AR buffer question

[Lovesbeer99]

Until recently I didn't know I could change the weight of my buffer in my AR.

How do you know you need more wieght, what are the symptoms?
What happens if it's too light? Will it damage your gun?
Is my current buffer marked for weight? I bought one on gunbroker so I don't know what the weight is.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

Standard buffers are not marked. H1 buffers have two steel inserts and one tungsten and are stamped "H1" on the buffer face. H2 buffers have one steel insert and two tungsten and are stamped "H2". H3 buffers are the same as above with three tungsten inserts, stamped "H3". Heavier buffers increase the amount of weight going forward as the bolt closes so it doesn't hang up on sticky rounds in the magazine, etc. It is recommended that you upgrade to an extra power recoil spring if you are going to run a heavier buffer.

 

[Mags]

Carbine buffers are not marked, H buffers are. Ejection should tell you if you need to change buffer weights. A 1 O clock ejection is when you need a replacement.

Different weighted buffers can compensate for things like gassing, barrel length and suppressor use. For a standard carbine an H buffer should be all you need.

 

[Lovesbeer99]

Both of my AR's are standard length, no carbines. Are these weighted buffers just for carbines?

 

[Onmilo]

You don't mention if you are shooting a fixed stock or collapsing stock rifle nor do you mention the caliber of your weapon.

There are various weight buffers for each mainly to improve reliability in rifles when using light weight bullets and in carbines to improve reliability of the weapon especially in full auto or burst fire settings.

The information below applies to 5.56/.223 caliber AR/M16 type weapons, other calibers require more tailoring.

Generally, the standard rifle buffer and rifle length spring will accommodate the majority of available bullet weight cartridges used in the fixed stock rifle.

If you use a collapsing stock and extension tube on a full size 20 inch barrelled rifle you should use a carbine length buffer that approximates the weight of the full size rifle buffer in conjunction with a carbine length standard weight spring unless you are shooting very light 40-45 grain bullets whereas a standard weight carbine buffer can be used, many shooters have found the standard weight carbine buffer works fine on the longer rifle length uppers for bullets up to 55 grains when a collapsing stock is utilized.
The heavier rifle approximate weight carbine buffers will allow more reliable feeding of heavier bullets in the 55-80 grain weights.
The DPMS "Heavy" weight carbine buffer is an example of a buffer tailored for use of a carbine type collapsing stock on a full size rifle upper.

A collapsing stock, be it pinned in the open position or allowed to collapse to various lengths and using the carbine length extension tube on a 16" or shorter barrelled carbine will utilize a lighter weight and also shorter carbine buffer and as a general rule, the standard carbine buffer will work fine for bullet weights up to 62 grains.
Again the shorter carbine length spring is also used.
Bullets heavier than 62 grains will function best with a slightly heavier buffer such as the H1 buffer and if you have the option of a full or burst fire selector on your rifle an even heavier H2 or H3 buffer will provide even more reliable function with heavier bullets fired in the auto or burst fire settings.
A FIXED A1/A2 stock using the fixed position rifle length extension tube on a 16" or shorter barrelled weapon will utilize the standard length RIFLE buffer and RIFLE length spring.

To make this easier to understand,,
If you normally shoot cartridges with bullets of 62 grains or less in a semi automatic only weapon, the standard weight, unmarked carbine length buffer and carbine length spring in collapsing stocks and standard weight rifle length buffer and rifle length spring in fixed A1/A2 style stocks will work just fine.HTH

 

[TonyAngel]

Lovesbeer, what is your ejection pattern like? If you're ejection pattern is at 1:00, then you have a lot of gas flow and a lot of bolt velocity. A 1:00 ejection pattern is NOT ideal. It may even be a sign that your rifle is overgassed. If you do have a 1:00 ejection pattern, then you can use a heavier buffer to slow down the velocity of the bolt when it's coming back to allow a bit more time to let some of the pressure to bleed off before the bolt unlocks. This is going to help your carbine to keep from beating itself to death.

If you have an ejection pattern somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00, I'd say it's perfect and not to mess with it.

If you have an ejection pattern that throws the brass behind you or behind your 180, you are experiencing what might be an undergassing probem or an overly heavy buffer.

You do NOT need to run a heavy recoil spring with a heavy buffer.

If you have a full length recoil system, don't monkey around with it. With a rifle length system, it either needs to be replaced or it doesn't. There's no reason to go swapping parts to make a rifle with a rifle length stock run smoother. I don't think it's possible.