shok buffs

[calvary45]

I recently bought some wilson shok buffs for my gun, have not got to try them yet but recently at a local match i watched a les bear FTF on 3 stages. Later i talked to him come to find that his shok buff came in two, he uses clp which has a cleaner in it and had quite a few founds on it. Anybody have any comments on these are they worth using them or just a waste of meney

[ParaGunner]

A quick search will help,this topic has been covered tons of times. I use Classic pistol shock buffs.

[calvary45]

thanks for the advice i found alot of topics for them right after i posted(go figure)

[Chris Keen]

I like Shok buffs in my LTD & OPEN guns. I use CP shok buffs, but I check them everytime I clean the gun. You cant leave them in for months without checking the status to make sure it isnt falling apart (like your friends). I've actually noticed LESS wear and tear on the buff in my OPEN gun vs. the ones in my LTD guns. Go figure. Seems as violent as open guns are they would tear up a shok buff faster, especially with only an 8 lbs. recoil spring.

Also I do not like Breakfree's CLP. I prefer FP-10 for gun oil. Or just plain old Mobil 1 synthetic.

[oak hill]

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

[Erik S.]

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

Except a match when yours breaks in 2.

I'm not saying I'm for or against them, but if they're so good, I want to know why all the Wilson Combats, Les Baers, and STI's dont come with them already installed.......just sayin.

[PeterMor]

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

Except a match when yours breaks in 2.

I'm not saying I'm for or against them, but if they're so good, I want to know why all the Wilson Combats, Les Baers, and STI's dont come with them already installed.......just sayin.

When was the last time you changed it before it broke in two in your match? Like any other part in your pistol you will need to inspect it for wear and change it periodically.

[calvary45]

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

I watched a les bear go down at the last match all because the wilson buff split in two, Im going to try them only to see if there is a noticable difference in recoil

[wmspdi]

I tried the the Wilsons in two of my 1911s but removed them due to short cycling. They were just thick enough to keep the slide from moving all the way to the rear and pushing the slide stop down out of the notch when reloading from slide lock (using the slingshot method).

[Merlin Orr]

Used to be a continuing debate on which and what and how many.... Very seldom see anything regarding shock buffs anymore.

I actually can't think of a single person I shoot with who uses one.

I think the heyday of shock buffs has long since passed. People have figured out that a well tuned and properly sprung gun along with a good grip and technique pretty well took away the (perceived) advantage of using them. ... If in fact there ever was a real advantage to using them...

Just my .02.

[Mike21STI]

This is another one of those preference questions. you will find that some people swear by them and state that they protect your gun but you'll also hear horror stories on how they screwed up a stage. I personally don't use them anymore just because I didn't see a need for an additional thing to worry about when making my gun run.

[Erik S.]

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

Except a match when yours breaks in 2.

I'm not saying I'm for or against them, but if they're so good, I want to know why all the Wilson Combats, Les Baers, and STI's dont come with them already installed.......just sayin.

When was the last time you changed it before it broke in two in your match? Like any other part in your pistol you will need to inspect it for wear and change it periodically.

Never....I don't use them. But here are a few examples within this thread alone.

I recently bought some wilson shok buffs for my gun, have not got to try them yet but recently at a local match i watched a les bear FTF on 3 stages. Later i talked to him come to find that his shok buff came in two, he uses clp which has a cleaner in it and had quite a few founds on it. Anybody have any comments on these are they worth using them or just a waste of meney

Some like them, and some don't. You just have to try them to see for yourself. They are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

I watched a les bear go down at the last match all because the wilson buff split in two, Im going to try them only to see if there is a noticable difference in recoil

[Corey]

I've heard of a lot of people using them with success. Change them regularly and it seems to be ok.

On the flip side, co-worker was having problems with his 1911 last summer. Told him to take out the buff and see what happened. Ran like a champ and he hasn't gone back to one. I don't think I'll ever try them.

[Rob Tompkins]

IMHO, a solution looking for a problem.

No one I know of has ever shown any documented evidence of reduced felt recoil or increased gun life, but I'm open minded and ready to see evidence.

