Nice!!!

Can't wait to try out the stainless weight and other goodies I ordered

I can''t wait to try the SS weight myself. I ordered that and the LED light kit for my Lee turret press.

Forgive me if this is silly or obvious but how do these attach to the bolt?

Even looking at the CMMG ones how does the weight move back into place once the bolt cycles?

Attached File

I was running CCI Blazer.  I've been cleared by Bore Buddy to share my results here: http://www.c3junkie.com/?page_id=712

Looking forward to the adjustable weight stainless steel version.

Thanks

+1!

Looks like a good fix also for port pop shooting suppressed.

My 10/22 is noticeably quieter than my AR-22 shooting suppressed.

Has anyone actually gotten their tracking number to go live? Mine is sitting unchanged since June 4th.

@amphibian
Am I reading this right? The heavy SS weight didn’t work with your M16/16” setup?





I guess I was hoping for a more promising test. I’m already in for one to try and get my CMMG .22LR SBR/pistol kit to run on my M16A1, so I’ll see how it does when it arrives.

Mine is the same

The SS weight was a pre-order until just recently -- all order were shipped Thursday and should update soon.  The pre-orders were clogging the order system and making it difficult, so labels got printed as them came in and put in a bin awaiting shipment.

The stainless weight amphibian tested was another version he had custom made.  He does not have one of mine yet.

Same here. I don't put much faith in USPS tracking, I've had plenty of packages go from "USPS awaiting package" to delivered without a single scan between....

@amphibian Thanks for linking your testing!

Have you found port pop to be drastically different between all those weights?

Years before this thread existed, I wasn't able to get my custom SS 1.3 oz weights to run in some setups and I believe it is just a timing issue on some of my setups...but it would work fine on some of my other setups.
That is what I'm trying to show in the picture below.  I actually run a custom 1.3 oz SS in my shorty kit below in full auto and I expected the BoreBuddy 1.6 brass would work as well which it did.....it just doesn't work in my 16" setup as I think the heavier weight may be bouncing backwards when the hammer is dropping...

I think the adjustable is the way to go for someone wanting to run full auto as I believe the internal tungsten weights having some slop to allow them to slide inside the 'main' weight increases the 'lock' time.  

However, I also think that there are a lot of variables with these kits and the results will vary on your exact configuration.

Sure, I do occasionally hear some rounds exhibit port pop with the standard Ciener/CMMG/Spike's weights.  I ran 4 drum dumps with the heaviest brass adjustable and didn't hear port pop once.  I think the weight cures that issue.

I have two dedicated builds around CMMG barrels and bolt groups.  They've both been running fine.  I saw this thread and got on Bore Buddy's website and ordered two of the plain brass weights.  One for each of my builds.

Since I got into rimfire ARs, I've done a bit of business with Bore Buddy and really like their products.  Their extra power extractor springs are a god send.

When I got the simple brass weights in, I was a bit underwhelmed.  Just placing a weight behind the bolt didn't seem secure, if that's the right word to use.  When you shake the rifle, you get a "clack."

My dad and I went out to the range today.  I got there a couple of hours before he did, so I had about 300 rounds on my AR22 with the weight installed.  When my dad got there, I installed his as well.

We're just shooting having a good old time when my AR went full auto.  Of course, I pulled my gun apart and what I found was that a piece broke off the weight and lodged itself in the trigger mechanism.  The little nook at the rear of the weight that fits with the nub on the recoil spring rod was also badly worn.

Bore Buddy weights

Of course, the one on the top is mine after about 300-400 rounds.  Note the broken bridge between the two halves and the wear at the rear of the weight.  The bottom one has 100+ rounds on it.  Note the beginning signs of wear.  The inside of my upper is also coated with brass from the weight sliding around in it.  It's a real shame too because the rimfire AR shot like a dream with the weight installed.  It cycled everything I had from CCI and Aguila standard velocity and Aguila high velocity.  Didn't run any hyper velocity, sub sonic or "quiet" stuff.

Man, these things cost me sixty something bucks, shipped.  What I think is needed is some way to keep the weight from flopping around so much.  Perhaps some sort of raised section on the bottom side of it so that it can ride the rails.  Since these things are made of brass, I'm gonna see if I can solder some rails or something to the bottom of these weights.

