I've read a few reviews of the JP silent captured spring providing a smoother recoil impulse over a conventional buffer and spring. For those who have one, have you found this to be the case?

Yes, I run them on most of my rifles.

Yes, spend your dollars

Have one with and one without, it’s noticeable

I like them especially on suppressed rigs.

Yes. Today at the range, my friend complimented on the recoil of my 11.5

He didn't know that I had a captured spring.

Besides from it being quiet, the impulse is softer. It seems that it doesn't slam back. More of a glide, I guess.

9mm and SBR's get them here...  Very noticeable to me on the 9mm.

Very noticeable.   I have my JP 9mm spring coupled with a hydraulic buffer.  Very smooth.

Thanks for the input guys! My OCD goal here is to get the recoil "Lexus smooth" without going to an adjustable gas system.

The other buffers I was considering were the VLTOR A5 system and the Kynshot Hydraulic Buffer paired with the JP spring:

https://www.nokick.com/Hydraulic_Buffer_JP_Spring_Combo_AR15_carbine_p/nk-rb5000osc-s.htm

Was also looking at the DPM recoil reducing buffer, but there's no info out on them:

https://dpmsystems.us/collections/ar-15/products/ar-15-223-5-56-calibre-rifles-mil-spec-standard-buffer-tube

And then there is the Shooting Innovations recoil reducing captured recoil spring, which is like the JP silent but with a recoil reducing mechanism:

http://www.shootinginnovationsllc.com/recoil-reduction-system.html

The Hydraulic, SI, and DPM seem like they would have even more of a recoil absorbing effect, but overall reviews are scarce, whereas the JP Silent has tons of positive reviews, but I dont fully see how it would reduce the recoil.

I have several JP SCS and initially bought one to get rid of the spring noise clanging in my head when shooting regular buffer and spring.

The noise reduction is nice but the main benefit is just overall noticeably smoother operation. Especially after you put some oil on it and shoot a mag or two the action gets butter smooth.

They are worth the money IMO.

Do you need one? NO

But a real improvement, no sproing sound and tunable with the spring kit. Combine the SCP with an adjustable gas system and a little testing and tuning and you suddenly have a much nicer shooting gun.

So far I only have them in my rifles, might do the carbine too. It's only money.

Thanks guys, I'm 95% set on getting the JP.

Just to check off all my bases, for those who have used the JP and the Vltor A5 system, which one has the lower recoil impulse?

I've heard good things about the Armaspec SRS. Worth a search

Now you done gone there.

My favorite system by far is the VLTOR A5 with a Sprinco green, carbine buffer, and correct diameter gas (or adjustable).  Even over gassed, it’s very nice, especially with a drop or two of oil on the spring.

The JP spring is a fixed length so you’ll need some kind of spacer to use in the longer A5 tube (I wouldn’t go that route).  The JP and whatever buffer you get are gonna be fixed, no tuning at all.  I personally didn’t like the JP system in a rifle caliber, I really like it my 9mm.  In that rifle I use the JP 9mm bolt, JP spring, and hydraulic buffer.  If you asked me which 9mm I’d grab in “oh shit” it would NOT be that one.

Edit.  I know you can buy a spring and weight kit for the JP to further tune it, but it’s cumbersome.

All these systems really don’t compensate for a over gassed system.

I run full auto on 556 and x39, and the VLTOR A5 fixed the bolt bounce I had, and it’s quite smooth.  Definitely more twangy than the JP, but having a reliable system absolutely far and away makes up for it.

I have the Armaspec SRS in a carbine and a JP in a middy.  It's hard to compare because of the gas length differences, clearly the JP mid is smoother to shoot but I do like shooting the SRS very much.  The main reason I would choose the JP over the SRS is because you can change the springs out for tuning.  The JP also feels to be a bit higher in build quality.  The SRS is a better value imho though, it's main benefit over JP is cost.

Those guys straight ripped that design off from the JP SCS.  Wow....

I have a JP in my 3-gun rifle.

LMOS carrier, adjustable gas block.

I really like it.  Best way I can describe it is, a standard rifle feels very sluggish.  I can feel the carrier and buffer reciprocating as I shoot a standard AR now.

With the tuned JP guts and SCS, it feels like you are shooting an AR pattern single shot.  You feel the slight recoil of a 223, but you don't feel the action cycle.

Kynshot Hydraulic Buffer will be your smoothest possible option.

I switched from a JP SCS to a Hydraulic with JP spring, and it was MUCH less felt recoil.