However, they are a high maintenance part (needs to be replaced often to prevent failure), are well known to cause problems (short stroking most noted) , and whose failure can be catastrophic in a match. I've tried them and found them lacking in value. The cost/risk is not worth the non-benifit for me.

As previously stated, a properly sprung gun is reliable and long lived.

[bbbean]

The smith who built my primary 1911 and 2011 is apparently a believer in shock buffs, as each of the guns came with one. However, after jamming my 1911 up hard on a shredded buff, I left it out, and haven't noticed an issue in the past 8-10K rounds. As a general rule, I figure my smith knows more than I'll ever forget about building guns, but I disagree with him on this particular issue.

[Rob Tompkins]

What I’d like to see is someone put a 1911 45ACP in a machine rest, put some accelerometers on the slide and shoot it 100 times with and without a shock buffs and see if there is any real difference in the impulse curve. If the machine rest could be instrumented to see the potential difference in “felt recoil” that would be good as well.

I have never seen such data nor even heard reference to it. Anyone heard of such data?

[larry cazes]

Lots of us do use them. They need to be maintained like any other part of the gun or they may fail. As to them causing short stroking, there are just about no drop in parts on a 1911 and a buff is not an exception. The function of the gun and a parts influence on it should be understood. As you can see from the archives, this one borders on religion.

[Seth]

I can ABSOLUTELY feel the difference in recoil with a polymer buff. Plain as day, but it just makes it feel... spongy.

With that said, I don't run one in either of my 2 Tripp 2011s --- both sporting 10# recoil springs.

[calishootr]

for me its not about softening up any 'felt' recoil, been there, done that, with sections of mycarta stuffed in there, im usin em to extend the life of my frame from being beaten up excessively...i know, the shok-buff debate is about as long as 9mm vs. .45.... if ya use em, like any other part inthe gun, check em for wear, change em before a 'big' match, if anything, for piece of mind than anything else

[hitman]

Been testing some Dawson Aluma Buff Shock Buffs

Much better than the polymer so far.

[twodownzero]

I like the feel, but won't risk the reliability problems, so I don't run them.

I don't shoot matches to practice clearing jams. I shoot matches to learn to shoot faster and more accurately.

As such, I don't add parts to my guns that diminish reliability, even if I'm not going to win the competition one way or the other.

Edited March 1, 2011 by twodownzero

[Erik S.]

See the thread on "what do you do to your gun after a match?" .... doesn't sound like many people are checking their buffs after a match or other shooting session. BUT, those could be replies only from those who don't run them.

Plain and simple (for me), my gun just doesn't kick all that much, even running 168-170 PF and don't see the need that slight edge that a buff would give me for recoil reduction. But then I'm not a great shooter either who could really benefit from that extra edge.

[Seth]

Not so long ago they were a tuning tool. Clearly by the fact that gm's are still running them and winning matches they have a place.

I think this is a personal preference not an absolute. For me I don't care for them.

[Chris Keen]

I can ABSOLUTELY feel the difference in recoil with a polymer buff. Plain as day, but it just makes it feel... spongy.

With that said, I don't run one in either of my 2 Tripp 2011s --- both sporting 10# recoil springs.

I have no quantifiable way to say that they make a difference or not, except through feel. And I too can ABSOLUTELY feel the difference in recoil with vs. without. Plain as day, but I would label it "soft", as opposed to "spongy". I've gone to the range to practice, and with all the collective voices of the nay-sayers in my head tried shooting the gun without the shok-buff installed, and couldn't get 100 rounds downrange before I decided to put the buff back in. I just like the soft feel of the slide hitting the polymer instead of hitting the hard steel frame.

So I run one in my 2 LTD 2011's, and also in my 2011 open gun. My gunsmith is who turned me on to them, and I've been using them now for well over 4 years, and in all 3 of my guns I have not had 1 single problem with potential reliability issues. I HAVE seen them become frayed, damaged, and appear as if they were getting ready to come apart or break into 2 pieces, but when I see that (while cleaning & oiling the gun from the previous match or practice) I then throw that buff away, and replace it with a new one. Total cost of about $1.00.

[Seth]

See?