Nope..not a competitive shooter...the low mass bcg idea was bright and shiny enough to grab my attention.
Low mass bcg
- Thread starter Jmac604
- Start date
Nope..not a competitive shooter...the low mass bcg idea was bright and shiny enough to grab my attention.
redshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Central Ontario
I must be getting old...I say keep it simple. It will likely work better and you'll save money.
This weird guy call "Newton" has a "second law of motion" which says different.
Acceleration is not the same as velocity squared.
Nicely put...and for those wondering about acceleration (sorry, couldn't resist...you're getting a math lesson today)...(the delta symbol represents change...so think V[SUB]1[/SUB]-V[SUB]0 [/SUB]divided by t[SUB]1[/SUB]-t[SUB]0[/SUB])
Putting all the fancy math aside; does it matter where the lowered mass comes from if you look at the reciprocating parts as a whole?
Assuming an adjustable gas block to properly tune the rifle, shouldn't removing the weights from the buffer give a similar effect as a low mass BCG, but at zero cost?
Assuming an adjustable gas block to properly tune the rifle, shouldn't removing the weights from the buffer give a similar effect as a low mass BCG, but at zero cost?
There are many ways to achieve a reduced recoil impulse.
A couple of things I have not seen discussed are gas port size and gas system length.
If you want a softer shooter choose a longer length gas system for the same length of barrel.
Some people will tell you that you will lose reliability and it may not function with weaker ammo but I have not found it to be the case with my 2 builds.
Some examples are:
Different barrel manufacturers have different gas port sizes. Research your purchases.
There are a couple of very large forums south of the border that are geared specifically towards the AR-15 rifle.
A couple of things I have not seen discussed are gas port size and gas system length.
If you want a softer shooter choose a longer length gas system for the same length of barrel.
Some people will tell you that you will lose reliability and it may not function with weaker ammo but I have not found it to be the case with my 2 builds.
Some examples are:
- A 14.5" barrel with a mid length gas system (carbine length is the norm)
- A 16" barrel with intermediate length gas system (carbine length is the norm)
- An 18" barrel with a rifle length gas system (mid length is the norm)
Different barrel manufacturers have different gas port sizes. Research your purchases.
There are a couple of very large forums south of the border that are geared specifically towards the AR-15 rifle.
Do you shoot competitively? I'm guessing not.
I do, and I don't give two ####s about low mass BCG's or ####ing mathematics, heavy BCG's have put down more bad guys than low mass BCG's. That's all the info I need. I'm not into the lightweight pink/yellow whiz-bang. I'm into the heavy stuff that gets #### done.
But hey, YMMV. I view guns as wepons first and foremost, everything else is secondary.
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Okey dokey.
i have the SA bcg that came with my STI as well as an LMT H2 buffer....I prefer it. I also run a Voodoo light weight BCG,...seems smart as my gun runs like it is full auto with excellent splits using a Miculek type comp.
I noticed that TUllammo feels slightly sluggish compared to hotter 55gr 223....hence I think the benefits of lighter BCG would be usefull using weaker ammo.
I noticed that TUllammo feels slightly sluggish compared to hotter 55gr 223....hence I think the benefits of lighter BCG would be usefull using weaker ammo.
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Jmac, please let us know what type of shooting you want to do or if you have a barrel length preference?
Do you already own an AR and want your rifle to shoot smoother or are you wanting to buy one and want to know what to buy and how to set it up to be a smooth shooter?
A heavy rifle with long barrel using a mid length to rifle length gas system and a properly balanced spring and buffer will shoot very smoothly, especially if you install a decent muzzle brake.
A lightweight rifle with a short barrel and a pistol length gas system is a hard rifle to balance a spring and buffer on and will usually shoot much more violently.
I've owned AR's from 6.5 inch all the way through to 20 inch barrels and I've found they can all be made to shoot well but the longer barrel with rifle length gas system is the easiest to make shoot smoothly.
My 6.5 inch was terrible when I first put it together and the bolt cycled so fast that it would reset the trigger so hard it hurt my trigger finger, a heavier buffer fixed it right up but it was still nowhere near as nice to shoot as my 12 inch rifle.
