AR9 Hydraulic Piston--worth it?

[ReluctantDecoy]

Anyone have any experience using a hydraulic piston in their AR9? I would like to tame the recoil impulse a bit. Not that it's too much to shoot. Just that I'd like to get faster sight acquisition after each shot through a smoother impulse. But the Blitzkrieg and other hydraulic piston options aren't exactly a "buy it and find out" option at being north of a hundred dollars. Simple blowback is effective and reliable, but it is really unrefined feeling. Just a heavy mass of metal clunking through the cycle. I was also looking at potentially getting a radial delayed upper, but then you're talking about several hundreds of dollars to play that game. So I'll start with the buffer, if others say it is worth while. Conflicting info on other boards. Some swear by them. Some actually said recoil was sharper.

 

[SJan]

I have the Kynshot / Blitzkrieg buffers, I do like them.
I have posted about them here before, search for my other posts regarding 9 ARs.

Can't really answer you question, you simply have to try for yourself. The preferred recoil is quite subjective

To get the best recoil impulse for you, you need to invest and experiment with many things.
-the weight of the reciprocating assembly (bolt + buffer) anywhere from 16-24oz but +/- 20 is safest
-spring weight - at least try ar15 vs ar10 springs
-length of bolt travel -standard or short or somewhere in between
-muzzle device -lots of options
-bullet weight -115, 124, 147 or heavier
-powder -fast or slow? barely meet PF or go higher?

If you can't invest $100 in one of those pieces, just shoot it the way you have it. If you are using this thing for competition and you demand the best from it, you will need to suck it up and get to work on all the combinations.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

I have the Kynshot / Blitzkrieg buffers, I do like them.
I have posted about them here before, search for my other posts regarding 9 ARs.

Can't really answer you question, you simply have to try for yourself. The preferred recoil is quite subjective

To get the best recoil impulse for you, you need to invest and experiment with many things.
-the weight of the reciprocating assembly (bolt + buffer) anywhere from 16-24oz but +/- 20 is safest
-spring weight - at least try ar15 vs ar10 springs
-length of bolt travel -standard or short or somewhere in between
-muzzle device -lots of options
-bullet weight -115, 124, 147 or heavier
-powder -fast or slow? barely meet PF or go higher?

If you can't invest $100 in one of those pieces, just shoot it the way you have it. If you are using this thing for competition and you demand the best from it, you will need to suck it up and get to work on all the combinations.

Thanks for the feedback. My bolt and buffer are around 21.5 ounces and I have an AR10 spring already. Long stroke set up because I want to preserve LRBHO. Upper came with a linear comp. Essentially, I wanted this to be a modern MP5 replacement, but I'm realizing that direct blowback recoil impulse will never come close to roller delay.

Just shot it again this weekend, side by side with my MP5 clone. Again, it's nothing I can't handle, but feels so unrefined after shooting the clone. Maybe I'm looking for the impossible with direct blowback and will just have to suck it up and wait until I can afford an MPX.

 

[DW357]

Anyone have any experience using a hydraulic piston in their AR9? I would like to tame the recoil impulse a bit. Not that it's too much to shoot. Just that I'd like to get faster sight acquisition after each shot through a smoother impulse. But the Blitzkrieg and other hydraulic piston options aren't exactly a "buy it and find out" option at being north of a hundred dollars. Simple blowback is effective and reliable, but it is really unrefined feeling. Just a heavy mass of metal clunking through the cycle. I was also looking at potentially getting a radial delayed upper, but then you're talking about several hundreds of dollars to play that game. So I'll start with the buffer, if others say it is worth while. Conflicting info on other boards. Some swear by them. Some actually said recoil was sharper.

I’ve got a VERY lightly used (200ish rounds) Blitzkrieg hydraulic buffer I don’t need….I’ve sold off all my AR9 stuff.