As I said, these rimfire ARs shot like a dream with these weights, until parts started falling off.  I'm gonna have to see what I can do with these.  I REALLY liked the way the guns shot with these installed.

These weights did transform the way the AR22s shoot.  Smooth doesn't even come close to describing it.  I am seriously tempted to permanently affix one of these weights to my bolt.  Just gotta figure out how to adhere stainless to brass.

JB Weld?  I used JB Weld to turn a notched hammer into a rounded hammer and 10K rounds later, it's still going strong.

TonyAngel. The weights at least the cmmg ABW are designed to move. They have little feet on them to minimize the contact surface. It enables them to act as a dead blow weight when running in auto. Mass of the weight trails slightly behind the bolt and stops its reward travel if it bounces . Don’t want to speak for him but I believe that is why amphibian likes the adjustable for full auto use.

I intend to wet sand the stainless version smooth to ensure it can move a bit. If that does not work I’ll wait for a stainless version with weights and just use the cmmg and replace them when they break. I’m just hoping for something that does not fracture as easily. Luckily they sent me several last time.

I'm not familiar with the CMMG parts.  I'm relatively new to rimfire AR.  The parts that I got are machined flat on the bottom.  No little feet.

I understand the benefits of the "dead blow" effect, but given a choice (between not having it at all and improvising), I think that there are benefits to increasing the mass of the bolt itself; hence the consideration of possibly adhering the weight to the bolt.  I like the idea of brass.  It is a dense, but relatively soft metal.

In any case, I was contacted by BoreBuddy and they are working with me.

I LOVE companies committed to what they do and not just the bottom line.

I've gotta say it again...I really like the way the AR22 shoots with a heavier bolt.  I know that everyone says that a .22 doesn't have recoil, but it does.  Just a tad bit.  With the weight installed, keeping the dot on the target was truly effortless.

I think you are right.  Having had one go fully auto by accident, I can say that without extra weight, it was a dirty, OOB mess.

For those who shoot semi-auto only, a lot of the benefit is just the extra weight.

I would have expected that little brass bridge to bend rather than snap.  



I am on the same page, but I am guessing that affixing a stainless weight to the stainless bolt is more likely to work.

I asked someone with a lead solder kit, but he thought it wouldn't hold.  I've used JB Weld on bolts before, but my result was poor.  It became very brittle, but I may have used it incorrectly.  I wonder if you could use it to make a perfect shim that would eliminate all movement.

Someone recommended Loctite 480.


I'm open to ideas.  The extra weight is how these bolts should have been made in the first place, and I'm not willing to go back.  I can think of  couple of solutions that have weight lock onto the bolt, but that means machining or tapping the bolt itself.  The virtue of the weight as it is now is that it is easily reversed, and that's a major advantage to someone on the fence about whether he wants extra weight.  The ability to reverse a change is a large part of the popularity of the Redi-mag BMA.


My experience with Bore Buddy shows an open minded response to feedback from users with an eye to addressing user needs.  My initial thought was "Why did R-man make this little strut so small and thin", but I do recall that my experiments with tungsten derby weights showed that there is very little spare room in the space occupied by the weight.  It's possible that some hammers would hit a heavier, longer and lower strut.

If everyone ran a small hammer trigger group (Geissele, LaRue, etc) the bridge would have been solid all the way back and a lot lower.  Mil-spec triggers are very high, and unfortunately they are the standard still.  If the bridge becomes a problem on the stainless version, we'll address it in some manner.  It's rather unexpected that they are fracturing and taking flight.  We didn't have one do so in testing.  I am finding there is some variation on the 22lr BCG, and the wear patterns can be different as well.  

Someday I may design a tungsten-copper version specifically for the narrow hammer trigger groups and 17hm2 that could probably add 3.5+oz to the bolt.

I'd have guessed that front strut would be nearly superfluous, and the location of the break is odd -- well past the radius into the main body of the weight on each side.  I also don't get the wear on the rear cut out; there should not be very much force hitting that part.



That goes to the philosophy apparent behind your offerings.  Mostly you have a menu of affordable items that address a specific shortcoming in the stock item.