As for taming recoil, just like a precision rifle the heavier the rifle the less felt recoil. This can be helped or compensated for in a light rifle by using a quality muzzle brake but then that creates other issues. I had a Rainier Arms mini comp (single chamber brake) on my 14.5 inch AR then moved it to my 12 inch and it went from being loud to obnoxious and downright uncomfortable to shoot, the 223/5.56 is a high pressure cartridge that gives off a very sharp concussion blast if you direct it back towards the shooter or bystanders. After that experience I switched to using linear comps on most of my shorter rifles as it provides a very small amount of muzzle rise compensation but no recoil reduction and sends all that blast downrange away from me and those standing next to me.
I have found over the last couple years that a 12 inch barrel on an AR is about as short as I like to go and offers the best balance of smooth shooting and manageable muzzle blast.
I just built a 16 inch upper using a light weight barrel with a mid-length gas system, full auto BCG, standard carbine spring and buffer, and a 12 inch carbon fiber forend with a JP 2 chamber muzzle brake. The few shots I've taken with it so far have been very smooth and with the muzzle brake that far away it's loud but not obnoxious.
If you want a low mass carrier I suggest you buy a JP rifle that comes with it from factory, it's a specific setup that needs to be balanced properly to work well and be reliable and not really something a guy new to AR's is going to want to take on. Everything can be made to work if you throw enough money at it or you can just spend the bucks and buy one a manufacturer has done the R&D on and ships with everything you need.
As said before by other guys it's a solution to a problem that didn't exist in the first place and when it is used it is used for a specific application that typically doesn't involve going to the range with surplus ammo and blasting gongs at 50-100 yards.
Do you already own an AR and want your rifle to shoot smoother or are you wanting to buy one and want to know what to buy and how to set it up to be a smooth shooter?
A heavy rifle with long barrel using a mid length to rifle length gas system and a properly balanced spring and buffer will shoot very smoothly, especially if you install a decent muzzle brake.
A lightweight rifle with a short barrel and a pistol length gas system is a hard rifle to balance a spring and buffer on and will usually shoot much more violently.
I've owned AR's from 6.5 inch all the way through to 20 inch barrels and I've found they can all be made to shoot well but the longer barrel with rifle length gas system is the easiest to make shoot smoothly.
My 6.5 inch was terrible when I first put it together and the bolt cycled so fast that it would reset the trigger so hard it hurt my trigger finger, a heavier buffer fixed it right up but it was still nowhere near as nice to shoot as my 12 inch rifle.
As for taming recoil, just like a precision rifle the heavier the rifle the less felt recoil. This can be helped or compensated for in a light rifle by using a quality muzzle brake but then that creates other issues. I had a Rainier Arms mini comp (single chamber brake) on my 14.5 inch AR then moved it to my 12 inch and it went from being loud to obnoxious and downright uncomfortable to shoot, the 223/5.56 is a high pressure cartridge that gives off a very sharp concussion blast if you direct it back towards the shooter or bystanders. After that experience I switched to using linear comps on most of my shorter rifles as it provides a very small amount of muzzle rise compensation but no recoil reduction and sends all that blast downrange away from me and those standing next to me.
I have found over the last couple years that a 12 inch barrel on an AR is about as short as I like to go and offers the best balance of smooth shooting and manageable muzzle blast.
I just built a 16 inch upper using a light weight barrel with a mid-length gas system, full auto BCG, standard carbine spring and buffer, and a 12 inch carbon fiber forend with a JP 2 chamber muzzle brake. The few shots I've taken with it so far have been very smooth and with the muzzle brake that far away it's loud but not obnoxious.
If you want a low mass carrier I suggest you buy a JP rifle that comes with it from factory, it's a specific setup that needs to be balanced properly to work well and be reliable and not really something a guy new to AR's is going to want to take on. Everything can be made to work if you throw enough money at it or you can just spend the bucks and buy one a manufacturer has done the R&D on and ships with everything you need.
As said before by other guys it's a solution to a problem that didn't exist in the first place and when it is used it is used for a specific application that typically doesn't involve going to the range with surplus ammo and blasting gongs at 50-100 yards.
