I already have a dedicated 1911 in 45 Super. Having zero experience with the 460 Rowland, I am interested in the technical reasoning behind the use of a compensator on the 460. I understand lock time discussion and such. But, why use a compensator on one and just a stronger recoil spring on the Super? Why is the comp not advocated for the Super too?
A stronger recoil spring does very little to slow down the slide in a 1911. That is the wrong way to go about it for a 45 Super. A flat bottom firing pin stop and heavier hammer spring are much more effective in taming a 1911 for heavy loads. A muzzle brake has a similar effect, by countering the recoil force that moves the slide.
You make an excellent point. To understand your point, one need only rack their slide the hammer cocked, versus hammer down to feel substantially more resistance. Having to cock a hammer takes a lot of steam out of the 1911 slide. Regardless of how strong a recoil spring is rated, unless it's installed with significant compression already applied, static closing force is pretty low.
Since a Glock lacks a hammer, recoiling parts mass and spring pressure, plus a high-quality comp is all one has to delay slide opening.
