By now most of us have accepted that pistol-caliber carbines are loads of fun. They cost less to shoot, don’t require a “rifle” range, and the report is much more bearable for on-lookers. Toss a can on it and some subsonic ammunition and it gets even quieter. One drawback however is the blow-back operating system. While blow-backs are generally incredibly reliable and simple to maintain they do have one drawback; recoil.
I know it may seem silly to think about recoil being an issue with a 9mm carbine, but the fact remains that blow-back operation requires a heavy bolt. As that reciprocating mass does its thing the shooter is tasked with keeping it stable. This is not recoil that leaves your shoulder bruised, but it is the kind of recoil that can knock you off target. The majority of the perceived recoil comes from the bolt and buffer slamming back and forth. If the goal is to lay down some lead quickly and effectively isn’t it more effective to stay on target?
This was the inspiration behind a search for a better mouse trap. There are all kinds of different buffers for 5.56mm and .308 rifles, but what about 9mm? Sure the existing trap works fine, but there’s always room for improvement. After trying a few other options that either didn’t fit or cost too much to be worth it I came across Blitzkrieg Component and their AKTIVE Buffer. Click the link if you want the what and how. For those of you wondering if it works we’ll let you judge for yourself with the video below as we test this buffer and spring combination in our FX-9.
So what are your thoughts? Blitzkrieg Components offers several other solutions for the 9mm pistol-caliber carbine. Is this improvement worth it to you? Would you like to see us experiment more?
Photos by author
