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Posted: 5/8/2012 5:58:20 PM EDT
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Which is less common, an Edgewater Buffer or a 601 Buffer Tube without wrench flats?
Thanks 
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Quoted:
Which is less common, an Edgewater Buffer or a 601 Buffer Tube without wrench flats? Thanks looking at gunbroker, i've seen more edgewaters than the 601 tubes w/o wrench flats. but edgewater buffers are a lot easier to spot than a buffer tube w/o the wrench flats. i've taken apart preban rifles to find the 601 tubes so i bet there's a lot out there where people don't even realize what they have. but both are rare in that the edgewater buffers were supposed to be replaced and the TM told armorers to add the wrench flats. anything that exists today survived replacement/modification for 40+ years. |
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All true, boywonder.
I'd bet on the Edgewater actually being more scarce simply because it is more obvious. While the military may have been instructed to replace the Edgewaters and mill the flats, they probably wouldn't have milled the tubes unless there was a reason to strip the rifle to that level––and I doubt that was a regular occurrence (I was a Navy small arms gunner and didn't remove a stock unless there was some actual reason to do so––it just wasn't a common practice). The buffer, on the other hand, is apparent every time you field strip the rifle––it would have been obvious and therefore automatic to toss the old one and insert a new one. However, I'll bet we see more Edgewaters these days (than unmilled tubes) for that same reason. When someone has an Edgewater, they're more likely to notice it (even if they just realize that it doesn't look like the one in their buddy's rifle) so they might call attention to it. Far fewer people probably remove their stock––let alone know what they're looking at when they do, so I'm guessing most unmilled early tubes are simply hiding in old stocks! Well, that's my theory, anyway. 
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Quoted:
All true, boywonder. I'd bet on the Edgewater actually being more scarce simply because it is more obvious. While the military may have been instructed to replace the Edgewaters and mill the flats, they probably wouldn't have milled the tubes unless there was a reason to strip the rifle to that level––and I doubt that was a regular occurrence (I was a Navy small arms gunner and didn't remove a stock unless there was some actual reason to do so––it just wasn't a common practice). The buffer, on the other hand, is apparent every time you field strip the rifle––it would have been obvious and therefore automatic to toss the old one and insert a new one. However, I'll bet we see more Edgewaters these days (than unmilled tubes) for that same reason. When someone has an Edgewater, they're more likely to notice it (even if they just realize that it doesn't look like the one in their buddy's rifle) so they might call attention to it. Far fewer people probably remove their stock––let alone know what they're looking at when they do, so I'm guessing most unmilled early tubes are simply hiding in old stocks! Well, that's my theory, anyway. i'm going to start bringing a flashlight to gun shows and asking sellers of old prebans if i can pull the buffer and spring and look at tube. might not be able to tell if there are flats or not but i'll be able to see the holes if they exist. they might think i'm crazy and i might get nice dirty hands but it'll satisfy my curiosity at least. 
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Quoted:
So are the wrench flats due to damage from taking off the buffer tube? Why did they replace the Edgewater buffer ? Thanks, the wrench flats were added so that it could be installed and removed easier. the old method would have been to put a screwdriver or something through both holes and twist it on/off. the edgewater buffer was replaced due to reliability issues i believe. |
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Yeah. Interesting. The edgewater is obviously an anomaly to the retro or even non retro-head. The unmodified tube would not be. Even when it is seen it looks pretty much like just an old tube.
Don't know if anyone else occasionally drifts off dreaming about a landfill somewhere out west, filled with edgewaters, early gas tubes, one in fourteen barrels..... 
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