I received some very good information here about how contender springs will weaken over time. How often should I expect to change them. I replaced it about 2 years ago with a bellm spring. I have shot about 200 rounds since I changed it. The reason I ask is I had 3 misfires at the range with the frame in question. I fired all three of the misfired rounds in my other frame and barrel without trouble.

Two years and 200 rounds should not hurt the spring. I have one old frame that hasn't missed a beat in 30 + yrs with a 30-30 barrel. Have a newer one in .35 Rem that will on occasion. Sometimes its a headspace problem. Check Bellm's writeup on headspace.Sometimes its how you size the cases.

Shoot, I'm still on the original that came with my gun in 1997. I did have some misfires with a 223 barrel, but I think that was a chamber/headspace issue. I don't shoot it as much as I do some other guns, nor do I count, but I think it safe to say it's been cycled many thousands of times.

Deer,

I would do over 200 rounds in one weekend with my 223 and 22LR barrel on a PD town. Had a single frame that saw thousands of rounds through half a dozen different barrels over many years of shooting. Same spring. FWIW,

Craig

Thanks for the great advice again. Looks like I need a set of bellm shims. The total headspace is .014. I compared my two frames to the barrel that misfired. The barrel to frame was .006 on frame that misfired and .004 on other frame. The barrel to primer is .008. I guess the new spring was making up the little difference for awhile.