AR Sponsor
|
When someone says 'heavyweight' I think of 5.5+ ounce 9mm/H3 buffers...  The different buffer weights...Rifle - 5.15oz CAR - 2.9oz H CAR Style - 3.77oz H2 CAR Style - 4.7oz H3 CAR Style – 5.6oz 9mm - 5.47oz, made of steel I'm using 9mm/H3 weight buffers in all my carbine setups. With their increased weight/mass, heavy buffers will cause a longer dwell time before the bolt unlocks which allows chamber pressures to drop which aids extraction. During firing the case is 'pinned' to the chamber by the pressure and attempt to extract too soon creates problems with failures to extract, torn case heads, etc. Delaying the extraction with added mass is a common fix for an AR with problematic extraction issues. Heavy buffers will also smooth out the recoil cycle and diminish the gas system 'spike' common in the CAR gas system and all things being equal component wear should be diminished. Some folks believe that if you're not running F/A, a heavy buffer isn't needed... My logic is the original AR system was designed around a 5.2 ounce rifle sized buffer with a longer 'rifle' gas system. A heavy buffer gets us back to the original weight, and the closer we are to the design of the original the more reliable things will hopefully be... |
Can someone inform my ignorant ass as to which of these is on the M4, and how to tell which we have, or how to know what you are buying from the various manufacturers? |
|
H-buffers are marked with an H on the center of the buffer face. H2 marked "H2", etc. Military M4s have the H buffer. The purpose of a heavier buffer is to slow the cyclic rate down, which is mostly an issue with full-auto, as a slower cyclic rate is more reliable, and because cyclic rates increase as the weapon heats up. Cyclic rate also increases when using a suppressor (hence the H2 and H3 buffers), or when using a blow-back system (like the 9mm) vs. the standard locked-breech. -Troy |
AR Sponsor