Posted: 12/19/2009 8:10:02 PM EDT
| Are recoil buffers any good, or are they a waste of money? |
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Some think they are a must, some think they are the stupidest thing ever cause JMB didn't have them in the original design.
I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. They're cheap, try one out as see if you like it. I for one have never seen a need for them, then again I probably don't know what I'm missing 
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I have heard that they will make a 1911 with anything shorter than a 5 inch barrel malfunction . I have been told never run them in a self defense gun account they may tear up and tie the gun up. I used them on a 5 inch gun about 10 years ago at the range and never had a problem with them. They supposedly stop the slide and frame from battering each other but I feel like if the recoil spring if changed when needed they are just another unneeded item like the full length guide rod and the ambi safety and the extended slide stop. Keep the 1911 simple and it will work better IMO.
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I don't bother with them because I change out recoil springs as you are supposed to. On a shorter the Gov model, they WILL cause issues, especially with locking back the slide on an empty mag. If they DO lock back, they can be a PITA to release the slide using the slide lock.
Just change out recoil springs like you should and you don't need them. If you don't do that then they probably do help somewhat. |
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Quoted:
I have heard that they will make a 1911 with anything shorter than a 5 inch barrel malfunction . I have been told never run them in a self defense gun account they may tear up and tie the gun up. I used them on a 5 inch gun about 10 years ago at the range and never had a problem with them. They supposedly stop the slide and frame from battering each other but I feel like if the recoil spring if changed when needed they are just another unneeded item like the full length guide rod and the ambi safety and the extended slide stop. Keep the 1911 simple and it will work better IMO.Unless you're left handed, or have to shoot weak side... |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I have heard that they will make a 1911 with anything shorter than a 5 inch barrel malfunction . I have been told never run them in a self defense gun account they may tear up and tie the gun up. I used them on a 5 inch gun about 10 years ago at the range and never had a problem with them. They supposedly stop the slide and frame from battering each other but I feel like if the recoil spring if changed when needed they are just another unneeded item like the full length guide rod and the ambi safety and the extended slide stop. Keep the 1911 simple and it will work better IMO.Unless you're left handed, or have to shoot weak side... Or you shoot ambidextrously like I do so all my 1911's have ambi safeties. Especially carry ones because you can put your right arm out of the fight then you are stuck with just your left the ambi safety comes in handy unless you carry condition 0. |
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I use them in the LWC to ward against battering/cracking the frame. I use Wilson 7 rnd'ers exclusively and have never experienced any failures to feed/extract/lockback or difficulty in releasing the slide from the locked back position in 18 years shooting the LWC. I can take them or leave them in my steel 5 inch'ers. Unlike other parts one can install ( take your pick ), I believe the shock buff actually serves a purpose. YMMV |
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Junk SGB , I was trying to be nice , but JUNK is right , just another way for venders to come up with another "flipperty" or " gimmeck" off of the folks with good intentions of taking the best care they can of their equipment  . If the all steel 1911 is shooting standard pressure 230 grain loads and the recoil spring is changed at regular intervals, battering of the slide and frame is a non existant issue. These buffers will do nothing but possibly tie the gun up and cause malfunctions.
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If you like to slingshot your slide instead of using the slide stop during reloads, forget about the buffer. They prevent the slide from moving back far enough to cam the slide stop down. They did not do that in the govt model I ran them in. Some in the USPSA group will run two ro 3 of them stacked up with moded recoil springs to get the recoil pluse they are looking for. 9mm loadded up to make major, recoil buffers come in handy. |
| Laughing, really at some of the responses.....The choice to run buffs or not, is a personal one.... but lets try and refrain from myth. My carry Colt 45acp has Wilson Buffs. Last week I went to range and ran exactly 175 rounds of factory 230 grain hollow point and ball through it. The only failure I had was attributed to a Wilson ETM magazine that had 4 ftfs. Inspected the buff when cleaning pistol and put it back in. Buffs do make releasing the slide a little harder but that's the only thing I've noticed...... If I were to use the word junk in relation to buffers it would be Ed Brown buffers... with factory ammunition they disintegrate quickly. That said.... most guys won't run more than 2000 rounds through a pistol in a lifetime..... so whether you run buffs or not is hardly going to effect the life of your pistol... The 1911 will stand a lot of use and abuse without a buffer. |