Any system you choose will be smoother and have the greatest effect on felt recoil if you tune the system with a good comp/muzzle brake and an adjustable gas block and use a light weight BCG.

I use the JP SCS, JP LMOS and a SLR adjustable gas block and once I dialed it all in with the loads I shoot, it's incredibly smooth and tame.

Any one of these components can help but with them all working together you'll see the maximum effect.

Thanks man, thats exactly the head to head comparison I was looking for. I also talked to the guy at Nokick, very helpful, and he also suggested the hydraulic over the JP.

I've been looking into adjustable gas as well. How beneficial is it with a regular, full auto BCG and buffer? And is it possible to use a regular BCG with a lighter buffer - or if you go lightweight, you need to go lightweight for everything?

No you don't have to go light weight anything.

It all depends on how much you want to invest in making your rifle softer shooting. At the end of the day that's a personal preference. How much recoil can you tolerate?

What are you using this rifle for?

From a competition perspective, a shooter wants to tune the rifle so the sight picture is disturbed as little as possible. That's allows for faster follow up shots and transitions to the next target.

An adjustable gas block alone will simply allow you to dial down an over gassed rifle so the buffer and spring are not bottoming out hard in the receiver extension.

Light weight BCG reduces the reciprocating mass as well as a lighter buffer weight. When the BCG cycles you feel the rearward hit and then the impact when it returns.

The cheapest route is a good muzzle brake with an adjustable gas block and a half dozen buffer springs, for trial and error.

You dial down the gas so the rifle will just lock back on an empty mag and then you clip off spring coils, one at a time, until the rifle is on the edge of not returning to battery. ( fire one, clip a coil, etc) You then add one coil back and trim a new spring to that length. Buffer springs are like $3 apiece so buy plenty.

You want enough gas to cycle the action and enough spring pressure to reliably return the BCG to full battery on a full mag.

Keep in mind its a balance, by tuning a rifle to shoot softer you're also making it more finicky on what ammo will make it run with 100% reliability.

So, if you're shooting a wide variety of ammo a tuned/balanced rifle may not function reliably with all of it.

I'm happy with my Armaspec Stealth and as far as I know it works the same as the JP spring for less than half the cost.  I don't even notice the recoil, my muzzle stays near the target, there's zero noise and the bolt carrier doesn't tilt and drag when the action cycles.  A plus for the Armaspec over the JP is that the buffer retainer doesn't need to be removed.  Pulling the handle feels different but I got used to it quickly.

The reason why I'll stay with the JP, and it's better. I still need one more, have two now.

I've only shot rifles with the JP system, that said another benifit is you don't need the buffer spring retainer plunger anymore.

But can you still run it w/ a spring plunger if its already installed?

Yes you can. You just have to fiddle a little bit to remove the buffer system. The point on the buffer retainer can catch the gap between weights.  If you have the tools Id just remove it. Or if your ok with modifying parts use a dermal to take down the point on the retainer. Then if you ever went back to a standard setup then install a new one.

One note of caution about the Armaspec-

I’m a JP SCS fan for all the reasons others have noted above.  Went to try the Armaspec as a cheaper alternative, since I’d eventually hope to field 6-7 or more of them by the time I get done.

Functionally it seems to be comparable to the JP.  The ONLY ISSUE I’ve noted was that it wouldn’t allow a Bootleg adjustable carrier to cycle (luckily I found this on a function check)

Turns out, there’s some kind of tolerance stacking between the non standard carrier and the nonstandard buffer assembly.  The guide rod in the middle of the Armaspec assembly has a flange on the end to capture the spring, and that end is obviously wider than the end on the JP assembly.  It wouldn’t clear the bore of the Bootleg carrier, but it does clear a milspec BCG.

The JP SCS guide rod clears any carrier I’ve tried it with.

No pictures, I’m out of town for Christmas but I’ll try and post some up when I get a chance.

Hummm...copycat not copy very good.

I should note, I don’t know if the issue is the thickness of the end of the Armaspec guide rod, or the ID of the Bootleg carrier.

All I know is the Armaspec assembly works with a standard milspec carrier, and the Bootleg carrier works with a JP SCS.

Which one is off?  Well, I haven’t measured yet.  I suppose you could only verify with the carrier anyway, since there is a standard milspec dimension for the ID of a carrier.  There is no “standard” for the dimensions of the Armaspec guide rod.

All I CAN say, is that the 2 nonstandard components each seem to work alone, but not necessarily with each other.

I’m still happy with the benefits of the both the JP SCS and the Armaspec version of a captured buffer/spring assembly.