Tapping the brain trust here...

[alamo5000]

I am wondering if anyone knows of AR buffers that are shorter in OAL than standard ones? Ideally in a variety of weights as well.

Let me know if you know. Thanks.

[Stone]

For what application? The only one I know of is LWRC's https://www.lwrci.com/LWRCI-UCIW-Buffer_p_153.html AND https://www.lwrci.com/LWRCI-UCIW-Buf...ing_p_154.html AND https://www.lwrci.com/LWRCI-UCIW-Rec...ion_p_152.html As far as weight goes its easiest to just pop it open and swap them around yourself.

[alamo5000]

For what application?

I don't want to beat the new BCG like a dead horse but I want to test out one of its other features just to see if it makes a difference.

It has a shorter gas key than normal which allows it to travel farther back by around 1/4". It's supposed to delay bolt opening a little bit. If you run a regular buffer length it works like a normal one in that regard.

I looked all over last night until late and finally found something that could work. It's a 308 heavy carbine buffer.

A regular buffer is 3 1/4" long and the one I bought is 2 1/2" long. There is about an extra 1/2" but hopefully it doesn't matter.

Another thing complicating the search is my 6 ARC is really over gassed. I got my barrel custom made back when there was a big component shortage so I opted for a few features that contributed to the gassing of it. At the time it was a new round so I was kind of guessing a little bit.That said it runs really good now but it did take some time to tune so I don't want to totally start over.

Right now it has a H3 buffer that I weighed myself at 5.33oz. The one I bought is advertised as 5.6oz.

Long story but it's an experiment. If you are interested I will keep you posted in the results.

[BoilerUp]

Yeah, the short 308 buffers are all that comes to mind, but if it's too short you end up with the bolt hitting the lower receiver. I made this mistake when I used the 308 short buffer in an Armalite tube. I'd say you could shave a 1/4" off the plastic part of a standard buffer would be safer, or maybe bubba up a shortened buffer with a saw. But I think you are chasing something that you won't even notice, practically.

[alamo5000]

Yeah, the short 308 buffers are all that comes to mind, but if it's too short you end up with the bolt hitting the lower receiver. I made this mistake when I used the 308 short buffer in an Armalite tube. I'd say you could shave a 1/4" off the plastic part of a standard buffer would be safer, or maybe bubba up a shortened buffer with a saw. But I think you are chasing something that you won't even notice, practically.

I agree with you that it might be a very minimal difference if anything, but I did let curiosity win this one. It's a $50 test.

I did think about grinding off some of the rubber bumper on my buffer but I want to keep it like it is until I can prove otherwise, or that it's worth pursuing.

When you said hit the lower receiver I'm guessing you mean the gas key hit near the extension tube? Did it hurt or damage anything? That would be extremely helpful to know before I start messing stuff up.

In any case this new BCG is designed to allow that travel. The gas key is physically shorter than a standard one. I will try to post pictures below.

[alamo5000]

[Aragorn]

Taccom buffers are split into a front and back buffer. Also cheap. Might be easy to cut or shave the rear as it’s just polymer.

[alamo5000]

Taccom buffers are split into a front and back buffer. Also cheap. Might be easy to cut or shave the rear as it’s just polymer.

Got a link?

[alamo5000]

I got to thinking about it and I have some very heavy duty plastic sheets laying around. I think they are made of HDPE, which is pretty rugged stuff, at least for testing with.

I can use that to make some spacers. Put a spacer in the buffer tube then put the spring in afterwards. My sheets are .75" thick but it won't be any problem to get some 1/2" if needed.

None of that would be reciprocating but just taking up some space just in case over travel becomes an issue.

[Joelski]

That 1/4" of over travel could wind up costing you a lower receiver. I'd shorten a standard length buffer enough to use the stock bumper and make up the weight difference with tungsten slugs.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

[alamo5000]

That 1/4" of over travel could wind up costing you a lower receiver. I'd shorten a standard length buffer enough to use the stock bumper and make up the weight difference with tungsten slugs.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Tapatalk

I wasn't sure if I needed to post this thread but now I'm definitely glad I did. I would rather be safe than sorry.

