careful about when measuring springs is that typical caliper accuracy isn't really good enough when measuring the wire diameter. The force of a spring varies as the FOURTH power of the wire diameter, so very small errors can have a big impact.

The most accurate way I've found to measure the wire is to find a drill bit shank that is a slightly snug fit inside the coils so the spring wire can't flex. Then use a good micrometer to measure the drill shank and the OD over the wires. The wire diameter is just half the difference between those two measurements.

The specified tolerances on spring ("music") wire aren't all that tight either. A manufacturer can make "identical" springs from two different lots of spring wire, and produce measurably different force springs. It doesn't matter in most applications, but if you are obsessing about cutting single turns off springs, you are probably operating within the tolerances produced by wire diameter variations. As long as you stick with modifying a single spring, you should be OK. If you are working with multiple springs, you need to be careful.

by Rodger Barthlow 12/11/2024, 10:37 am

Thanks for the responses and links.

by Sponsored content

208 recoil spring weight

208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight

Re: 208 recoil spring weight