WE's revised 1911 recoil spring guide

Drake · March 21st, 2009, 18:26

As those of you who own a WE 1911 or have been following the issue surrounding their overly-long recoil spring guide (which ended up slamming the tip of the recoil spring plug and breaking the bushing, instead of impact the dust cover the way it's supposed to), it has been necessary to shave off ~1 mm from the spring guide to prevent damage to the gun.

Upon inspecting my new WE MEU(SOC) .45 (USMC's 1911), it appears the WE has finally revised their spring guide (in their MEU anyway, don't know about their other 1911s yet, but it's probably safe to presume newer ones will also include the fixed spring guide).

The new spring guide is 47.2mm in length overall, versus the original 48.3mm on older guns. I measured one of my modified spring guides (which I consider had been adequately shortened) and came out to 47.6mm. So it appears the new spring guide is satisfactorily safe to use unmodified.

Side-by-side comparison of the old and new spring guides

The new, modified (by me), and original spring guides

Drake · March 23rd, 2009, 20:28

It also appears they've changed the hammer spring: it's both longer and stiffer (huhuh huhuhuhuhuhuh huhuhuhuhuh </beavis>) than the original one, and performs similarly to the Action 160% hammer spring (which is shorter, however).

Danke · March 23rd, 2009, 20:44

Having some touble with your pics, even when I left mounse and click on the show picture line they still come up as red Xs.

Drake · March 23rd, 2009, 21:48

Weird, not sure what the problem is... I uploaded them as attachments for anyone else having trouble with them.

Danke · March 23rd, 2009, 22:25

They're good now. Any marks stamped in the various versions to tell them apart?

jesster202 · March 23rd, 2009, 22:27

thats cool that they are fixing the porblem sucks but means they are impoving as a gun company

Danke · March 23rd, 2009, 22:50

Looks like the WE Wilson CQB Elite also branded as a SOCOM runs the short spring guide out of the box.

Drake · March 24th, 2009, 12:42

No there's no markings on the parts; I was able to tell slightly that the recoil spring guide was different because the top was a lot flatter (which prompted me to measure/compare).

The hammer spring is impossible to tell until you compare, I only noticed when I was about to swap it for a Guarder 150%. I actually ended up preferring the feel of the new stock spring.

I also noticed a small extra detail on the MEU, in addition to the markings on the slide and receiver, they also added Novak trademarks on the rear sight. I just ordered a few parts from eHobby to make it 100% genuine (or as close as possible, given that MEU 1911s vary slightly by batch). And I'll have to add a rollover notch on the slide.

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March 23rd, 2009, 20:28	#2
Drake E-01 Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Montreal, QC	It also appears they've changed the hammer spring: it's both longer and stiffer (huhuh huhuhuhuhuhuh huhuhuhuhuh </beavis>) than the original one, and performs similarly to the Action 160% hammer spring (which is shorter, however). __________________

March 23rd, 2009, 20:44	#3
Danke Prancercise Guru Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Danger Zone	Having some touble with your pics, even when I left mounse and click on the show picture line they still come up as red Xs. __________________ Airsoft, where nothing is hurt but feelings.

March 23rd, 2009, 21:48	#4
Drake E-01 Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Montreal, QC	Weird, not sure what the problem is... I uploaded them as attachments for anyone else having trouble with them. __________________

March 23rd, 2009, 22:25	#5
Danke Prancercise Guru Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Danger Zone	They're good now. Any marks stamped in the various versions to tell them apart? __________________ Airsoft, where nothing is hurt but feelings.

March 23rd, 2009, 22:27	#6
jesster202 Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: London Ontario	thats cool that they are fixing the porblem sucks but means they are impoving as a gun company __________________ *MY COLLECTION* *AEG* M4 coustom full metal with king arms metal body //\\ Galaxy MP5 PDW *GAS/SPRING* KJW M9 FULLY UPGRADED //\\KWA FULL SIZE USP //\\ TF MAC11 *GEAR* Coyote Brown CIRAS

March 23rd, 2009, 22:50	#7
Danke Prancercise Guru Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Danger Zone	Looks like the WE Wilson CQB Elite also branded as a SOCOM runs the short spring guide out of the box. __________________ Airsoft, where nothing is hurt but feelings.

March 24th, 2009, 12:42	#8
Drake E-01 Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Montreal, QC	No there's no markings on the parts; I was able to tell slightly that the recoil spring guide was different because the top was a lot flatter (which prompted me to measure/compare). The hammer spring is impossible to tell until you compare, I only noticed when I was about to swap it for a Guarder 150%. I actually ended up preferring the feel of the new stock spring. I also noticed a small extra detail on the MEU, in addition to the markings on the slide and receiver, they also added Novak trademarks on the rear sight. I just ordered a few parts from eHobby to make it 100% genuine (or as close as possible, given that MEU 1911s vary slightly by batch). And I'll have to add a rollover notch on the slide. __________________

WE's revised 1911 recoil spring guide

Upgrades & Modifications