AR-15 Greased Buffer
- Thread starter Whitman31
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Fatelvis
Member
It works great. Just dont use too much, or it will migrate forward into the action, and make a mess.
DoubleTapDrew
Member
It's not a true AR without the SPROING!!!
I might have to try that next time I take one apart.
I might have to try that next time I take one apart.
jakeswensonmt
Member
My Stag came with the buffer spring covered in white grease, and I left it that way. It doesn't go sproing or twang.
i have heard many people say NEVAR use grease back there and the reason isn't that it migrates forward (that's silly, as i've already put grease in the action on purpose) but that it may lead to stopping up the hole in the rear of the buffer tube, which could lead to two different flavors of malfunctions.
i go ahead and put grease in my match guns, fwiw, but not others.
i go ahead and put grease in my match guns, fwiw, but not others.
I'm still new to AR's, wasn't aware of a hole in the buffer tube... Purpose?
I greased mine some time ago, was told to use synthetic grease as it's viscosity change isn't as great as conventional grease, a concern here in Minnesota.
I greased mine some time ago, was told to use synthetic grease as it's viscosity change isn't as great as conventional grease, a concern here in Minnesota.
jakeswensonmt
Member
So what do you do, just CLP it?
yea, i think it acts as a pressure relief vent, if the "twang" really bothers you install a pneumatic buffer, i apply a light coat of lithium grease to mine,mostly to reduce friction but i can still hear a little bit of the spring noise
this manual http://www.ar15.com/content/manuals/TM9-1005-319-10.pdf (page 31)
and this one http://www.ar15.com/content/manuals/TM9-1005-319-23.pdf (page 59) indicate light use of lube inside the tube. CLP is frequently mentioned, and grease is not. however, i suppose the flavor of the month oil (slip2000/mgl/etc) would do fine.
but personally, i put a tiny bit of of LSA on the spring. i'd go so far as to say i run it dry.
edit: the hole is referred to as a "drain hole" in those manuals, but i still suspect it's related to air movement
and this one http://www.ar15.com/content/manuals/TM9-1005-319-23.pdf (page 59) indicate light use of lube inside the tube. CLP is frequently mentioned, and grease is not. however, i suppose the flavor of the month oil (slip2000/mgl/etc) would do fine.
but personally, i put a tiny bit of of LSA on the spring. i'd go so far as to say i run it dry.
edit: the hole is referred to as a "drain hole" in those manuals, but i still suspect it's related to air movement
I put a light film of lithium grease or Tetra Gun Grease on the action spring with and acid brush and a light film on the inside of the extension tube using a 20 guage wool mop.
Works great for cutting down in the sproing sound.
I don't see any reason for gooping a huge quantity of grease into the buffer tube.
Works great for cutting down in the sproing sound.
I don't see any reason for gooping a huge quantity of grease into the buffer tube.
Float Pilot
Member
The drain hole is a military use item.
After crossing a river, swamp, or pond, think of what would happen if the buffer tube was full of water and you fired the darn thing.
God made pipe cleaners the right size to keep it clean. It is a field inspection point after your troops have been putting the butts down into the mud.
During real field use you would be amazed how much grit manages to get in there, grease then makes the grit (tiny sand particles most of the time) stick to the walls of the tube and the spring coils. We would let them lightly oil and then wipe it down with a piece of tee-shirt, or use spray silicone lightly. Heavy grease was worth lots of push-ups.
In my other life, most of the squad car M-16s had greased up springs since they spend all of their time cased up in the trunk of a patrol car.
After crossing a river, swamp, or pond, think of what would happen if the buffer tube was full of water and you fired the darn thing.
God made pipe cleaners the right size to keep it clean. It is a field inspection point after your troops have been putting the butts down into the mud.
During real field use you would be amazed how much grit manages to get in there, grease then makes the grit (tiny sand particles most of the time) stick to the walls of the tube and the spring coils. We would let them lightly oil and then wipe it down with a piece of tee-shirt, or use spray silicone lightly. Heavy grease was worth lots of push-ups.
In my other life, most of the squad car M-16s had greased up springs since they spend all of their time cased up in the trunk of a patrol car.
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Er, how does compressing a gas create a vacuum?
I use a tiny dab of lithium grease to coat 1 or 2 turns of the spring at the front end and 1 or 2 turns at the middle then work the bolt back and forth a few time to spread a light coating in the buffer tube along the travel of the spring.
ThomasT
Member
Never mind. I think i misunderstood the question.
Titan6
member
Keep in mind that anything that you do with the buffer to make it run smoother will likely adjust the weapon's cyclic rate of fire and speed it up a bit. If that is what you want it could be a good thing.
w/o the hole, it would compress the air as the buffer and BCG moved into the tube (pushing air around it) and then as the spring shoved the buffer/BCG forward, it would suck the air back in. i'm just speculating that w/o the hole, the system would run a little slower. i wonder if there's a way to test that... i'll try taping the hole up next time i go shoot and see what happens.
Float Pilot
Member
The water drain hole, often gets packed with mud during field use. They still function just fine. Full auto or semi. While the cyclic rate may have been changed, it does not seem any different from what you would expect from a hot dirty weapon.
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