Just wanting to get some input on this device specifically, or similar ones in general.
They work, but are they worth the money?
Thinking about it for my Colt LE6920. We all know the recoil isn’t really the issue for a 5.56 AR, and with semi the fire rate reduction from 900 to 650-700 is really not much of an issue either.
So that leave the “bolt chatter” issue this is supposed to help.
It’s not that expensive, but seems it would be more beneficial on a higher caliber weapon (Beowulf maybe?)
I bought 2 AR-Restors for testing, one for my .223 and one for my .308 AR rifle. The unit for the .223 rifle made no discernible difference in felt recoil and accuracy. The .308 helped a great deal. I would not recommend purchasing the AR-Restor for the .223 rifle, but I would recommend it for the .308.
Yeah, under consideration as well. The " bolt chatter" is just a term I’ve seen used that refers to the wear and tear taken in normal operation. The hydraulic buffers are supposed to smooth out the operation some, and lessen it. Some say waste of $, others run them on all ARs regardless of caliber.
Not looking to “bandaid” anything, but get a discussion on an area I haven’t looked into before. Could be this is one of those solutions looking for a problem to fix.
Not a subject I’ve seen discussed ad nauseum, so looking for other opinions and/or insight.
This is also supposed to help with muzzle rise as well on rifles with no brake.
I admittedly have no experience with hydraulic buffers, but they come off as snake oil. Being aggressive behind the gun (not accusing anyone of doing otherwise, just sayin) will reward you more than any gizmo. My carbine prefers the H2
Anecdotaly, if hydro buffers provided any real benefits in heavier calibers, you would think Larue, KAC, LMT, Colt, etc would be all over them. The fact that these guys spend untold amounts of cash on R&D and choose to go with standard style buffer is enough to convince me.
Ya, i hear you. The term bandaid wasnt directed at you and what youre doing but more the idea of addressing excessive carrier speed caused by an over-gassed system by increasing the buffer weight. It merely slows the system as opposed to really solving the issue, hence, the term bandaid. Not even saying your weapon is over-gassed seeing as it is a 6920. So… at this point, if your just looking to slow the system a bit from what it is now, a simple H2 would do the trick. I say this under the assumption that your weapon is fairly new and hasnt exhibited any of the issues resulting from excessive carrier speed. On the otherhand, if youre simply diving into it with the goal of smoothing the overall operation, including some “recoil”, the A5 would be the wisest solution. sorry to keep repeating myself but it’s your best bet short of switching to a rifle system with a fixed stock. In fact, it is essentially a rifle system in a slightly longer carbine package. Same spring, same buffer weight.
How many rounds have you had through this your 6920?
ETA: if what youre after is recoil reduction, how about a comp instead?
IF you have arthritis in your shoulders like I do then the AR-Restor will be helpful in either a .223 or a .308.
BUT… do NOT try to fire the weapon with the hydraulic buffer in either extreme heat or cold. The hydraulic pistons seals pop. Doesn’t harm anything but it sure is messy.
You’re better off using a “Red” extra power spring and one of the H buffers ( they come in H through H-3) for a carbine system.
What I did for my .308 was to swap out my rifle length tube for the VLTOR A-5 setup and put a extra strength spring and their proprietary H-4 buffer in it. Tamed it down to .223 levels as far as recoil was concerned.
Agreed. I bought an A5 last summer, they are the new flavor for a reason.
Both of my 6920’s ran much smoother with a Colt-standard H Buffer and either Red or Blue marked SpringCo springs. I tried an H2 with those springs and was having short-stroking issues. I never tried an H2/stock spring combo, but when I find something that works, I stick with it.
Still a fairly new carbine, only 500 or so rounds over the last year. Let me be clear, I’m not really trying to fix anything, but I’m always looking at other possibilities.
And opinions from others that can give me a fresh view.
a hydraulic buffer can provide performance benefits - the main issue, IMHO, is breakage and reliability of the hydraulic units. i had an enidine carbine buffer and i could feel a difference in the recoil impulse, but when it broke (it got replaced) and the fact that it made locking back the carrier more difficult, i stopped using it. it was also more picky about what ammo i was using.
I use the vltor A5 system with the standard A5 buffer, but with one tungsten weight replaced with a steel one (for lower powered ammo) - all my lowers use the A5 system as i’ve found that to be the most reliable.
so while a hydraulic buffer may work, the benefits aren’t enough to outweigh the risk of failure, especially for a duty/military weapon. this is what i was told when i asked some of those manufacturers this question a few years back at SHOT.
I have 2-20, 3-40 and 2-30 round speed loaders, 500+ rounds for now, refuse to pay panic prices for either at this time.
I did my own trigger work with the stock trig, including low mass hammer cut and lighter trig spring (stock hammer spring after). 4-4.5 avg now, not quite an icicle breaking, but this isn’t a match gun, so not worried about free floating either.
Put a TAC latch on charging handle so its good. Use a red dot I had sitting around that was on a handgun, works very well for my use. It’s 5 moa (yeah, yeah:p) but I’m good to go up to150 out (that IS pushing it with 5 moa dot sight).
The issue of the hydraulic buffer came about simply because someone on another site mentioned it helped them be able to see shot impacts better, so that’s what started out my question.
Yes. Perhaps but not so far and have a stock replacement if it does. Have only shot premium ammo, and not much 40 rounds, 20 deliberate and 20 quickfire, no problems with that.
Ammo being scarce now, limiting my shooting. A friend has some Russian steel he’s giving me to see how the gun shoots that.
Went from 6+ avg pull to 4.5, not exactly a breaking icicle, but much better than stock so far without the cost of Timmney or Gisselle.