I got a little bit of that HDPE sheet that is 1/2" thick that I will cut a small disc out with a drill press. It's kind of like delrin with chemical resistance and better impact strength. A solid piece of that in the buffer tube as a spacer should be good to go. It was only $9 shipped and it's enough for about 5 rifles.

If I busted a lower because I didn't get a sub $2 part I would have been pissed.

Again, this is just straight up experimentation. Whether I actually run that rifle like that forever is TBD. The cost is minimal to let me scratch my mental itch.

[BoilerUp]

Ah, now that I think about it, that was on a large frame where the forward part of the bolt carrier is larger than rear. I dinged up the edge of threads on a lower (for the extension) when I had the wrong buffer/tube combo, which is little more confusing on the large frames given the Armalite vs DPMS length buffer tubes. But, yes, in a small frame you might risk the key striking the lower. I'd have to play with it.

Another option is put on an A5 buffer tube / receiver extension, then use a trimmed-to-length plug in the extension. JP provides Delrin plugs with their Silent captured Spring system to accommodate certain scenarios:
https://jprifles.com/buy.php?item=JPSCS-SPACER
https://jprifles.com/buy.php?item=JPSCS2-SPACER-A5

[alamo5000]

I got my new buffer and spacer made. It was super easy to make BTW with just a drill press.

I didn't have a lot of time to shoot a lot but just a few rounds for function testing.

Immediate impression is that it shoots a lot softer. It wasn't bad before but it's a lot softer now. I inspected everything and there was no damage at all so I guess that's a win.

On the sound mitigation side of things, I'm still amazed at that BCG. I did 5 shots without any ear protection using full power ammo. Obviously it was overall louder because of the supersonic crack, but to the shooter it was actually about as comfortable as decent subsonic 300BLK. I've for sure shot some 300BLK subs that are way louder (IE Remington green box) to the shooter than my 6 ARC is now. This is talking only about at the shooter not overall sound. That Remington 300BLK ammo will ring your ears, but with my ammo and set up in my 6 ARC there was zero discomfort at all.

I will caveat that with my rifle that I am talking about is not 5.56 and it has a longer than average barrel for an AR.

On the flip side, I need to inspect my rifle a bit more for other random things going on. My 6 ARC ammo needs to be checked out as well.

I grabbed a random 6ARC mag and I guess I have a few rounds that were loaded a hair too long. There is a tiny little lip on the mag I used today. The tips of my ammo were getting hung up so maybe I need to seat them a little deeper. The mags are metal so there is a slight chance that something got bent a little bit.

Also it seems like I am having some sort of issues with my stock as well. It's the Magpul PRS Lite stock. It seems like the stock is interfering with the charging handle. There is almost no clearance there. I did notice that it had come loose so when I get a minute I will try to reinstall it and see if that helps. I might swap the charging handle out and see if that helps as well.

Overall the function is good. Not sure if the slightly heavier buffer (.4oz) or the delayed unlocking is helping more on the softer shooting aspect.

[Stone]

Glad to hear you didnt blow yourself up! A few of us were concerned... When you built it did you stake the castle nut? Just curious.

[alamo5000]

Glad to hear you didnt blow yourself up! A few of us were concerned... When you built it did you stake the castle nut? Just curious.

The castle nut is rock solid. If you look at the design of that particular stock it sleeves the entire length of the buffer tube to make essentially a fixed stock. There is a cross bolt that indexes off the position channel on the tube to hold it in place. That cross bolt is what came loose. I put some blue loctite on it this time so hopefully it stays put.

The top of it where the charging handle is at is just thick plastic. I can pull the charging handle back but there is less than 1mm of clearance. I examined things and swapping a charging handle won't help vs what I have now. It's just the design of it. About the only way to add clearance is to sand down that part of the stock.

I would consider swapping the stock to something else but the only criteria I hope to get is to have a good bag rider design. I like the way it looks with the Magpul PRS Lite but I'm willing to explore other options.