EGW Firing Pin Stop on a DW Marksman

[Tex S]

For the last few days I have been reading up on installing an EGW Firing Pin Stop on my DW Marksman. Everything that I have read makes this sound like a pretty sweet deal. Less felt recoil and muzzle flip all to be had with this simple mod.

I think I have a pretty good bead on shaping the stop to the required dimensions, but I'm not so sure about swapping the recoil and mainspring to (supposedly) take full advantage of the mod. I think that my pistol has an 18.5# recoil spring and an 18.5# mainspring (according to the DW forum over at 1911 Forum). Would I be able to tell a difference in felt recoil by replacing the fp stop only and leaving the springs alone?

I shoot a 200gr. LSWC on top of 5.3gr of W231 seated to a C.O.L. of 1.250". This load works great in my pistol, and it is likely to be the only load it really ever sees. This load already has a soft recoil, but if I could improve it for $20, I figure why not? I will add that even with this powderpuff target load my DW still launces brass about 8ft., which at times can be annoying for the reloader.

Have any of you had experience with this mod, and if so, what do you recommend? This is uncharted water for me, and I dont want to do anything to decrease the reliability of my pistol. She has a perfect track record... 957 rounds without one single malfunction!!!

 

[drail]

18.5 lb. recoil spring is a little heavier than your load needs and will actually cause the gun to dip down when the slide returns forward. 16 or 17 is usually enough. Some guys will go even lower on recoil spring weight and use a shok buff. I am a big fan of the EGW stop as it is actually a very close replica of Browning's original part daesign. It will make a difference in how fast the barrel begins to unlock and there is a "percieved" reduction in felt recoil. The gun just cycles a little slower. It will make the gun a little harder to hand cycle. All of my 1911s are now using the EGW stop. I always thought that 231 has a sharper recoil impulse than say Bullseye or WST or the best .45 ACP powder I've ever used, 452AA. 5.3 gr. 231 should make Major power, I would not think of it as a "powderpuff" load. I used to shoot a lot of 4.2 to 4.5 gr Bullseye. That's a powderpuff load.