How can I slow the slide down?

I did not know they performed so differently.
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The compensator adds weight to the barrel and, if properly implemented, could slow the recoil impulse somewhat. Both of those would reduce slide velocity.

Porting has no significant effect on barrel weight (reduces it slightly) and the gases are redirected primarily to reduce muzzle flip and would have negligible effect on the slide velocity. Not much benefit.
So long slide models would be a good choice.
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Many long slide models have slides that are lightened so that the overall weight of the slide/barrel combination is similar to that of the normal length slide models to insure function with normal ammunition. A custom long-slide model which has not been lightened might help, but a normal long slide probably wouldn't change the slide velocity much. The down side is that light loadings probably wouldn't function properly in the gun.
 
Kozak6, all

I've seen a few items claiming to increase cycle speed, hammer speed, etc...and I wondered why someone would change design characteristics of a pistol.
Heavier springs, lighter springs seem to work for fine tuning operation for specific loads, but skeletonizing a hammer?
I've never been in a situation where aluminim triggers, hollowed out hammers and such were any practical benefit, but someone must see a reason.
So maybe slowing the slide down for specific bullets would serve well? Just curious.
 
You're not going to significantly slow the slide by swapping out parts like hammers or triggers.

The fundamental issue is conservation of momentum. You have a certain amount of muzzle momentum, determined by the muzzle velocity and the bullet weight and you have to deal with that momentum by balancing it with the combined slide and barrel weight.

You can alter slide velocity by relatively small amounts by adding compensators and even smaller amounts by going to stronger springs. With a hammer-fired gun, you can go to a stronger hammer spring and can reduce the cocking leverage (thereby slowing the slide) by modifying the geometry of where the slide impinges on the hammer. That will cut down slide velocity a little more.

But all of those changes will be relatively minor. The main issue is that muzzle momentum (projectile velocity x projectile weight) will have to be balanced by slide/barrel momentum (slide velocity x slide/barrel combined weight) and the only way to significantly change things is by changing muzzle momentum or combined slide/barrel weight.

Like it or not, we are all constrained by the laws of physics.
 
Working on that. Waiting for a Glock 20 barrel with compensator with an additional modification now.
Heaviest recoil spring to be installed also.
Thanks Jon.
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I'd like to hear more about this and how it turns out. What barrel and recoil spring did you get and where would you find something like that?
 
This link has a good explanation of the science involved in the operation of a recoil operated locked breech pistol.

http://yarchive.net/gun/pistol/1911_dynamics.html

There's a lot of very good information in it.

He explains, for example, why the recoil spring has very little effect on slide velocity which helps clarify why trying to slow the slide velocity significantly with a heavier recoil spring is futile.
 
There are all manner of multi-spring recoil reducing devices available.
The Sprinco is one of the simplest ones, with main and buffer spring; the DPM is more elaborate with three springs. I THINK that one combines the effect of the Sprinco buffer spring with the dual recoil spring of the Gen 4 as based on the Seecamp Spring Extendor. DPM even makes a magnetic delay device.

I don't know how effective these gadgets are in slowing down slide movement, maybe they will keep an overloaded gun from beating itself up so badly.
A Glock does not have a hammer and mainspring to add resistance to slide start, it is all in the mass of barrel and slide plus whatever the recoil spring can do.

For more slide mass, Lone Wolf has a G20 slide without the "skylight".

For more barrel mass, which MAY be more effective than a heavier slide, Taylor Freelance and gunsmiths here and there are putting blocks on the muzzles of long barrels protruding from the slide. A common term is "sight tracker" but it is actually more akin to the early Clark Pin Gun. A guy here built one out of steel and the gun does not function with standard loads. It might with ROF. The mass easily adjusted by cutting metal, it doesn't contain working parts or even gas handling. It is not a compensator, its main use is in USPSA Limited where that is not allowed.
 
An "out of the box" solution would be to add a friction wheel that rubs the slide. Put a one way clutch, so it free wheels on the return stroke.
 
Jimwatson, all

I may already have it covered then. The slide is the 10mm of course, and the barrel is still the same O.D., but has a 357 I.D.
It's heavier than the stock barrel.
Thanks!
Dave
 
If anyone owns or is familiar with the Tokarev TT-33 or the Norinco T213 copy, you will know (right away!) that it takes half gorilla force to draw the slide back on these pistols when the hammer is down. Cock the hammer and drawing the slide back is much easier, normal and average.

It has to be the heavy hammer spring or the angle of the firing pin stop or a fine combination of both and it simply must be a design feature of the pistol itself as they ALL do it.

If you haven't handled one -- pick up the next one you find at a gun show. Well... maybe not... it'll have a zip-tie through it. :p
 
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