I can not speak directly to the 40 USPf, but I can speak of my 45 USPf. I have well over 27K of hardball through the gun. I am not sure that I have lost any accuracy, if anything the darn thing is more accurate. Now, I have read on the Internet that the service life of the recoil spring is 40K. BigBore has stated this on several boards. So, if you are not having malfunctions perhaps it is just psychological? Now, since you have expressed no mention of malf's it is matter of perception on your part. I will never discount having faith in a gun at all! Nope! But, I say a good cleaning and you have upwards of another 30K before a spring replacement is called for.