TM m1911a1 upgrades

[Gunner91]

Received today a lovely tm m1911 off a gent from this forum, it shoots great couldn't believe the accuracy. Just wondering if I wanted to make it more snappy what recoil spring is best for it? I've seen on firesupport a 150 percent spring with a spring for the hammer also, would it be suitable for a plastic slide or would I also need to get a metal slide? Just thinking of the added stress it would cause maybe. Thanks for your time.

Ryan

Edited April 13, 2023 by Gunner91

[Cr0-Magnon]

You really can't improve the performance, other than perhaps different hop rubber and inner barrel. A stronger spring will reduce gas efficiency and a metal slide will do the same plus make the slide cycle slower. TM know how to make a pistol, if you start messing with the balance of that, you'll end up regretting it.

[Krisz]

28 minutes ago, Gunner91 said:

Received today a lovely tm m1911 off a gent from this forum, it shoots great couldn't believe the accuracy. Just wondering if I wanted to make it more snappy what recoil spring is best for it? I've seen on firesupport a 150 percent spring with a spring for the hammer also, would it be suitable for a plastic slide or would I also need to get a metal slide? Just thinking of the added stress it would cause maybe. Thanks for your time.

Ryan

If you want to build a snappy pistol you have to short stroke it first and foremost.

Generally speaking when you venture into a metal slide and stronger recoil spring you either do it for longevity or because you really want to spend money on it. As long you didn't crack your plastic slide on green gas I'd leave as it is.

TM Hi-Capa's can be a real financial disaster upgrade wise because you can change everything on it until the last screw...literally.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Krisz

[Gunner91]

What if I just had a stronger recoil spring? I wouldn't need a metal slide would I? I only fill the mags say half to three quarters for the bbs so it shouldn't struggle doing half a mag with a more snappy recoil spring? Your right though as it is it shoots brilliant. Just want it a little bit more snappy

[Impulse]

I've done a lot of work on all of my pistols and I've used my 1911 as a bit of a teching experiment, trying out everything I could think of to make it perform as well as possible. It's probably not worth it, unless you plan on using your pistol a lot, as it costs a lot for a very small performance increase.

 

The worthwhile parts are a hop rubber, barrel and h-plate. I prefer ML Autobot rubbers, crazy jet barrels and... well... the H-plate, though I put the ML hop unit and I-key in mine purely because I happened to have one (though the stock unit with the H-plate is just as good in the TM)

 

As for extra parts, I have the CowCow lightweight blowback unit and the CowCow high flow nozzle in mine, plus the Nineball gas routers in all of my magazines. These all help with the efficiency, but the difference isn't massive. As @Cr0-Magnonsaid, TM know how to make a pistol and unless you really know what you're doing, you'll just end up making it worse.

I would personally never put a higher recoil spring or a stronger knocker valve (well, one that puts out more gas per shot) in a 1911. Why? 1911s have tiny tiny magazines, so there is only so much gas they can hold. Higher recoil springs need more gas to cycle properly, but the 1911 doesn't have the gas reservoir to make use of it.

[Gunner91]

Also just a little problem with an aftermarket mag, it will drop out when firing the pistol but not when it just sat in the mag well, I got two tm mags for it and they work just fine. The guy I bought it off said it was an aa mag? Any ideas? Thanks all

[Krisz]

6 minutes ago, Gunner91 said:

What if I just had a stronger recoil spring? I wouldn't need a metal slide would I? I only fill the mags say half to three quarters for the bbs so it shouldn't struggle doing half a mag with a more snappy recoil spring? Your right though as it is it shoots brilliant. Just want it a little bit more snappy

I only use stronger recoil spring when I put a metal slide on my pistol. Otherwise I can't see what kind of improvement is gonna happen.

You need something like this: https://www.waldocustoms.com/products/airsoft-buff-hi-cappa-short-stroke-kit.

And you have to find that golden middle when it's still snappy but it locks back on an empty mag.

[Gunner91]

Just an update on the mag that wouldn't stay in, I filed into the mag about half a millimetre and now it works no problem.