[hottarod]

Ignoring what my local gun smith told me, I decided to get a pack of Wilson Combat 1911 buffers anyway just to try. They are less than half the thickness of the Buffertech buffer which would not fit inside my gun.

I installed front and back ones last night and the gun seems to cycle just fine and without some of the bone jarring. I checked to make sure the bolt does completely close on the front one and it does. On ejecting the last round in the mag it locks back as well. The front one is very tight going over the gas tube but is fine once you push it down onto the stem. Of course, the acid test will be at the range but it is raining and near freezing here today. Hard to believe this is April. It feels more like January.

So, I have to wonder how long the front one will last considering the way the bolt slams forward.

 

[45K20E4]

Be sure to check you POI with the front buffer installed. I lost a good bit of accuracy. The bolt will close completely, but the op rod would be held off the bolt slight, allowing the bolt to come out of Battery prematurely.

 

[hottarod]

I wondered if the timing was that critical or not. I will test it out if I can ever get it back to the range.

 

[bobgengeskahn]

What series is your Mini? How thick are the 1911 buffers you got? I have been wanting to try this for a long time, but none of my local shops carry 1911 buffers, and I always forget when doing a bigger order online. I have some rubber sheet laying around (gasket material from ACE) I was debating cutting my own but I dont know the thickness or density I should be trying for, it might be too dense to even be worth it...

 

[jc43]

I got some of Wilson's 1911 buffers a few months ago, they measure 0.100-0.103" thickness. They are a pretty hard plastic, no way for me to measure how dense they are. Worked well in my mini 6.8.

 

[bobgengeskahn]

Thanks! I'll have to go pick up an x-acto on my way home before people panic buy all of them and give it a shot with the rubber I've got. Its a little thick, but I was mainly worried about the density. I guess I figured buffers would be more... "buffery"

 

[jc43]

Yeah! I was surprised at the density of these when they came. It's hard to make a dent in them with thumbnail pressure.

 

[hottarod]

I got the Wilson combat buffers. They come 6 in a pack for just a few dollars. I have an early 581 series mini 30. They are pretty thin but seem to be fairly tough. I am hoping that if they hold up in a 1911 they should hold up in the mini. From what I'm told they do still have a limited life. I'm not sure how many rounds that is.

 

[Pet-Rock]

Personally, I'd replace them after ~1000 rounds.

If you have a pack of 6 and are using just one on the rear (as I am) that means I don't have to buy another ~$7 pack until after 6,000 rounds.

Works for me!

 

[GAMEOVER]

Hey hottarod,

My Mini 14 (5817) did not like buffers after many attempts. I personally found that after 200 rounds they were fubar. The more the cycles they went through they just got harder and distorted. Many other here have much better success. Just shoot the hell out of it and find your Karma.

GO

 

[Fat_46]

So I'm a very new Mini 14 owner, and have been furiously Googling and reading, mostly on this forum. My question regarding the buffer is - "what does it really do?". I understand its uses on firearms who have a design such that all of the pressure is more or less equal on both sides of the bolt during the cycle, but on the Mini doesn't the extra mass of the oprod introduce unequal force during cycling on the right side?

I'm more than likely completely wrong(its OK - I'm married and am used to being wrong), but am I missing something in my analysis?

 

[hottarod]

Basically they are shock absorbers.

I would guess that the charging handle, recoil rod and spring, bolt and the blow back or operating rod(whatever its called) all balances out some how. Otherwise we would see very lopsided wear in the gun.

 

[GAMEOVER]

If I could find/make buffers out of leather I'm still going to try them at the rear of the op-rod. All the synthetic stuff I've tried doesn't retain their elastic properties or shape after 100-200 rounds.

 

[bobgengeskahn]

If I could find/make buffers out of leather I'm still going to try them at the rear of the op-rod. All the synthetic stuff I've tried doesn't retain their elastic properties or shape after 100-200 rounds.

I would think leather would dry out really fast in there, but let us know if it works! I have some of this laying around in various thicknesses that I might try to get in there.

PlumbCraft 1760-2533 Plumb Craft Waxman Group Rubber Sheet Packing General Plumbing Part - Fixture Universe

I just don't see the point in paying shipping on something that small unless I have a big order coming in.... but that wont happen again till ammo comes down lol

 

[curt mini14]

what the buffers will do is not throw brass as far save your scopes and make the mini a smoothe shooter.the rubber and leather would be ok on the rear but might get a little hot on the gas end.my mini is a 183 i run buffers on both ends with no issues what so ever.my buffs get changed when they look bad probably close to a 1000 rounds i never really kept track.when installed on the gas tube make sure the bolt closes all the way and the op rod should still be lose on the bolt not holding any tension good shooting.

 

[hottarod]

Agree on shipping. It is ridiculous what they charge for small items sometimes. I happened to have been ordering something else when I ordered my buffers so it all came in one little box. Thinking about it now, as cheap as these are, I should have ordered 4 or 5 packs of them. Rats.

 

[Hellgate]

As the front buffer gets flattened over time from the constant spring pressure, heat,& powder fouling does the POI change? i.e. anybody see a change in impact when changing out the front buffer?

 

[jeepster09]

Why wouldn't Ruger put them in if needed? Ruger tech says not to use them, I don't and have had no problems.

 

[Pet-Rock]

I equate it to having shocks/struts on your car.

Can the car work with rigid mounted tires? Yeah sure, but it beats on the chassis.

Can the Mini run without buffers? Yeah sure, but it beats on the receiver and the scope. So why not spend the measly ~$7 and save the receiver and the scope from a bit of the bashing?

 

[jeepster09]

I equate it to having shocks/struts on your car.

Can the car work with rigid mounted tires? Yeah sure, but it beats on the chassis.

Can the Mini run without buffers? Yeah sure, but it beats on the receiver and the scope. So why not spend the measly ~$7 and save the receiver and the scope from a bit of the bashing?

Yaaa.....but the cars come with shocks because the manufactureres know they need them. Wouldn't they come with a measly $7 buffer if actually needed? Some people OVERFIX stuff. My Trijicon scope has never had a problem. From all I have read on buffers, I think it can create more issues than it resolves?