I'm buying parts for my first AR builds and the one aspect of my builds I don't know too much about is buffers and buffer springs. I'll be running all of my guns suppressed and unsuppressed. From what I gather from watching youtube videos and reading online reviews is that H2 is the best all-around buffer to use, and a heavier buffer might be better for suppressed.

If you were to build a 20" SPR long-range rifle, a 16" general-purpose rifle, and a 12.5" short-barrel build, all using adjustable gas blocks, what buffer and springs would you go with? I've seen Geissele's braided springs and Sprinco's being very popular springs but I don't know too much about them. I've also seen JP's silent capture spring system and that looks pretty cool but it looks like it might require some maintenance.

I don't mind buying several buffers and springs and trying them out to tune my guns, but I would like to narrow my choices down to just the right ones to test out on the three builds listed above.

G Super 42 on my 20” with an A1 stock and standard rifle buffer
Sprinco intermediate(I believe it’s the red and white one) with an H buffer on my carbines
I do not use adjustable gas blocks though. Never really got into the tuning aspect of cycling. Some of my rifles send brass into orbit and some I can catch every ejected brass in a ball cap 3 feet away

G Super 42 is really awesome. Smooth. But about $65.

Attached File

If it doesn’t run best on a standard carbine spring and an H2, something is wrong.

Standard spring and H2 is my default.

First bit of information needed - Is that 20" going to have a carbine buffer tube or a full A2 (or similar) stock? 2 entirely different set ups. Also, while a std spring and H2 should work fine, if you're going to run adjustable gas you can run a lighter buffer and reduce the reciprocating mass. You don't NEED to, but it's something to think about.

The 20" will have a carbine buffer.

Will an adjustable gas block with a h2 buffer be okay then for running suppressed on my general purpose 16" rifle? What about my 12.5" SBR?

As long as you don't have an overly small gas port an H2 should be fine. I'm just saying that it shouldn't be necessary with an adjustable gas block. That's not to say you can't run one.

My 20" rifle aside, I use standard carbine springs and H3s in most of my carbines / pistols. I have one "custom" buffer that is approx 3.5 or so. That's just how it turned out and does fine. Never a problem with any and all excellent shooters to include fast multi-target acquisition, etc.

This. Colt carbine springs are like $8 from Brownells and good to go.

I see no real reason for a barrel over 16" on a 5.56 AR.

For that, I use an adjustable gas block. I use a standard weight polished JP carbine spring and start with a 3oz standard carbine buffer. Once I get it tuned, see if an H1 will lock the bolt on last round.

You can shed a lot of weight and have a reliable rifle in a small frame AR.

Absolutely no need for extra power springs or H2 buffer if you tune your gas.

The JP silent capture spring does not require more maintenance than a standard spring and buffer, but it costs about 5x more for no gain vs a regular spring and buffer.

While some of the specialty springs may be very good, they are also very expensive for what you get in return.

With that, I would recommend the chrome silicon springs from Damage Industries instead of the standard stainless springs.

The chrome silicon springs offer a longer service life and are noticeably quieter than standard stainless springs...and wont break the bank, they are cheap, often with better pricing on 5 or more.

I use them in all my ARs, other than my WWSD lower.

Chrome silicon springs and music wire springs can rust horribly. If you are concerned with spring wear, buy a backup stainlessJP polished. I stand by my assertion the JP polished stainless is the BEST spring for 99% of users. It is smooth and quiet and if you care about noise, a tiny amount Tetra or similar grease on the spring gets rid of ANY sproing noise differences between a regular buffer/spring and a JP SCS, which I also own. You do need to occasionally clean and relube a greased standard buffer spring. The standard spring does require a smooth internal buffer tube, such as a BCM, to equal a SCS in smoothness and quietness as well. Currently, 6 of 7 of my ARs use seperate buffers and springs and I will not buy another JP SCS, but will ALWAYS buy a JP polished stainless spring.

Precisely, which is why a chrome silicon spring rusting is a non issue unless you wade thru swamps regularly.

Here's a shocking idea - try running the system as designed with a standard spring and standard buffer.  Change and tweak if needed, but it really shouldn't need.

If not for all of the man hole sized GP diameters.....

Agree

I have had some spare CS/music wire springs rust in the spare parts bin. That was inside a climate controlled environment. The juice is not worth the squeeze IMO.

In part, a byproduct of customers insisting on using “enhanced” springs and boutique heavy buffers, and shooting underpowered ammo.

I use Colt springs from Brownells. Cool thing about them is their length is standardized and I can use a ruler to know when they are done. They never rust, unlike Sprinco, which does NOT require one to wade through a swamp to rust, merely a change in temp in a gun case.