buffer weight

[montana]

The lighter buffers were developed as a cost-cutting measure for the civilian Market. And heavier buffers do not create or have anything to do with heavier recoil they reduce recoil by having more mass because it slows the cyclic rate, and the buffer weight moves slower because the laws of physics. When you impart the same energy to a heavyweight versus a lightweight the lightweight always moves much faster. A standard spring and a 3 oz buffer is far more likely to bottom out in a Carbine length receiver extension and that is where you will definitely feel more recoil.

An adjustable gas block is also a Band-Aid for a poorly balanced system. The system was designed to be over gassed for reliability, but the system was also designed around a four to five and a half ounce of buffer from the get-go.

If you look at a military M4 they run a heavier buffer than the 3-oz civilian buffer. With a carbine length gas system with a heavy bolt carrier group. They are over gas but they are reliable.

Obviously it's the internet but I've spent 15 years building ARs as a hobby. The only thing I've learned through that is the more I learn the more there is to know so I finally recently went and took a certified armorers course from Sons of Liberty Gun Works and learned more in the first 4 hours that I had in the past 15 years.

The original CAR15 used by SOG during the Vietnam war used the standard buffer..It was used in the first civilian Colt carbine.. I gave the reasons for the increase of buffer weights used in the M4/M4A1 and cost cutting was not one of them..I tried the VltorA5 on my daughters rifle and she was not impressed and neither was I.. I returned it back to a standard receiver extension..

Heavier buffers do create more recoil impulse, which is why competition rifles use lighter carriers ( less reciprocating mass equals less recoil).. The caveat is the gas (ammunition type) has to match the recoiling weight/force being used..If an AR is over gassed, a heavier buffer is beneficial if there is no method to adjust the gas, but it is a band aide approach when it is possible to adjust the gas/ammunition to the rifle.. I have found it is better to increase recoil spring strength with a standard buffer than to use a heavier buffer with a standard recoil spring to mitigate recoil impulse..

An adjustable gas block will only restrict the available gas, not increase it.. The difference between military rifles and civilian rifles is the plethora of different ammunition being used by civilians compared to the military's smaller set of ammunition standards..



I'm not going to despair SOLGW or anyone else..I have great respect for Mike Mihalski SOLGW, Chad ( who I met personally at a Colt armorers class and call him friend) from SOTAR, Caleb from Brownells and others, but I don't agree with everything they say..By the way, none of these gentlemen agree 100 percent with each other..That said, I will take the Pepsi challenge with my rifles against anyone when it comes to recoil management..

Different builds require different approaches when building an AR rifle, whether it is reliability, accuracy, recoil management or combinations of each..Choose your poison!