plastic recoil spring guide

[rpbrock]

Hi Eric,

I've got a question for you CZ Masters. I just rescued my new PCR out of layaway today and I've given the pistol it's first cleaning before I test it out tomorrow afternoon at the range. The question I have is about the plastic recoil spring guide. It's plastic and yes I know the recoil spring guides on my other CZ's are plastic (and shorter) as well but I'm just wondering how well they hold up over time? Should I get extras for the future? Does these ever get brittle or just break? That's the only part of my CZ's I have questions about.

Set me straight and tell me the facts.

By the way, Eric's holsters are looking good. I myself will probably be talking to him about an IWB sometime soon.

Thanks for the help!

rpbrock
robert@rpbrock.com
www.rpbrock.com

[Walt-Sherrill]

Plastic guide rods continue to be a point of concern for many shooters.

I personally have not seen or heard of one failing.  In any brand of gun that uses them -- including GLOCK and SIG.  (It seems like I remember a story of a guide rod failure in a Kel-Tec, but that was a long time ago, and I don't carry a P-11 anymore, so don't worry about it...)

CZ's gunsmith, Mike, says that the plastic version has a minor second function, in that the plastic acts as a recoil buffer, too.

One shooter on the 75B club forum had a plastic guide rod that was deformed, and CZ wouldn't replace it.  He figured out how to straighten it, and it functions fine, now.  (It was causing some binding prior to the fix.)

I think its a non issue.  The guide rod doesn't have to take a lot of stress -- its main job is to keep the recoil spring from kinking up.   (Even a BENT ONE, as mentioned above, didn't break -- and it clearly was under a lot of stress...)

[ut83]

rpbrock,
Hey and thanks for the KUDOS.  The guide rod was a big question when I got my PCR also.  I just dont like plastic in my guns in 'certain areas"...that happened to be one of them.  
The nature of polymers (plastics) as far as life, natural lubricity, wear/shock resistance and so on, actually make it a good material for this application.  Ive played with different plastics for a decade in Ind. Sales and how they work for different things.  
The guide rod in the PCR is a good one...its lubricous (naturally slippery for good spring sliding properties), seems strong yet just flexible enough and wont wear the slide/spring or rust over time.  
The life expectancy is hard to calculate as I dont know what its composition is.  In my best guess..Id have to say its either a filled nylon or polyacetol/delrin: if its a good guess your good for as long as you and your grand kids have the gun.

You can trust it.  Ive ran over 1000 rnds of +P/+P+ thru my gun with out a hitch.  I also use 20# Wolff recoil springs and they function wonderfully with it so far.  Ive worn out one of the springs so far...guide rod is just fine.

I have a Compact 75B guide rod, which is Chrome plated steel and works in the PCR.  In some of the pics of my gun..you can see the Chrome in the barrel and rod, at the muzzle.  After shooting a couple of hundred rounds thru it..the chrome plating started to flake off in little bits
The same thing happened to my old Compact...I used scotchbrite pads to smooth the chrome back out to minimize flaking and it seemed to help.  But after it happened again...I put the plastic back in and havent had a problem of anykind.

I also had a friend at my work make me a SS guide rod from 316SS.  Its solid SS and wont flake like the OEM CZ unit did.  But I have yet to see a need to use it.

Sorry for the ramble..lets readers digest the info.  The plastic is tough and slippery both helping the guide rod take the abuse of a 20# Wolff spring and LOTS of HOT 9mm.  The Compact guide rod looked great and gave me warm fuzzies until it started shedding its shiny skin.  So far the plastic has done better and I have no reason to try the SS one, other than just R&D.  

Hope this helped...Shoot well and I hope your shoot today goes well...let us know with a range report....