The purists will gag at this...
I've had BufferTech buffers in both of my AK variants since I first bought them.
They've been wonderful, and I highly recommend them. In fact, my SAR-1 has a place of honor as my bedside gun for things that go "bump" in the night.
As for the hole being too small for the recoil spring, it's designed to be installed between the spring and spring guide, as stated previously in this thread. It needs to stay at the rear of the receiver and not move forward along the spring. The buffer's a polyurethane material, it will fit given enough elbow grease.
Yup, Kalashnikovs don't have issued bolt buffers. That's a fact. But we American gun owners don't really have original full-auto Klaks, either. (Or at least, most of us don't) So that 50 Million Kalashnikov argument is right out the door.
If one persists in that argument, most Klaks were meant to be issued, burned up in battle over the course of several thousand rounds, and discarded. The good folks at the state arms factories will then send you a new one to continue the struggle against the imperialist forces from across the pond.
Reality check: How many of us have that kind of disposable income where we can buy a new AK variant after beating the old one to oblivion? Not me, and not only that, but the government has this funny thing of banning AK variants after them being on the market for a short while. So my lovely Bulgarian milled receiver SLR-95 is probably the only one I'm gonna get before I take a dirt nap. Hell, even my SAR-1 is no longer imported. I'd like to keep them nice for the short time I'm on this planet. Hence the buffers.
So why not do a little preventive maintenance on them to keep them functioning smoothly and lasting longer? Unlike the M1 Garand and M14, the AK bolt doesn't need to rebound off the rear of the receiver to function effectively, old Mikhail K. gave it enough stroke to cycle rounds from the magazine even with a few millimeters of polyurethane in there to absorb the bolt recoil shock.
Nobody disputes that a Klak will work just fine without a bolt recoil buffer. However, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having an AK variant that cycles smoothly and gives a reduced recoil impulse to the shooter, as well as reducing wear and tear on the internals. MY SLR-95 is one smooth-shooting gun after I installed a BufferTech buffer, and it is a documented 2MOA gun, not bad for an AK. Internal bolt buffers are not a new concept, my ancient Browning Auto-5 has a bolt buffer, as does my Browning Belgian BAR. Both guns will work without them, but why take the chance?
My advice? If you're going to install a bolt buffer in an AK variant, buy a Buffer Technologies buffer and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. If my two AK rifles can go several thousand rounds with said buffers and no jams, yours can too.
I've had BufferTech buffers in both of my AK variants since I first bought them.
They've been wonderful, and I highly recommend them. In fact, my SAR-1 has a place of honor as my bedside gun for things that go "bump" in the night.
As for the hole being too small for the recoil spring, it's designed to be installed between the spring and spring guide, as stated previously in this thread. It needs to stay at the rear of the receiver and not move forward along the spring. The buffer's a polyurethane material, it will fit given enough elbow grease.
Yup, Kalashnikovs don't have issued bolt buffers. That's a fact. But we American gun owners don't really have original full-auto Klaks, either. (Or at least, most of us don't) So that 50 Million Kalashnikov argument is right out the door.
If one persists in that argument, most Klaks were meant to be issued, burned up in battle over the course of several thousand rounds, and discarded. The good folks at the state arms factories will then send you a new one to continue the struggle against the imperialist forces from across the pond.
Reality check: How many of us have that kind of disposable income where we can buy a new AK variant after beating the old one to oblivion? Not me, and not only that, but the government has this funny thing of banning AK variants after them being on the market for a short while. So my lovely Bulgarian milled receiver SLR-95 is probably the only one I'm gonna get before I take a dirt nap. Hell, even my SAR-1 is no longer imported. I'd like to keep them nice for the short time I'm on this planet. Hence the buffers.
So why not do a little preventive maintenance on them to keep them functioning smoothly and lasting longer? Unlike the M1 Garand and M14, the AK bolt doesn't need to rebound off the rear of the receiver to function effectively, old Mikhail K. gave it enough stroke to cycle rounds from the magazine even with a few millimeters of polyurethane in there to absorb the bolt recoil shock.
Nobody disputes that a Klak will work just fine without a bolt recoil buffer. However, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having an AK variant that cycles smoothly and gives a reduced recoil impulse to the shooter, as well as reducing wear and tear on the internals. MY SLR-95 is one smooth-shooting gun after I installed a BufferTech buffer, and it is a documented 2MOA gun, not bad for an AK. Internal bolt buffers are not a new concept, my ancient Browning Auto-5 has a bolt buffer, as does my Browning Belgian BAR. Both guns will work without them, but why take the chance?
My advice? If you're going to install a bolt buffer in an AK variant, buy a Buffer Technologies buffer and FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. If my two AK rifles can go several thousand rounds with said buffers and no jams, yours can too.
