I have a 16’’ mid length (with mil spec M16 BCG) and am currently using a standard power recoil spring and T-2 buffer. I recently read a post from a guy using an Vltor A5 buffer on a 13’’ mid length, and he says it runs great. Makes me think I should be using a heavier buffer with a more powerful spring. Any thoughts?
Do you have any issues? If not, stick with what you’ve got. Quit trying to be like the next guy!
P.s. use your money on ammo, you’ll have more fun and get better results.
There is no way to replicate the A5 system with carbine buffer system parts.
I recently purchased a [b]JP Silent Captured Spring[/b] set for my 300 Blackout and I ended up loving it so much that I’m ordering one for every AR that I own.
My particular reason for doing so was more for reducing the amount of felt recoil and noise created by the original buffer spring on my suppressed AR.
I’m not trying to replicate the A5 system. I’ve just been thinking that I should be able to get away with a heavier buffer and spring, thereby reducing recoil and increasing reliability. I’ve also toyed with the idea of putting a weight into the rear portion of the BCG. Just wanting some input before I potentially waste money.
Go with a sprinco WHITE and an H3 buffer. You’ll be quite happy.
I tested the JPSCS with the extra spring pack, a suppressor, and an adjustable gasblock… the results were not favorable. The SCS has too little buffering action so the cycle is violent. The buffer is 3oz anyway; same as a carbine.
I’m actually considering using a back pressuring muzzle device in conjunction with the heaviest buffer I can find. If it works the way I think it will, it should be the most reliable 16’’ configuration possible with what’s currently on the market.
Skip that noise. Your gun will run a 6+ oz buffer RIGHT NOW. I ran an 8 oz custom stainless buffer in my BCM 14.5" middy before transitioning to the Vltor A5 system.
The krink style brakes have some other advantages as well. They project the blast forward, which would be advantageous when shooting indoors. I like using brakes over flash hiders, but the noise and concussion is horrendous.
Back-pressuring muzzle device will increase the pressure through the gas port (redundant I know) and only further necessitate a heavier buffer. Increasing pressure only to mask it with a heavy buffer will just land you back where you started. Most systems run fine with the proper gas port and something around an H2 or H3. Stick with what works and grab a KX3/5
The more important question assuming you’re sticking with the parts you have, is what is your gas port size and what ammo are you shooting?
Not to mention that a too heavy buffer and a too strong spring, even if it cycles fine, is not always a good thing. Too much power and weight on the return stroke can cause excessive muzzle dip when the carrier impacts the receiver extension.
I would advise looking at something like the precision armament EFAB then. Very little blast and flash, and a really good comp.
Further, it doesn’t perceptibly increase gas system pressure. Vicious is right on muzzle dip; too strong/heavy with a carbine spring/buffer and you’ll get muzzle dip.
A properly tuned gas system is a balance between reciprocating mass, spring rate and gas port. Change any one side of that triangle and you affect the other two.
A 20 inch AR with a rifle system is the smoothest and most reliable shooter. It uses a 5 oz buffer which falls between the H2 & H3 in weight. So we already know the correct reciprocating mass is 5 oz buffer and a full auto carrier. This mass is important because the action relies on momentum for reliable function and momentum is mass and speed. The right kind of momentum is the right balance between mass and speed. Too much mass will push the rifle around too much and maybe beat up the parts. Too much speed will also beat up the parts. Using speed to decrease the mass means less reliable functioning as speed is lost as the round is stripped from the mag and friction increases with heat and build up of fouling.
So we know that a 5 oz buffer and full auto carrier works. One side of the triangle is already known. Now we must figure out spring rate and gas port size to get our 16 inch carbine to work properly. It’s generally accepted that carbine spring with an H2 buffer iss good starting place because we know that 16 inch carbines so equipped work. The only thing left is the gas port diameter. This too is known, although I don’t recall what the diameter should be.
What all this means to this thread is, if a 6 oz buffer is needed to make the AR work, something is clearly out of balance, usually a too large gas port. It’s been my experience that if an AR is overgassed with an H2 (and especially an H3) buffer and the right spring, a smaller gas port or an adjustable gas block is needed, not a stiffer spring and/or heavier buffer
And using a muzzle device to increase back pressure will only make an overgassed AR worse
(The important change by increasing barrel length after the gas port isn’t increased dwell time but increased back pressure )
I can control the amount of gas through the gas port with an adjustable gas block, which I use anyways. That will keep the bolt from unlocking too early from overgassing.
I want to use a 6oz buffer and install a tungsten weight in the bolt carrier. More inertia means more reliability if the action gets dirty. The increased back pressure from a krink brake should be able to cycle that setup.
You won’t gain anything by increasing the reciprocating mass. I can pull my BCG out and wipe it on my pants and keep it plenty clean enough to run. Keep it wet and it will run fine, assuming everything else is in order.
It sounds like your gun is already balanced and you’re wanting to increase gas pressures just for the sake of running a heavier buffer, which makes no sense.
I still disagree. Think about it this way. A 10.3 inch SBR is not as reliable as a 16’’ carbine, and a 16’’ carbine is not as reliable as a 20’’ rifle. Both short guns are less reliable than the long gun for the same reasons, although to a different degree. The 10.3’’ can be made more reliable with the type of modifications I’m suggesting, so why not a 16’’ carbine? Will the benefits be worth the expense? I don’t know, but I guess there’s only one way to find out…
Folks have gotten 10.5 inch ARs to run reliably. Go check out the thread “Best Suppressed SBR Ever?” and others. Almost nobody is using a 6 oz buffer. Most are using buffers right around the 5 oz range. The 10.5 upper I’m using runs reliably and smoothly with a rifle RE, rifle 5 oz buffer and rifle spring. The gas port is overly large at .082" but I’ve got an adjustable gas block to take care of that. Next on the agenda is the LMT Enhanced Carrier. This combination is known to work.
Can’t stop you from trying the 6 oz buffer. But it’s too heavy, will need more gas to get it moving and maybe a stronger spring. That extra ounce of reciprocating mass is going to move the rifle around more, pulling the muzzle off target for slower recovery for the next shot. But, if your determined to see if an octagon will make a better wheel, have at it. It’s your money, it’s your rifle
Honestly, I am not even sure what you are trying to accomplish anymore. Any rifle/carbine that is a deviation from the 20" rifle is more failure prone. But, we also have 20+ years of good data to show that a properly spec’d AR will run.
I have never had a single malfunction with any of my guns that wasn’t directly related to ammo, a bad magazine or operator headspace.
A 10.5/10.3" will work, when ported properly and when used with the correct buffer.