I decided to take my 9mm sub-2000 rifle to the farm for a bit of fun while wifey went out with her mother. I wasn't planning on a lot of shooting. I only brought along 2 boxes of 115gr American Eagle and a package of paper targets to sight in the rifle a bit.
Things weren't going well with groups stringing horizontally and moving left over the course of shooting. After 30 rounds I examined the front sight closely and noticed a nut was missing. Ah, well that explains it.
Not wanted to waste a beautiful day at the range, I unloaded the gold dots from my R9 and loaded up with the range stuff. I hadn't planned on shooting the pup so I was still shooting on the original recoil spring with 170 rounds on it already.
since I was set up at 50 yards I gave it a try and placed 6 rounds on paper. It looked more like a buckshot pattern than a true "group", but I did hit the target with all of my shots. Having enough of that silliness I moved up to a bench I had at 25 yards and shot some 5-shot groups with differing grip adjustments. Groups were mediocre but I was really focusing on managing the recoil efficiently to speed up follow up shots, rather than making a "pretty" target group, for now. Oddly enough, the R9 recovered best with a looser grip with my strong hand, pushing into my support hand. (push/pull grip, slightly lightened grip with strong hand)
Perceived recoil was much lessened with the slightly relaxed strong hand. Follow ups were noticeable faster, with the pistol settling right back on target.
I move up to 7 yards and rapid fired the last few magazines with very satisfying results using this lighter grip. Huh...sometimes it pays to experiment.
I realized that the round count for this recoil spring was now at 240. No failures, and no changes noted in the handling or cycling.
Back at home I field stripped the pistol. As is typical I noticed some brass "dust" but also a few aluminum flecks. Frame wear seemed to be settling down after the initial break in, I couldn't see any areas with indications to show me where the aluminum particles came from. I won't worry about it. The recoil spring measured at 3/16" shorter than a new one but didn't feel appreciably lighter. I'd have to measure it with a spring gauge to tell a difference. I'll likely change it for carry and still practice on the old spring to see how long it will go.
Every day I shoot this pup, I enjoy it more. It's capable of far better slow-fire accuracy than I have any right to expect and she's far more manageable than I could have hoped. If I do my job, she'll do hers. Maybe next time I'll try some low-light point shooting if time permits. I'll let you know how it goes.