Just wondering because I've searched and can't come up with results. It seems like everyone is buying them and I'm just trying to figure out why and what great purpose they serve
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Just wondering because I've searched and can't come up with results. It seems like everyone is buying them and I'm just trying to figure out why and what great purpose they serve
Very informative threads! Think it would run ok on a 10.2" 300blk?
Depends on the buffer weight you choose.
99% of the time it's a solution looking for a problem.
99% of the time it's people who don't know why they are changing something or how to do it.
They also fail to read and take the advice of people who actually know what they are talking about and have thousands and thousands of rounds with a particular set up and have already done all the work.
I was fortunate to get some of the earliest A5s when they came out.
A number of my ARs have them.
I will say that for most of the AR market (which, let's face it, is 16" carbine or mids) they don't make
a dramatic difference in felt recoil.
For suppressed, SBR, or suppressed SBR applications, however, the A5 makes a BIG difference in reliability.
Unless you are the guy whom feels they need to purchase every new product that pops up on the market, save your money. Soldiers have been having success with mil spec stocks, springs and receiver extensions for decades. New products for the AR will keep popping up for sale and it's up to you to decide if you want to keep lining the pockets of retailers. Personally, I prefer to purchase additional quality ammunition for my ARs that already put rounds on target!
I really think it is a better mousetrap, but for most apps, a carbine setup works fine.
If they were more readily available and I was building a lower. An A5 would definitely be considered.
It's a vltor thing isn't it? Their single focus may as well be improving and perfecting the AR.
Did I miss something? Why all the booing of the A5 all of a sudden? I thought the general consensus was that they are beneficial for reducing recoil, eliminating bolt bounce (with the right buffer), improving reliability and contributing to more consistant cycling overall? Now were talking like Vltor is selling overpriced snake oil? Sure a carbine RE works, but so does an SKS... that doesnt mean there isnt a better design out there that works better.
I use the A5 buffer system because a single buffer weight and spring combination works across a wider variety of variables that affect function. I'm always swapping lowers and uppers, shooting suppressed and unsuppressed, shooting different ammo, etc. The A5 system just works for me no matter what. I even use my 9mm setup with the standard A5 buffer and have no issues at all.
Not needed? That's something that each user needs to decide for themselves. To me the A5 most definitely serves a purpose.
Can you use the A5 buffer without the M16 buffer tube and spring?
The a5 has its own buffer tube and uses the rifle spring. It uses no other tube but its own.
To expand on that a bit, the A5 buffer tube is 0.75" longer than the standard one. It has to be longer to accommodate the longer buffer. There is a specific A5 tube, but the AR10 tube will also work as its the same length. You just lose the first stock position hole IIRC (I'm using the AR10 tube on one of mine with a sopmod stock).
The A5 system was developed to address a reliability issue with the collapsible stock on the M16 Rifle - and yes, during independent testing involving many, many thousands of rounds and a controlled group of test weapons, the A5 system did improve reliability significantly.
The A5 helps a little with recoil management. It's not a big deal, but there's no reason not to put one on other than spending the money. For me, the difference is noticeable enough that it was worth the $135 I spent on it.
Because the carbine buffer system was well outside of the intended design envelope created by Stoner/Sullivan. The carbine RE, spring, and buffer was a red headed stepchild created by Colt in order to make a shorter, adjustable stock possible. If you know your history, you know that it took Colt about a decade of making this system before they could get it to function with any advertisable degree of "reliability".
It was a compromise then and it's still a compromise now. ;)
I don't own the A5, nor am I knocking it, but I have shot a carbine with one installed. I elected to go the Sprinco route instead. Not that the carbine platform was such an uncontrollable beast or had undesirable recoil to begin with, but the Sprinco springs, with the appropriate buffer weights, have practically had similar desired effects. As far as I could tell the recoil felt very similar, with the edge going to the A5. The enhanced buffer springs have made my carbines much smoother shooters and the system more optimized, at least for my needs. YMMV.
My understanding is that carbine length gas sytems benefit most from the A5, while the difference in performance is not as noticeable on mid-length systems. I have no experience with the A5, but based on my research, I feel my current set-up does warrant the upgrade.
I agree. If you're gonna stick with the carbine system, Springco's springs are top notch and very nearly mandatory IMHO.
Their 5-coil extractor springs are still my favorite and my go-to springs for my personal guns.
EDIT: I'll add that I've owned every single Springco Spring aside from the new .308-purposed "Orange"....and no combination of buffer weight or spring could achieve the same type of ultra-smooth recoil stroke as the A5 did in my BCM 14.5" middy. I also experimented with the Tubbs SSS CS flatwire spring, BCM spring, Brownells CS, etc. Every buffer weight from H->H3 and even one of Slash's SS body custom buffers also were tried.