I could imagine a one piece bolt body that would accommodate the CMMG internals and that would keep the weight, bolt and spring shroud all as a single piece, but I could also imagine that it would be expensive -- Volquartsen expensive.


Thanks for getting this out to market.

It's a shame that the spring shroud section on the CMMG bolt is welded on, rather than put together with staked and/or loctited fasteners.  Someday a complete improved bolt system will be in the BoreBuddy line, but we're still way too small-time for that undertaking as of now.  Probably at least a year to that point.

Interesting.  I'll have to keep an eye on my brass weight to see if any fractures start to surface.  Its seen some heavy binary usage already and so far so good knock on wood.

In my mind why not tap the back of the .22 bolt itself, insert a pair of long enough allen head screws through holes similar to the ones drilled for the tungsten weights  to make it one affixed unit?  Just thinking out loud here.

I cut a small piece of a refrigerator magnet and placed it between the rear of the bolt and the brass weight. The magnet sticks to the bolt and takes up some of the slop between the weight and bolt. Definitely less movement of the weight.

Tracking went live for the stainless versions. So much for testing it this set off.

Local post office must have sat on it since Thursday.  Government efficiency.

Not a problem at all. I intended to get a baseline. Drum of mini mags, blazers and SV.  Compare to SS. Might just have to change the order.

I guess I'm lucky that my dedicated CMMG upper works on my M16 lower.

I had some issues initially but resolved them with two Taccom plugs in the buffer tube.

Unfortunately, I've broken a couple of CMMG anti-bounce weights so I'm monitoring this thread hoping for a better alternative.

Gratuitous video of wife shooting the M16 with the dedicated upper and 50 round Blackdog drum.

I wanted to give a range report on the stainless steel bolt weight. I have in installed in my pistol with a 4.5" barrel. The bolt and barrel are both from CMMG and I'm using standard AR parts in the lower. I am using a Kak Micro Sim Flat Can. I shot CCI AR Tactical, CCI Mini Mags, and CCI standard velocity.

I had issues with the bolt weight and shooting the CCI Standard. Either the bolt would go back just far enough to eject the spent case and feed the next but it would not go back far enough to reset the trigger. The other MAJOR problem was that the pistol would sometimes double while using CCI Standard. I know it is due to the bolt weight since I just shot the pistol the other day with CCI standard and it functioned just fine before adding the bolt weight. The stainless steel is definitely too heavy for standard velocity ammo and a 4.5" barrel.

I did notice a difference with the AR Tactical and Mini Mags. They shot/functioned just fine and there was less noticed recoil and the gun felt smoother compared to no buffer weight.

My final thought: I'll stick with running high velocity ammo in this pistol with the bolt weight since it worked fine with that combo. AS far as the trigger not resetting or getting doubles, maybe the stainless steel weight is too much for the 4.5" barrel.

Install a reduced power hammer spring and that should go away.

I had issues with mine doubling a few years ago when I had my first AR22. The mil standard hammer springs are just too much for standard velocity or subsonic.

What got me was the pistol works just fine with subsonic ammo without the bolt weight. The CCI Standard ammo was never an issue before.

Adding weight to an ammo/barrel combination that has marginal cycling (Read: short barrel and/or reduced power or subsonic ammo) does not have any advantage and is not recommended.  The bolt weights are better suited to longer barrels and/or higher power ammo.  If you're using a mil-spec trigger, a reduced power hammer spring should solve this.  There's a spring kit form black dog that includes several, one that is ~75% and one that is far less, I believe.

The other (easy) solution is to use the weight when running ammo that needs more mass to run smoothly, and take it out when running reduced power ammo.

Yeah I am sure its right on the line of cycling well. The bolt weight just puts it over the edge.

If you have a reduced trigger/hammer spring A SBR/Pistol should run 100% with or without any type of device on the end aiding in back pressure with weak loads.

In my findings the reduced hammer springs gives you the reliability with all loadings and the bolt weight gives you a more normal shooting experience. So I guess its a balancing act.  


If your happy with your setup keep running it and use the weight for HV or suppressed HV shooting.

AR22s are a weird beast. lol

Best comment of the year.  I've had more "head scratching" moments with these things than with all other rifles combined, I'll bet.

