Anybody use this:

Wilson Shok-Buff Kit

Is there any merit to it?  Plan on shooting mainly 230gr Win White box, but do have it loaded to test run Golden Sabre +P for defense purposes and reliability checks.

Advice?

Sooner or later recoil springs need to be changed anyway.
As far as buffers go, some say not for a defensive pistol, although I have used 'em for years with 0 malfunctions of any kind.
I just look at the buffer while cleaning to determine how much life is left in them.

Buffs can be good or bad depending on the gun. I will shoot with a buff in my gun so long as it works, if not no biggie. Whether or not a shok-buff actually does anything is often a hotly debated issue and, IMO, whether or not the buff actually extends the life of my frame doesn’t matter… regular spring changes are the key to a long service life. What I can say a shok-buff does do is make the gun “shoot softer”…. that is the felt recoil and shock of the slide impacting the frame is dampened by the buff and that impact feels “softer”. I have never had or seen a malfunction in a 5” 1911 that I can say was due to a shok-buff. However, I would be guarded about using a buff in guns that have shortened slides and I personally won’t use them in anything less than a 5” 1911.

I would also caution you to test every aspect of your gun with a buff in it before taking that gun out on the street. Due to variances in design and spec’ certain guns may not be able to be reloaded using the “sling shot” method while a shok-buff is in the gun. For instance, Kimber’s slides have out of spec’ (read longer than a Colt and JMB’s design) slide stop notches, thus when a shok-buff is put in the gun the slide travel becomes further shortened and one can no longer use the “sling shot” method to reload the gun. The same goes for Wilson Combat guns. However, Les Baer and Ed Brown guns share the same spec’ slide stop notch as Colt but often have a slide stop post that is shorter than Colt spec’. The result can be a gun that one can not reload using the “sling shot” method although that is not the rule with LB or EB guns as I have seen many that will work fine with a buff in them. None the less should your EB or LB gun not “sling shot” with a buff in it a simple change to a Colt spec’ slide stop will correct that problem. Unfortunately that cure will not work with Kimber and WC guns. Springfield’s 5” 1911s follow the same spec’ as Colt and a buff should work fin in them. Bare in mind I am not advocating that one use the “sling shot” method to reload one’s 1911 only that I want that option available to me should the need arise, YMMV.    

I used them in the past and I was not impressed.  I have 2 buffers just sitting in my drawer.

I used them in my competition guns years ago.  I dont particularly care for them.  They have a limited lifespan and need to be replaced per the manufacturers guidelines, which is cool.  I wont use them at all on my serious use guns simply because if they do come appart in the gun, its not going to be pretty.  That and they shorten the slide cycle.  On all steel 1911s, I think they are pretty much a waste of time.  The guns will hold up just fine without them if properly maintained.