Jollyllama
Ultimate Member
I have been all over the web and couldn't find any definitive information on this, so I will share my experience in case anyone else is asking this question.
"Do you need to change the spring in a p226 9mm when suppressing it?"
Short answer, my experience has shown you don't have to replace the standard spring.
This question is in regards to the guns ability to operate suppressed on stock springs. Some articles out there suggest it needed a lighter spring. One study was from 2007 testing 3 suppressors and suggested a 14lb spring was required.
Other articles/ forum contributors suggested that the stock spring should be heavier or you could risk battering your frame due to increased back pressure. This was my real concern as my 226 operates fine with an octane .45 can on it in stock configuration.
I obtained a set of extra power springs from Wolff for some testing. I went right for the highest power spring. My pistol had about 500 rounds through it at this point and has been cleaned/lubed every 200-300 rds with mil-comm products. I use the cleaner then grease the rails and use the oil over grease and on the barrel. Also use a small amount of grease on the inside top of the slide where it contacts the barrel. I run it a bit on the wet side. After this number of rounds I noticed a very small amount of finish starting to remove from both sides of the frame rails. Nothing out of the ordinary, but wanted to make sure it didn't progress into a bigger problem. Most of these rounds were shot suppressed in stock configuration with a sig factory threaded barrel.
The 226 cycled fine with the 20lb Wolff spring without the suppressor. Ammo was varied; freedom munitions reloads, WWB, blazer brass, American eagle. Used bullet weights of 115, 124, and 147gr. In this configuration brass ejected only a foot or two away but cycled reliably. Some hst 124gr +p and 147gr/ +p ejected a bit further.
With the 20lb spring, same ammo and suppressor brass ejects about 4-6 ft away. Of note, the slide stop becomes significantly more difficult to release after it is locked back with the 20lb spring. Again the hst ammo ejected about further.
With the stock 15lb spring installed and no suppressor brass ejected about 6-8 ft away depending on load.
I attached the suppressor again with the stock spring installed.
With some of the hotter ammo; hst and american eagle 124gr ammo ejected about 8 ft away. With the other above mentioned loads and the suppressor brass ejected about 6 ft away.
Shooting with the 20lb spring increased forward slide velocity noticeably and caused muzzle dip when getting back on target. Again the slid stop/ release was much harder to depress when loading after the slide locked back.
After all this I put the 15 lb stock spring in for the shooting session and didn't bother with the other weights; 16 and 18 lbs.
After putting another 300 rds through the gun suppressed there was no increased finish wear on the rails. The gun didn't muzzle dip, brass ejected about the same with the suppressor as it does without using lighter 147gr loads, which is what I will primarily use with the suppressor.
I will keep an eye on the pistol finish wear moving forward, and realize that my current round count isn't high enough for long term absolute conclusions. However, my feeling is that changing the spring to avoid frame battering while shooting suppressed using 147gr target ammo is unnecessary. If a diet of hotter ammo was to be used for an extended amount of time changing the spring to something lighter than 20lbs may make sense.
The 20lb spring made the gun feel like it was taking more abuse when returning to battery than it could be preventing.
There were no malfunctions of any kind during this testing. Also of note the Wolff springs are single coil whereas the stock sig spring is multiple strong coil.
If anyone else has any experience with this I am interested in hearing about it.
Thanks for reading.
"Do you need to change the spring in a p226 9mm when suppressing it?"
Short answer, my experience has shown you don't have to replace the standard spring.
This question is in regards to the guns ability to operate suppressed on stock springs. Some articles out there suggest it needed a lighter spring. One study was from 2007 testing 3 suppressors and suggested a 14lb spring was required.
Other articles/ forum contributors suggested that the stock spring should be heavier or you could risk battering your frame due to increased back pressure. This was my real concern as my 226 operates fine with an octane .45 can on it in stock configuration.
I obtained a set of extra power springs from Wolff for some testing. I went right for the highest power spring. My pistol had about 500 rounds through it at this point and has been cleaned/lubed every 200-300 rds with mil-comm products. I use the cleaner then grease the rails and use the oil over grease and on the barrel. Also use a small amount of grease on the inside top of the slide where it contacts the barrel. I run it a bit on the wet side. After this number of rounds I noticed a very small amount of finish starting to remove from both sides of the frame rails. Nothing out of the ordinary, but wanted to make sure it didn't progress into a bigger problem. Most of these rounds were shot suppressed in stock configuration with a sig factory threaded barrel.
The 226 cycled fine with the 20lb Wolff spring without the suppressor. Ammo was varied; freedom munitions reloads, WWB, blazer brass, American eagle. Used bullet weights of 115, 124, and 147gr. In this configuration brass ejected only a foot or two away but cycled reliably. Some hst 124gr +p and 147gr/ +p ejected a bit further.
With the 20lb spring, same ammo and suppressor brass ejects about 4-6 ft away. Of note, the slide stop becomes significantly more difficult to release after it is locked back with the 20lb spring. Again the hst ammo ejected about further.
With the stock 15lb spring installed and no suppressor brass ejected about 6-8 ft away depending on load.
I attached the suppressor again with the stock spring installed.
With some of the hotter ammo; hst and american eagle 124gr ammo ejected about 8 ft away. With the other above mentioned loads and the suppressor brass ejected about 6 ft away.
Shooting with the 20lb spring increased forward slide velocity noticeably and caused muzzle dip when getting back on target. Again the slid stop/ release was much harder to depress when loading after the slide locked back.
After all this I put the 15 lb stock spring in for the shooting session and didn't bother with the other weights; 16 and 18 lbs.
After putting another 300 rds through the gun suppressed there was no increased finish wear on the rails. The gun didn't muzzle dip, brass ejected about the same with the suppressor as it does without using lighter 147gr loads, which is what I will primarily use with the suppressor.
I will keep an eye on the pistol finish wear moving forward, and realize that my current round count isn't high enough for long term absolute conclusions. However, my feeling is that changing the spring to avoid frame battering while shooting suppressed using 147gr target ammo is unnecessary. If a diet of hotter ammo was to be used for an extended amount of time changing the spring to something lighter than 20lbs may make sense.
The 20lb spring made the gun feel like it was taking more abuse when returning to battery than it could be preventing.
There were no malfunctions of any kind during this testing. Also of note the Wolff springs are single coil whereas the stock sig spring is multiple strong coil.
If anyone else has any experience with this I am interested in hearing about it.
Thanks for reading.
