AR15 Buffer Good from the bad?

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • shadowmun43

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 20, 2011
    23
    1
    I guess my question is why in the world would a gun company put a gold in color buffer soft aluminum in a new gun? I shot 126 rounds and it chewed up the edge about a 1/4" in diameter and pretty deep too, I see some buffers have an H stamped in the middle what is a good one to buy for a semi auto? and the buffer spring is black should I change that as well? thanks and look forward to your guy's advice.:dunno:
     

    LEaSH

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    Aug 10, 2009
    5,802
    119
    Indianapolis
    Something is not right and it probably isn't the quality of the buffer. You can get a brand new one of premium quality and it will end up damaged also.

    If you can post a picture it would give the experts here a better idea - I'm no AR expert by the way.

    I'd check to make sure the spring loaded retainer/pin that mounts vertically (in the rear of lower) is intact.

    I don't think the buffer would travel beyond it a whole 1/4" but close.

    When you separate the upper and lower does the buffer stay in the tube?
     

    shadowmun43

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 20, 2011
    23
    1
    The 1/4" is the ware on the rim of the circle not in depth, The retainer chewed up the edge pretty bad like the buffer was made of soft materal,and yes I'll be posting some pictures soon learning how to do it on this site,thanks for your input
     

    jblomenberg16

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    67   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    9,920
    63
    Southern Indiana
    As an FYI, the "H" stamp in the middle refers to the weight of the buffer. H = Heavy, which is heavier than the standard Carbine Buffer. H2 is even heavier.

    The heavier the buffer, the more energy it absorbs from the recoil, and it will also reduce cyclic rate if you are firing in full auto or burst (if your gun is of course properly eqiupped and licensed).
     

    03A3

    Expert
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 8, 2009
    1,459
    38
    Shaker Prairie
    Without having seen the gun this does sound like the rear of the carrier eating away at the buffer.
    Over on the Weapon Evolution a guy called Quib did a pictorial writeup on how to stone the rear of a carrier to stop this from happening.

    A lot of AR's are overgassed, plus many of them have just a CAR buffer and a lot of times a semi auto carrier too. That's not an ideal combination.
     

    shadowmun43

    Plinker
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    May 20, 2011
    23
    1
    Buffer retainer post

    The buffer retainer nipple that holds the buffer back is what is chewing up the rim of the buffer face, I tried to post the pictures but can't get them from the albulm to here. I was wondering if the buffer spring was the problem or over pressure from the bolt ( how to fix?) or could it be from the ammo?The spring is black and not the standered silver. any input or help would be great guy's. thanks Tim :ar15::dunno:
     

    Jtgarner

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    46   0   0
    Oct 5, 2010
    1,994
    2
    Bloomington
    Here you go
    picture.php
     

    Cwood

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    May 30, 2008
    5,323
    38
    NE Ohio
    I was going to say that either the spring is weak or you need a heavier buffer.
     
    Last edited:

    jblomenberg16

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    67   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    9,920
    63
    Southern Indiana
    Thinking about the physics involved here...does the buffer actually hit the retainer during normal cycling of the bolt, or does it remain in contact with the back of the bolt carrier? I was thinking the detent was only there to retain the buffer and spring once the upper was removed.
     

    Cwood

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    May 30, 2008
    5,323
    38
    NE Ohio
    Thinking about the physics involved here...does the buffer actually hit the retainer during normal cycling of the bolt, or does it remain in contact with the back of the bolt carrier? I was thinking the detent was only there to retain the buffer and spring once the upper was removed.

    I would venture to say after looking at my rifle that remains in contact with the BC.
     

    jblomenberg16

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    67   0   0
    Mar 13, 2008
    9,920
    63
    Southern Indiana
    So, from what I was thinking and what Cwood and Mammynun have confirmed, the buffer shouldn't be hitting the detent during normal operation. So, like Mvician said in an earlier post, it is probably from a burr on the back of the bolt carrier itself.

    Got a picture of that?
     

    LEaSH

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    Aug 10, 2009
    5,802
    119
    Indianapolis
    Except that the carrier doesn't really match the diameter of the outside edge of the buffer.

    Out of spec bolt carrier (too short)? Can improper headspacing cause the bcg to overtravel forward?
     

    grizman

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Apr 24, 2010
    571
    16
    Home
    From the OP's prev postings I would venture to say this buffer is from the Rocky Point AR he was asking about earlier. From what I can find the RPG AR is a kit gun. Being that the damaged portion of the buffer is on the outer edge and appears to be at a bevel/angle not a indent type cut it is not most likely a burr on the carrier. A burr pronounced enough to cut that bad in 126 rounds should be obvious to the naked eye. We need to see pics of the rifle, back of the carrier and with the buffer reinstalled in the same position it was removed.

    If you feel it is a burr on the carrier, pull it out tape a piece of notebook paper on a flat surface set the rear of the carrier on and twist it with light downward pressure, if it has a burr it will tear the paper.
     

    mvician

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    2,773
    38
    NW Indiana
    Found this thread on a Rocky Point Guns (RPG) with the same problems........

