ar-15, recoil, buffer, .50-beowulfI am planning on building a AR15 carbine (16” barrel) chambered in .50 Beowulf. I am pretty sure I have every thing nailed down except for the Buffer and Buffer Spring. This is what Alexander Arms posted on the subject:
It is essential that the buffer and spring is also changed at the same time and both guns should be fitted with a carbine type stainless steel or chrome-silicon steel spring. This spring is both shorter but is slightly different pitch with more pre compression. The buffer should be the carbine type which is externally identical to the rifle buffer but shorter. Some people chose to fit heavier buffers to slightly reduce the felt recoil, these being either the H1 type which has a mix of steel and tungsten weights or the H2 type which has all tungsten weights, but the function of the gun must be checked to ensure that it is cycling fully. The heavy buffers designed for 9mm guns should not be used.
I would like to reduce the recoil as much as possible however, I am not as concerned with recoil as much as I am with reliable cycling and durability. I was considering a mechanical style buffer by MGI.
Any suggestions on selecting a buffer and spring to maximize reliability?
The only real way to know is to take what is recommended, evaluate any malfunctions you may experience with these parts, and make adjustments to your system based on your findings.
Everything I have read about .50 Beowulf dictates that a standard rifle buffer and buffer tube are designed to function properly. Additionally, Alexander Arms themselves have said in a carbine system should use carbine-system parts.
I would take this to mean that any parts that make a carbine run properly will make the .50 Beowulf carbine run properly.
Like any carbine system, the ammo you use as well as various aspects of your rifle (gas system length, gas port size, etc.) may have small-but-significant effects on your rifle’s functioning.
One buffer system that has increased reliability of carbine systems is the VLTOR A5 buffer system (I have seen it used with great effect on carbines as short as 11.5” Colt 6933s, and will be installing it on both of mine). You can get it as a system or as a buffer tube and spring and buffer separately to reuse your own stock. Another benefit of this system is that it softens the recoil impulse and smooths the feeding of the rifle. This system has multiple available buffer weights, similar to the regular carbine and rifle systems, so tuning any issues you have with it is certainly possible.
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