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Posted: 1/5/2013 7:23:49 PM EDT
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Hey guys, I am in the process of building my first AR. The last part I still need to purchase is a buffer tube kit. The price / cost is not a factor in this discussion.
I've got a 16" carbine....and I would like to get the most effectiveness out of my buffer/recoil system. I've read that Vltors A5 buffer system is the best out there, because it utilizes a rifle length buffer. But I have also read alot of strange problems involved with the system, such as cycling problems with M16's, and having to swap steel weights for tungsten weights etc. Concerning questions I have.... Are all the A5 kits the same? Are some A5 kits intended for rifle length use and others for carbines? Also has anyone noticed recoil & cycling improvement when used with a 16" carbine? For anyone that has used the Vltor A5, which size buffer works best, and what adjustments did you have to make for a 16" carbine? And just to clear up any misconception, is it true that the buffers used in Vltors A5 are propeitary to the A5? |
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Quoted: Concerning questions I have.... Are all the A5 kits the same? Are some A5 kits intended for rifle length use and others for carbines? Yes For anyone that has used the Vltor A5, which size buffer works best, and what adjustments did you have to make for a 16" carbine? I used the 5.3oz buffer that came with the kit. And just to clear up any misconception, is it true that the buffers used in Vltors A5 are propeitary to the A5? Yes |
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Quoted:
I've read that Vltors A5 buffer system is the best out there, because it utilizes a rifle length buffer. That's not true, the A5 uses a rifle length buffer spring. The buffer and the buffer tube are proprietary, with each being between the length of carbine and rifle buffers and tubes. That said, the A5 looks pretty cool to me. I have a JP-SCS, which has to be used with either a carbine tube or a rifle tube, so I haven't tried the A5. I love the JP-SCS though, it's smoooooth and quiet; the only downside being that it doesn't work on auto. |
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The only time I've ever heard of someone NEEDING the A5 kit was trying to run a short AR (SBR, 10.5" barrel) that was way overgassed (huge gas port, much larger than normal). In semi unsuppressed it would run ok with an H2, full auto it wouldn't run more than a few rounds. Suppressing it made it about a billion times worse, per the thread. The solution for that particular thread was the A5, tungesten all around, a Springco Blue spring IIRC. Or...well, buying a barrel that didn't have a gas port hole the size of a golf ball.
Personally...I'd just make sure the gas port on your barrel is within Colt's specs (sorry, but they do have a spec for it, and their spec is pretty much The Spec To Follow for this), and if it's not an SBR you should be just fine with an H buffer for %99 of your ammo choices. If you're suppressing it, you might want to check out an H2 buffer but it may not be needed. It really depends on how your barrel is drilled, and what kind of ammo you're using. I've run Wolf through my 14.5" 6921 upper with a standard H buffer with zero problems, and have run M855 as well...it just works. Admittedly - I have not tried it suppressed, and I do not have an FA lower so this particular upper I haven't tried cyclic. (I had another upper that I was able to run on an FA lower at one time, and with an H buffer, both Wolf and M193, it ran like a sewing machine) If you want to buy the A5 kit cause it's cool, go for it  My point is that you probably really won't actually be needing it...a standard buffer, maybe an H, should do you just fine.
Edit - if you can't measure the gas port, no big deal. Take the gun out with a standard (or H) buffer and shoot it. You want to see how the gun ejects the spent casing, repeatedly. If the casing comes out anywhere between 3 o'clock and 4:30-5 o'clock, it's gassed/sprung correctly (and possibly oversprung, depending!). If casings are routinely bouncing off the Brunson Bump there (case deflector), you might want to lower the buffer weight a tad (if you're at an H2, go to an H; if you're at an H, go to a standard carbine buffer...or, well, live with it, as it'll run forever that way anyway) If it ejects anywhere ahead of 3 o'clock...the gun is overgassed; the bolt is passing the midpoint before it can spit the round out. You're not sprung for the gas. Either up your buffer weight (if you're at an H, try an H2, etc) or get a stronger spring and try again (see Sprinco for springs of this nature). The closer to 3 o'clock the better off you are. I'd worry less about cases that bounce off the deflector than cases that get spit out ahead of you. |
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