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Best buffer and buffer spring for ar15

Have I finally made it in the Cool Kids Club???

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The CliffsNotes version:

The USMC knew that the M4 carbines were not as reliable as the M16A4 rifles. They wanted to see what they could do to increase the reliability of the M4 series.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, they decided to see what was already commercially available on the market. They procured a wide selection of “enhanced” buffer systems, to include the Vltor A5, Geissele, silent captured systems, etc. They ran them through a battery of tests, and as the control they used the M16A4 rifle.

Not only did the Vltor A5 buffer system beat all the other carbine buffer systems, it was found to be more reliable than the M16A4 rifle buffer system.

There is a lot more going on in a buffer system than folks realize. There is a reason that the buffer weights inside the buffer are loose and rattley. Vltor took that a step further and added a small spring inside there, as well.

The Vltor A5 is a reliability improvement for the 5.56 AR platform. In that platform, it is an upgrade over the standard carbine buffer system, regardless of brand name. Companies like SOLGW offer the Vltor A5 system as an upgrade on their carbines. Mike Mihalski is a big fan of it.

I will take reliable over “smooth recoiling” any day, but the Vltor A5 system also smooths out the recoil impulse and makes your AR softer shooting. That is an unintended byproduct, and not what Vltor was focusing on.
Vltor is the way
 
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