so, I am starting to get the hang of my rifle, and I really like it, but I still have a couple of questions. Well 3 really.
1.) charging handles. what is better about aftermarket, more expensive, big named ones over a decent quality stock one? besides the bling factor?
2.) buffer springs and buffers themselves. I get that a stronger or longer spring can absorb more energy, but beyond that, whats the difference between the different springs out there? Keeping the lengths out of it(IE, rifle length, mid length, carbine length). And the buffers themselves. I see different alphanumerics on some of them(h2 etc). is this a mass thing? or is there different stuff in them?
3.) muzzle devices. whats the deal with the linear ones? how does pushing the excess gasses forward help? wouldn't that make the recoil worse? Yes, quieter to the shooter, but its only .223. And what roughly $100 brake/suppressors are the best for low recoil and having no other problems? I have a decent quality A2 flash suppressor on it and I don't see anything wrong with it, but I would like to explore my options. the AR15 is a lego set after all,
In many way, aftermarket exists because it gives companies something to sell. But to answer your question.
1: Mainly larger latch portion, allows in theory for easier finding grip on the charging handle (or easier to get snagged on your kit). Technically they are easier to hit when doing a charge by swiping the handle with your pinkie side of the palm of your hand (to be very basic) rather than the traditional two finger overhand grasp on both sides of the latch. Some people like them, some people don't. Some buy them... to buy something.
2: Basically there are two types of action springs, carbine length springs to fit the collapsable stock length and rifle length springs to fit the fixed rifle length stock. There are different quality springs though. I will try and not sell you a spring. Good springs, from a actual milspec provider will last longer and have correct tension and materials to the military product. Cheaper ones (or sometimes not cheaper to the customer, but from non-military spec providers, asian parts for prime example) may not provide optimum lifespan or tension and may be more susceptible to corrosion.
To the buffers, the bolt, bolt carrier and buffer move together as one reciprocating mass. The real differences in mass come from adding or subtracting the amount of tungsten inside the buffer. The real reason for the heavier buffers is to reduce the speed of the operation, in order to reduce cyclic rate of fire on full auto firearms. In the semi-auto world, a properly built (ie, properly sized gas port) should be able to run with any of the buffers. Some people (including me) like to match the buffer to the ammunition to allow for a more comfortable cycling. For example, lighter powered ammo does well with the standard (called Carbine) buffer, on up to high powered (sometimes overpressure) ammunition, which with a lighter buffer will impart a 'crack' of a recoil vs a more comfortable 'push' of a recoil with a heavier buffer. Light pressure ammunition combined with too heavy a buffer may cause short stroking, where the amount of gas doesn't give the increased reciprocating mass enough velocity to reliably cycle the bolt back enough to eject the empty brass and strip a new cartridge from the mag and into the chamber. It is not a bad idea to have a couple of different weight buffers in your inventory. Heavy buffers do help in very short barrels, as the gas port is larger to allow for the short dwell time between the bullet passing the gas port and then exiting the barrel. Too fast of an action can see the cartridge not released from the chamber prior to extraction and instead of ejecting the cartridge the extractor may rip the brass lip, or may just ride over the lip, leaving the fired casing in the chamber. This is also where heavier extractor springs/ viton o-rings come into play, to provide more grip for the extractor.
3: I see what you are saying but, there is a chamber in the linear compensator before the beginning of the port channels, that act as the brake (pulling the rifle forward) however the gas (and noise) is then vented forward rather than out towards the sides. Cost doesn't necessarily mean more 'brake', the best recoil absorbing brake I have experienced is the basic Stag Arms brake, which is a Miculek type design, less than $40. There are more expensive brakes available, including from Stag Arms (the 3G brake at about $100), but if we are talking recoil reduction alone, the Miculek brake works VERY well.
I mentioned cost. Cost doesn't always mean better quality or better performance in the AR world. It may mean better, but it may also mean that more money is expended by a company to market their product. It may also mean that the company whose brand is laser etched on something is further down the food chain from the company that actually cut that part from the original chunk of steel or aluminum. More money may be expended paying a 'name' shooter or internet forum owner to tell everyone how fantastic a part is. Or, having already spent lots on the previous point, cost may equal what a company feel the market will bear. Sometimes high cost simply put on to convince customers that a part IS better, by nature of it costing more. Lots of variables on cost/quality/necessity of any part.
Good luck with your rifle.
Regards,
Walter
