Buffers and Springs

[Unobtanium]

You have feeding issues with Mil-Spec springs?

Yes, failure to chamber rounds. Multiple weapons, over half a decade of usage, finally figured it out. No more milspec action springs, no more issues.

[Leroy]

Yes, failure to chamber rounds. Multiple weapons, over half a decade of usage, finally figured it out. No more milspec action springs, no more issues.

I don't shoot a lot of AR. Is this an issue as the gun gets really dirty or is it more along the lines of shoot enough rounds and you will eventually have it happen? Does the mil-spec spring have a low round service life?

[Unobtanium]

I don't shoot a lot of AR. Is this an issue as the gun gets really dirty or is it more along the lines of shoot enough rounds and you will eventually have it happen? Does the mil-spec spring have a low round service life?

The guns weren't particularly dirty in one case, in another, it was a bit, but it had no issues on the recoil stroke, just clambering. All the issues were with charging the weapons or using the bolt release. Any grit in the mags or any issues, and it fails to strip a round.

[Leroy]

The guns weren't particularly dirty in one case, in another, it was a bit, but it had no issues on the recoil stroke, just clambering. All the issues were with charging the weapons or using the bolt release. Any grit in the mags or any issues, and it fails to strip a round.

Thanks for the info.

[ASH556]

I find regular carbine and rifle mil-spec springs unreliable in actual practice, and prefer the Sprinco Blue (carbine), or Sprinco Green (for A5/Rifle), and then I find the heaviest buffer that will run PMC .223 on a clean, well-lubed gun, just BARELY, and then back off 1 buffer weight.

Not trying to be combative, but do you know what brand "mil-spec" springs you had issues with? How many are we talking? It's just my experience that many "mil-spec" parts really aren't. Beyond that, I've never experienced what you're describing with "failure to chamber" due to spring weakness. Usually, increased recoil is a huge indicator, confirmed by measured short length, but the only time I've seen a gun fail to chamber where the mags, chamber, bolt, and gas system checked out otherwise good, was with a JP captured buffer that was adjusted too short. Swapped in an H buffer and the gun ran like a scalded dog.

[Unobtanium]

Not trying to be combative, but do you know what brand "mil-spec" springs you had issues with? How many are we talking? It's just my experience that many "mil-spec" parts really aren't. Beyond that, I've never experienced what you're describing with "failure to chamber" due to spring weakness. Usually, increased recoil is a huge indicator, confirmed by measured short length, but the only time I've seen a gun fail to chamber where the mags, chamber, bolt, and gas system checked out otherwise good, was with a JP captured buffer that was adjusted too short. Swapped in an H buffer and the gun ran like a scalded dog.

Vltor, Colt, Daniel Defense, Noveske, if I recall accurately. One of or all of, I'm not sure which, it's been a few years, but they weren't bubba's bargain basket grab alls.

Lengths measured mid to upper end of spec. Buffers were all H or heavier. Mags used were PMAG and L5AWM.

I've gone round and round with people on the internet about this, but in the real world it's an issue for me, and I've fixed it by using sprinco springs. The guns involved were factory noveske and a daniel defense with a5.

[JohnO]

Mike Pannone wrote an article on M4 reliability and it contains really good spring & buffer info.

http://www.defensereview.com/the-big...m4-unreliable/

[That Guy]

Hmm. I've had failures to feed with two stock 6920's using specific, brand new and right out of the package, Brownells magazines. I wonder if a heavier action spring might have shoved those rounds completely into the chamber? (All rounds fed and chambered just fine eventually, so it is not an ammunition problem. Changing to known good magazines, the guns have worked fine. And yes, within the U.S.A. the answer would be to trash the problematic magazines and get more Pmags. Due to various reasons related to my location such as magazine prices and availability, possible future legislation, I'd be interested to know if this drop in parts change recommended by some would make my unreliable magazines into reliable ones.)

Sprinco springs seem to be unavailable for non-U.S. buyers. Would something offered by Wolff Gunsprings be an equally recommended upgrade?

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[MSparks909]

Are the Brownells mags still giving you problems? I’ve got about 50 and have yet to have an issue with any of them. And they get rotated through fairly frequently. You can probably go with a Wolff XP Buffer Spring and have the same effect as a Sprinco Blue.

[That Guy]

Are the Brownells mags still giving you problems?

Yup. Got a batch of their tactical (that's what the product description said) magazines too, because discount and optimism (hey, it said "tactical" so it must be better, right? ). I've only managed to fill to capacity and empty four of those, and only once, but one gave me a bunch of failures to feed. (The three others were fine. Typically, if the magazine goes through 30 rounds once, it seems to be okay at least for training use.)

I might give that spring a try. I hate having only one type of magazine that I feel I can trust. (The local retail price of +$30 per Pmag doesn't help... I do buy my Pmags at discount too, but there are fewer opportunities to do so than with aluminium magazines.)

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