    Rpg ar15


    been lurking a while, but do have info on this item.

    I purchased one of these at the GSO show a few months ago....
    it was on special for 550 with 2 magazines and sling.

    You are correct, you will need a rear iron sight as a minimum.

    Overall fit/finish and appearance is good.. no real issues.
    I did see some examples on table missing the front sling swivel and some had stainless steel triggers and some had black triggers.

    It is an Rguns lower and a tapco 6 position stock... commercial tube.
    The upper has the broken A forge mark, I can find no marking on barrel or BCG.

    Bolt carrier is not a FA but the firing pin is shrouded. The key has received a better staking job as it had a straight chisel type staking... actually it 'will' receive a better staking job but has yet to move.

    I have about 500 rounds so far.

    Issues?

    The buffer retainer seems out of location, the retainer was marking the front of the buffer.

    The bolt catch was not reliable with holding open bolt after last round... it appeared to be too far towards the rear of the receiver, not catching the magazine follower, sometimes slipping past it to the rear. This would occur even hand cycling empty magazines i had here, older 30 round with black followers and 20 round colt with metal followers.

    I did bring all issues up with Chuck and of course he offered to make me happy. I did not want to go through the paperwork of exchanging the serialized lower...and he is about 3 hours travel from me.


    What I did... I modified the buffer by turning a .830 x .080 wide step on the face of the buffer. This allowed it to rest on the rear of the BCG and not the retainer. I had seen where someone else modified a buffer for the same situation.

    The bolt catch.. First I changed out followers in GI magazines with updated anti-tilt followers... Some of my 20round Colt magazines seemed to be more reliable with this situation... some improvements but still not reliable. I happened to see a a posting on AR15 with a very similar situation. I followed that procedure and installed a modified 9mm bolt catch in addition to replacing all followers with anti-tilt designs. It seems now 100% reliable on bolt hold open.

    another 'issue' i have not quite figured out is when the bolt catch is engaged to the bolt, holding it back, the charging handle seems to bind somewhere. I have tried a second handle and found where it was rubbing, and have seen some improvements, but still perplexing... it only seems to bind with the bolt catch engaged.

    I did this to not go through the paperwork and logistics of replacing the lower... My choice... as I mentioned, Chuck would do what i wanted to make things right.

    At about the 400 round count... I experienced a ruptured primer situation. the rifle double fed and when i went to clear it found the still chambered round with the hole where the primer used to be.
    I took it down and checked some things, and tried again... 'poof'... a second one ... same type of malfunction.

    I then disassembled the bolt and removed some 'crap' from it and tried again.... this time it was a bit more violent... blew out the bottom of a camengenta 30 round magazine, spilling the rounds to the ground and took 30 minutes to find the magazine spring.

    the ejector spring was now a trapezoid instead of a cylindrical spring... there were bits of primer material throughout the bolt cavities.

    I then took it to have headspace checked... it was fine... but...
    what had occurred was the firing pin hole either had been too large to begin with, or the bolt had failed in that area causing the firing pin hole to enlarge to about 1/8 inch. This allowed the primer to extrude into the hole around the firing pin, piercing it. I policed the spent rounds where i could and found extruded primers, but of course non pierced.

    The bolt was sent to Chuck, and the bolt was replaced with a new one free of charge. He offered at that time to replace the rifle completely.

    I did also purchase a completely different bolt elsewhere as a backup and a test piece.

    After this, I have only about 100 flawless rounds thru the rifle so far, and all looks good.

    I did upgrade the extractor spring in this new bolt and am trying a heavier buffer...

    ejection is about 3 o'clock where it was throwing forward before (the extractor spring seemed to make more difference than the buffer)

    Chuck will stand behind the rifle... as proven with my situation, and I am appreciative.

    this is a range toy or plinker and not a life or death tool for me... I am going to run it, wring it out, etc

    we'll see how it does... it was stated as having lifetime warranty... and I have bought other things from him over the past 20 years.


    27671d1303441430t-rpg-ar15-buffer001.jpg



    if it was a burr on the carrier it would leave marks like this

    imagesqtbnANd9GcTOogcIcVvDhv9z7k7iN9OSFD_R36CdI75Ao0TuB9VPlACCa_wX.jpg



    So as they talked about in that thread, it sounds to me that the retainer location hole is not in the correct position, it is sitting too far back allowing the buffer to slam into it instead of hitting the back of the carrier like it is supposed to.

    With the retainer in the correct position, the rear of the carrier (where the slot is) goes over the top of the retainer.
     

    mvician

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    May 19, 2008
    2,773
    38
    NW Indiana
    Here is another.........different brand lower


    Above - Close up showing the damaged caused by the buffer retainer impacting the buffer with each shot. Notice that the receiver extension is screwed in properly. If the hole was a bit farther forward the buffer would slightly more forward and would ride with the carrier as it cycles forward and backwards. The buffer should be slightly forward of flush with the receiver in this position.

    Hesse_Buffer_Close_Up.gif
     
    Top Bottom