I'm not saying that upgrading to the A5 is mandatory, but I spent a LOT of my own money only to discover that the A5 simply has no peer right now.
The A5 more closely emulates Stoner's original design with the AR15. That CANNOT be a bad thing. I have one lower with an A5H3. With this particular lower it has locked back on last round and functioned perfectly with:
1. My two uppers that are 14.5 middys (DD & BCM barrels). One with a BCM BCG. The other a LMT E-Carrier
2. A 10.5 DD barrel (BCG unknown) with a can and without
3. A Colt HBAR upper.
4. Another Middy 14.5 (BCM barrel/BCG).
5. A Troy 16" middy upper.
6. A DD 16" carbine length (BCM BCG) gas gun
7. A 10.5" crappy way over gassed barrel with a BCM BCG
8. A BCM upper that has a 16" middy barrel
9. Spikes 14.5" middy barrel with a WMD nickel boron BCG.
This goes without saying that the other lower with an A5H2 works just as well. It works and works very well (while making the action slightly smoother) over a wide spectrum of upper configurations. I doubt many other setups can boast this performance.
-Jax
I know right? It's such a small sin, I figured I'd be forgiven on the lines of economic practicality. FWIW, I've dropped a metric ass ton of money over the years, into these weapons and what we do here, so I figured I'd finally give frugality and practicality a shot...Next up, selling off weapons that rarely get shot.:fie:
I have read through all of the threads related to this piece of kit and am still trying to figure out which spring (Springco or factory) and buffer combination is recommended for a suppressed/unsuppressed 14.7 in upper with a carbine length gas system. What say ye?
I'd consider adding one on a future project. Right now my SR-15 will reliably eat anything I feed it, and since it's a perfectly tuned rifle out of the box I want to ensure it stays that way. God forbid there come a day when I can't pick and choose the type of ammo it gets fed, and I'm left with no other choice but to use whatever I can find, whether it be cheap Russian steel case stuff or whatever. I've learned that adding an A5 will make the SR-15 a more finicky eater. I don't want finicky. I need reliability. No need to fix what ain't broke just for a marginal gain in recoil management. And I really don't have the time nor energy to find the perfect spring/buffer/ammo combo to make the A5 work right on my gun. However, I'm very interested in trying it out on a future build down the road. I'm sure it's everything folks make it out to be.
To expand on this a bit more, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnrVJT4UU10
Well done T&E on the A5.
Intro-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njaLucvpEV0
Test-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7IoX...layer_embedded
Alright, so I'm in the process of building up a new lower from parts. I thinking of setting it up with the A5 system. The upper it will be dedicated to is my 16" Noveske LW Mid length SS barrel, WMD Guns auto carrier, BattleComp. What would the recommended buffer set-up be?
I also remember reading somewhere that you can run the iMod stock on the A5 instead of the longer EMod? I might have dreamt it but is there a specific A5 buffer tube designed to work specifically with the shorter iMod.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
If you're building a lower, no reason not to use an A5. Noveske mid length gas systems are designed to work well with rifle buffers, and indeed my 16-inch Light Recce has worked great with a standard A5 over 5000 rounds, two carbine courses.
There's only one A5 buffer tube. It works fine with any stock, but the tube itself is slightly longer than a standard carbine tube so a standard-length stock is slightly too short to close fully. On my A5, I just used the regular iMod that I already had. Only difference is a slightly larger gap between stock and endplate in the fully-collapsed position. The VLTOR tubes have position numbers on them which show through a little window on VLTOR stocks. Nice little touch.
For those who say that their AR is reliable enough without an A5 RE, Im not sure how you would notice an increase in reliability unless you had a problematic gun in the first place or are constantly running your gun in extreme conditions.
I believe there is a SME on here who ran a HK 416 10.3" suppressed upper on both the stock RE and buffer combination as well as an A5 and found that lowered the cyclic rate and decreased the number of malfunctions in full auto use.
It is also proven that the A5 does increase controllability no matter how small the increase maybe. Its probably safe to say that most shooters are not yet at the level where the small reduction in recoil is enough to show a significant decrease in split times but can be a god send for those who do, especially if they do not wish to use an obnoxious muzzle device to lessen recoil.
1. "A standard-length stock is too short to close fully."
2. Not shooting suppressed. I don't know of real uppers that would have cyclic rate issues running H or H2 and AFAIK most guns have the gas ports tuned from the shop for those.
3. You're paying over $40 for a buffer, although they do have a few more pieces.