Re: Buffer spring affect on accuracy???
Oneshot,
I'm not sure there is any way I can prove it to you. If you read my post carefully, I said 90% of the mechanical accuracy of a semi-auto happens when the rifle is in battery. But, one of the factors which does effect accuracy in a semi-auto is the consistent repeatability of the lockup and duration of lockup (keeping the bolt in battery longer), my personal opinion based on my personal experiences.
I have a big box full of springs which I had custom made, which run 20% under to 20% over in both stainless and chrome silicon. The reason we had these made was for an ammunition development project we were doing at the time for USASOC on the 5.56mm Optimized and several other ammo projects and we were working with many variables, such as gas port placement, barrel lengths, springs, buffers, suppressors, etc.
One of the goals was to slow the cyclic rate, keeping the bolt in battery longer to prevent early unlocking (timing) to minimize blowback through the chamber, which also caused issues with flash coming from the action which was an issue when wearing night visions, etc, (I cant discuss the other objectives)
While there was a goal of improved accuracy, it was intended to come solely from the improved ammunition and we had no expectation of any improvements from the other elements. However, we did notice that when we got the timing optimized, brass in a small pile between 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock, desired carrier velocity, dwell time, etc, that the accuracy also increased in almost all cases. (Note: The differnce was more pronounced in M4's with 7" gas sytems and 14.5 to 16" barrels tha rifle lenght 12"/20" systems)
The main benefit of the right, high quality, action/buffer spring in an AR/M4 has always been functional reliability, smoothness of operation, etc and that alone justifies the use of the best spring you can put in the gun and changing them when needed.
I now religiously follow the formulas we developed for gas port location relative to barrel length , carrier weight and spring type and weight on my own personal AR's and the difference is like a Rolex vs. a Timex in smoothness and reliability. Any accuracy improvement is a fringe benefit.
If you want to prove it to yourself you should take a consistently accurate AR with a new spring out to the range, shoot ten five shot groups (military test minimum) then put in a spring which has lost more than 10% of its effective rate measured at full compression and do the same set of ten five shot groups. Or, perhaps run one of the Tubb's Chrome Silicon against a worn out standard spring, which would give you the greatest variance. It would be an interesting test… And, I would be interested in the results.
You might also ping the Armorer’s at the AMU and ask them thier opinions. Last I checked they replaced the springs religiously.
Glad to hear you beat the cancer, keep up the fight!
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: oneshot onekill</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sorry to disappoint, but that's all still speculation. Nice story though.
Seriously... Are you listening to what you're saying? More slap-back makes the shooter feel more recoil and is thus less accurate??? Bwah-ha-ha! And as far as the bolt not being locked in exactly the same position affecting accuracy... PROVE IT!!! </div></div>