Photo by Robb Allen
I was approached recently with an offer to T&E the Rate & Recoil Reducing Buffer from MGI Industries. I was happy to try one out because I don’t get a lot of trigger time behind the 6.8 SPC and MGI said it would work fine on my platform. Sadly, range time has not materialized, so I wanted to get this post up with at least my first impressions of the buffer and put up some data provided by MGI. When I hit the range, I will give another report on its performance as well.
From MGI’s release
The MGI Rate & Recoil Reducing Buffer for M4/M16/AR15 platforms is a simple, self-adjusting, drop-in unit that will reduce the rate of fire in your rifle with increased reliability. In fact, the MGI Buffer, which is completely mechanical (not hydraulic like other brands) will decrease the rate of fire and reduce recoil while increasing your accuracy potential! The MGI Buffer works in both carbines and full-length rifles. Testing has shown rate of fire reduction of over 300 rounds per minute. Muzzle climb is drastically reduced meaning more rounds on your target. The faster your cyclic rate is, the more reduction you will see. During our testing, an 11.5" M16 with a cyclic rate of nearly 1100 rounds per minute was tamed by our buffer to function at 754 rounds per minute. We also tested the unit in an M16 with a 20" barrel that was cycling at 771 rounds per minute. It dropped to 585 rounds per minute with this new rate reducer and almost completely eliminated muzzle rise, even under full automatic fire! The MGI Rate & Recoil Reducing Buffer was designed to work not only in the standard M4 / M16 / AR-15 platforms, but also with MGI's Modular Weapon System (Hydra). Because of the mechanical function of the buffer, it works very well with all of the AR calibers. The harder you push it, the harder it pushes back to counter the recoil.
The MGI Rate & Recoil Reducing Buffer for M4/M16/AR15 platforms is a simple, self-adjusting, drop-in unit that will reduce the rate of fire in your rifle with increased reliability. In fact, the MGI Buffer, which is completely mechanical (not hydraulic like other brands) will decrease the rate of fire and reduce recoil while increasing your accuracy potential! The MGI Buffer works in both carbines and full-length rifles.
Testing has shown rate of fire reduction of over 300 rounds per minute. Muzzle climb is drastically reduced meaning more rounds on your target. The faster your cyclic rate is, the more reduction you will see. During our testing, an 11.5" M16 with a cyclic rate of nearly 1100 rounds per minute was tamed by our buffer to function at 754 rounds per minute. We also tested the unit in an M16 with a 20" barrel that was cycling at 771 rounds per minute. It dropped to 585 rounds per minute with this new rate reducer and almost completely eliminated muzzle rise, even under full automatic fire!
The MGI Rate & Recoil Reducing Buffer was designed to work not only in the standard M4 / M16 / AR-15 platforms, but also with MGI's Modular Weapon System (Hydra). Because of the mechanical function of the buffer, it works very well with all of the AR calibers. The harder you push it, the harder it pushes back to counter the recoil.
The first thing I noticed about this buffer was its weight. Clocking in at 6.75oz, its over 2¼ times the weight of the old buffer I had in my Bison Armory 6.8 SPC.
The rear of the buffer also has some give, presumably to soften the rearward blow. Compared to most of the buffers I’ve had or used, it’s much more sturdy and doesn’t feel flimsy. I won’t be able to test the speed reduction qualities of the heavier buffer, but I will be able to report on any recoil reduction I might find, so as soon as I hit the range, I will give you all a full report.
Thanks to MGI for letting me test this for them.