are shok buffs worth installing on a 1911? do they do any good?

I have them installed on my 1911's. Are they necessary? Do they actually work? I honestly don't know, but there seems to be no down side to them and they might help. I have had them installed on my "competition" Colt Series 70 and used it for about 15 years of competition. I also installed a 22 lb recoil spring. The gun is mechanically as good as when I bought it new, although the finish has suffered a bit!

The only complaint I have heard is that if they fail the pieces can jam up the works, so maybe not the best for a carry gun. I had one on my Officer's and it left zero clearance on the fully retracted slide, which made it hard to lock the slide open manually, so I removed it.
C.G.B.

some years back i had a star PD. that particular gun needed them, outside of that i think they are quire unnecessary, but can some peace of mind

I have found that they will help if you shoot loads that are too hot for the standard recoil spring. But only to the point that they are beaten into little pieces. If your loads and spring are matched, they should not be necessary.

Of course, they also don't hurt anything, so they may provide a little peace of mind.

Jeremy

I think they are junk. Admittedly, they've made Bill Wilson a ton of money (and that is something good, I think).

The biggest problem with them is that they shorten the stroke cycle. JMB made that cycle the length he did on purpose. Sure, many times, in many guns, you can shorten the cycle up 3/16th of a inch and get away with it. Many times, you cannot, and reliability does suffer.

More importantly, I believe they don't actually do what they are supposed to do, save the frame from a beating. Sure, it'll soften the slide moving all the way back, but it still has to go all the way back into battery, and the shock buff does nothing for it. This is particularly interesting in that there is less meat to beat on going forward than back, so you'd think the forward motion would benefit from it more than the rear ward motion.

And, if someone says that it helps control recoil... well, the mighty 45ACP isn't exactly tough to handle, so if a shock buff is what it takes for you to comfortably shoot one, you're probably a wimp. Good thing you have a gun.

I've always used them on 10mm guns but never on a 45.

If your 1911 needs a buffer there is something wrong with the way it is built. That said, I sure wish I'd invented it as there must tens of thousands of them sold.

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
If your 1911 needs a buffer there is something wrong with the way it is built. That said, I sure wish I'd invented it as there must tens of thousands of them sold.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by Stokes:

And, if someone says that it helps control recoil... well, the mighty 45ACP isn't exactly tough to handle, so if a shock buff is what it takes for you to comfortably shoot one, you're probably a wimp. Good thing you have a gun.

My H&K USP 45 likes that comment.

Any barrier that will help prevent impact damage brought on by metal to metal contact, whether it's a film of lubricant or a plastic buffer, as long as it doesn't interfere with the operation of the weapon then I have no problem with it. I use one on my M1A spring guide to prevent the op rod from beating itself senseless on the receiver. One of my most used shop hammers has a shok buff type end on it just to prevent such damage. If it's suitable on a hammer that is used to beat fine firearms with, then it ought to be good enough for use with an autoloader.

I would avoid it on any carry gun. They do deteriorate and can cause malfunctions .
The Star PD mentioned above required changing the buffer every 500 rounds ! Otherwise it came apart and the gun would be damaged. When the gun was introduced the manual never mentioned this nor did the company mention it in any way !!!

Some auto loading designs include buffers: Remington model 11/Browning Auto 5, Marlin model 60, etc. But those were designed with them and without them they will beat themselves to pieces. Browning did not design the 1911 with a buffer, and there is no use to it in a 1911, but Americans buy what they want.

I've tried them on several 1911s and find that they really serve no purpose if you will change your recoil spring frequently and use a spring that is of the proper weight. The Star PD was designed to use them to protect the alloy frame and yes it beats them to death. I change the one on my PD every 250 rds., having stocked up on them when I could. That said, it is a carry a lot, shoot seldom gun. A buffer on one 1911 would not let me do a slide rack, I had to use the slide release to release the slide on a full magazine. That is when I quit using buffers on 1911s. John Moses didn't include them nor FLGRs and his design has lasted 100 years as a standard.

I've used them and prefer not to use them.