Think I have derived the most joy out of tinkering with them.

Accuratizing 10/22s are for mentally insane. lol

I do like how the pistol shot with the weight with high velocity ammo so I will just stick with that. The CCI AR Tactical and CCI Mini Mags are just as accurate as CCI standard anyway. And since I do not shoot with a silencer, no need to worry about subsonic loads. Thanks everyone for the information.

Anyone still having issues with the post office not updating tracking? I've never had USPS delay for this long. Not sure if I should file a claim if I don't hear anything by next week.

I’ll head out tomorrow and test the SS weight in auto.  Have CCI blazer (1235 ft/s) and SV to test (1070 ft/s)

9 1/2 inch barrel. SSF trigger running a reduced power hammer spring.  I’ll try with and with out a suppressor. I did notice the amount of travel the weight has is much less than the cmmg weight. More mass but less travel. Might be a wash.

If I have time I’ll try a factory bolt and one with a ball detent mod. Afraid the ball detent plus the heavy weight might be a bit much. Especially without a can installed. We shall see.

I ordered one of the leftover SS weights.  Should be arriving soon.

This is going into a CMMG .22 adapter kit, in a factory stock 16" Bushmaster 5.56, along with the Boonie Packer BMAII S&W mag adapter, for semi-realistic AR platform training on the cheap (ammo-wise).  

With any luck we'll have it out on the range this weekend and I can report back.

I haven't done as much testing as I would like yet.  I shoot rifle uppers, including a 20 inch barrel.  The black/gray soot that coats the interior of the lower can be considerable.  I did take the trigger out of my lower and get everything cleaned up before shooting with the weight.

After hundreds of rounds, including a bunch of Thunderbolt, I can tell the lower has been fired, but it doesn't have that spray painted with black sand appearance.

I have noticed the same with my shorty 4.5" pistol.

A bit of added weight delays the ejection just long enough to reduce the spewing of burning powder from the chamber a bit.  I've noticed everything runs a tad cleaner as well.

Got out today. Didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted. Interesting results.  With a flash hider CCI SV would not cycle reliably. CCI Blazer would cycle but neither would run in auto.

With a sparrow installed both ran and cycled in semi and auto. Just that little bit of added back pressure was all it needed.

This bolt was the ball detent modded one.  Might have better overall luck with a standard bolt.

Edited to add the suppressed blazer test.

My order finally went live, only took 8 days. On a side note, I got USPS shipping/tracking from another company monday, it's still showing "USPS awaiting item". At least USPS is staying consistent

Any help for lefties?

I got my stainless weights in.  The stainless are much nicer and have a better fit than the brass weights did.

Running Aguila HV, the gun ran, although it wasn't spitting the brass out very far.  Like it was just barely getting it done and I was running a reduced power hammer spring.  I am now reading this thread and just realized that I got a new trigger in today from Tom's Tactical and it has a full power hammer spring, which I put in.  I guess I'll see how it goes tomorrow.

I suppose that I could take some weight off by putting the weight in the drill press and drilling a hole in it.  Start with a small hole and increase the size until it runs right.

BTW, I'm running a 9" CMMG barrel with an A2 flash hider.

It definitely shoots smoother with the weight.  It's a definite keeper.  Just gotta fine tune it.

I took my father, son and grandson out shooting today.

We had two AR22s that are essentially alike.  9" CMMG barrels with CMMG BCGs.  Both running Tom's Tactical enhanced triggers with full power springs.  I only had one box of standard velocity CCI with me.  Mine ran those, although ejection was weak.  I don't often mix ammunition during a shooting session.  I'm either doing drills or plinking, in which case I'm running Aguila 38gr HV or I'm shooting golf balls and such at 100 yards and I'm running SV ammo, so I'll just remove the weight for SV ammo.

We also ran a combined total of 2500 rounds of the Aguila HV.  The only malfunction we had was due to my father having a bad habit of pulling back on the magazine while he shoots and that only happened twice.  Ejection wasn't as strong as usual, throwing brass three stalls away, but it was good.

The stainless is definitely the way to go.  Well, now I'm curious about the adjustable model.