[johnbmwe34]

what particular brand do you use and how do you like it?

[Snowdog]

Nope.
I don't see the need.

[Soap]

Nay. Shock buffers are for people who are borderline obsessive complusive ;) Kidding aside, a gun can handle a ton of rounds before any adverse effects start happening. A VERY conservative estimate is that a 1911 can go about 40K rounds before problems occur. More likely twice that.

[Sean Smith]

CP Tuff Buffs. They don't fray prematurely like the Wilson's.

[Marko Kloos]

All my pistols have them. They're called recoil springs.

[Missouri Mule]

Range gun ....yes.

Denfense gun...NO!

[10-Ring]

I used the Wilsons on my 1911 for less than 1000 rounds. No longer see the need (for any of my guns!

[Sisco]

I bought some for my Kimber, can't 'slingshot' the slide closed with it installed. Other than that I can't tell any difference since installing it. I'll probably take it out next cleaning.

[George Hill]

No.
Gimicky Crap.

They can only cause problems. If your gun is hammering it's seld too hard... Call Wolff Springs and get a stronger one.

[Ebbtide]

I use one in my "range gun" (a 1911 that also doubles as my house gun) and have not had any problems. I run all kinds of loads thru it and I think it does safeguard against some hotter loads. Plus, I have swapped out springs to the point that I don't know what's in there. I figure it cant hurt as long as the gun keeps running, and at a few pennies each, what do you have to loose.

I too would caution against them in a carry postol. Just one more thing to go wrong and gum up the works, literally. For that reason I change mine and the first sign of wear. When I run out of my current supply I doubt I will get more. I'll run another 1000 without one and see if there is any noticable wear, but that may take a few years.

But who really knows?

Now, what do you all think about the FLGR
:D

ehenz

edited to add: I think some gun designs may need them more that others. Don't ask me which ones.

[stans]

I used them in my IPSC limited 10 1911 and in my Delta Elite, but I would not use them in a defensive pistol. My preferred buffer is the CP Tuff Buff.

[cool45auto]

Don't see the need.

[harrydog]

"A VERY conservative estimate is that a 1911 can go about 40K rounds before problems occur. More likely twice that."



That's not comforting for someone who shoots that much in a couple of years.

[aircarver]

Impacting plastic much better than impacting metal. Use in lotsa shots range gun. Don't use in 'defense' gun at all. End of story.

[Soap]

Harry- Are you primarily a competition shooter or a defensive one? For comp shooters, I say, put whatever you want on your gun and use it until it falls apart. For defensive minded shooters, shoot it until it isn't reliable any more and then replace it. Shooting over 800 rounds per week is a lot though!

[isaidme]

I will use them only in my delta elite

[Chris Rhines]

I'm actually trying one out right now (hey, I got it for free, and figured WTH?) So far I've had no problems with it, but ask me again in a few thousand rounds.

- Chris

[Jeeper]

Yep

Only in my race gun. Otherwise you will beat your gun to pieces.

[JohnKSa]

Use them at the range. They cost very little and, the fact that they wear out is proof that they are doing their job. The force that they absorb and which eventually wears them out would have otherwise been absorbed by the components of the firearm. 40,000 rounds may sound like a lot, but if you can make your gun last twice as long for the cost of a few bucks, then why wouldn't you? The day may come that laws may change and the guns you have are all you will ever be allowed to own--I think buffers will be a lot more popular if that ever happens.

There's absolutely NO reason to use them for self-defense. They MAY make your pistol less reliable, and besides, no one wears out a pistol in a lifetime of self-defense situations. Not even Jim Cirillo.

[firestar]

From what I understand, the shock buffers cost about $10 a piece and they last about 1K rounds. If you shoot 80K rounds through your gun and change the shock buffer every 1K like you are supposed to, that will cost you $800! I can see doing it in a high dollar race gun but in a regular gun that probably only cost $800, I don't see the point. Just shoot your gun until it falls apart and save the $800 you would have spent on shock buffers.

If shock buffers were free, I would use them in all my range guns because they help to soften recoil and reduce the metal on metal damage. It just that people are charging $10 for something that should cost $0.25.:banghead:

[firestar]

I wonder if any ranges that rent guns have ever done an experiment to see if shock buffers really do reduce wear on pistols? They could put them in half the guns and leave the other half without them and just wait a few years to compile the data. I wonder what parts in particular would be less likely to break if you had a shock buffer?

[LiquidTension]

I put one in my old SKS and one in my FAL. I sold the SKS and haven't been able to shoot the FAL enough to be able to tell if they work. I don't put them in any of my pistols though.

[caz223]

I would recommend shok-buffs on 10mm 1911 pattern guns, limited edition guns like delta elites, razorbacks, and other expensive guns that are likely to hammer, no matter what springs you put in them*.
Only on "play" guns, not defensive guns.

[harrydog]

Quote:
"Harry- Are you primarily a competition shooter or a defensive one? For comp shooters, I say, put whatever you want on your gun and use it until it falls apart. For defensive minded shooters, shoot it until it isn't reliable any more and then replace it. Shooting over 800 rounds per week is a lot though!"


I only average between 6,000 to 8,000 per year.
But I know of competion shooters who will shoot 1,000 rounds per weekend!
I've never had a shok-buff cause a malfunction and I've never had one break apart on me. I change them every 500 rounds, but I've had them last 1,000 rounds and even then they were not in bad shape.
So, based on my experience, in my guns, I feel perfectly comfortable with a shok-buff in my defensive/carry weapon.
If they easily last for at least 500 rounds, I feel confident that they will hold up for the very few rounds that are fired in a defensive situation.
If I had a gun that tended to chew them up quickly, as some people do, or if they ever caused my gun to malfunction, they would definitely not be used for anything other than range use.

[JoeHatley]

I use Wilson's blue buffs in all my full size 1911's. Officer's size go with out...

Joe

[Drakejake]

Buffers are considered necessary for the Star PD .45, a quasi-1911. I have already had to replace one which was banged up at the bottom (away from the barrel).

Drakejake

[dude]

yet another fine example of the P7's superiority is the gas dampening system making such things as buffers a non-issue

[Ebbtide]

From what I understand, the shock buffers cost about $10

Just for clarification for those who are reading about these for the first time, there are some that cost more than ten bucks (usually for rifles).

The ones for my 1911 cost less than a $1.00, thus cutting the $800.00 figure to just $80.00.

I never tried the ones made for auto rifles (cost prohibative).

[caz223]

A package of wilson shok-buffs for 1911's is less than $6 at almost anyplace that carries them.
There are 6 per package, making thm less than $1.00 each, in small quanitites.
I'd imagine they are less in larger quantities.

[Sean Smith]

It may be worth pointing out that there are pistolsmiths (that don't sell them, BTW) that recommend using good quality buffs in your gun. I'd GUESS they know more than your typical 'net "expert" whose knee-jerk reaction is that they are junk. I only started using them once I was shooting 10mm 1911s, they make the guns feel a little nicer to shoot and have had zero negative impact on reliability.

I had a friend literally shoot one to destruction (it took about 5,000+ rounds), and it had no effect on reliability, either.

[tiberius]

I use Wilson's in my Colt's Government Model.

No, I don't really know that they help, but they have proven completely reliable.

[NEtracker]

I was using one from Buffer Tech, and it seemed fine on the range, but when I went to take the slide off, the buffer caused the slide to jam up. I almost couldn't get the slide off the frame, so I dumped that buffer! I just use a heavier spring now.

[Mike Irwin]

Defensive gun no way.

Otherwise, whatever floats your boat.