Is there a recoil reduction system for the M4 5.56 platform?? With the spreading arthritis, I do not want to have to sell my M4s and buy 9mm carbines as the Sig MPX Carbine is.

Thanks for your help.

A good brake makes a significant difference, but also increases muzzle blast significantly. I enjoy shooting with my SilencerCo ASR brakes... with plugs and muffs

I'm sure there are cheaper and/or more effective brakes out there that don't serve as suppressor mounts. Other than that, hopefully someone else will chime in here. Good luck!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but other than one of those baffled muzzle breaks I don't know of any recoil reducing devices for the AR series of rifles. Maybe a different type of buffer

Is a Noveske Flaming PIG worthwhile or is the Silencerco the best way to go.???

A muzzle brake is the best recoil reducer, but they are annoyingly loud on an AR.

The best suppressors reduce recoil almost as well as a brake, with the added benefit of a much quieter gun.

Adding weight to the gun reduces felt recoil, but that may be counter productive to your arthritis.

There may be some recoil reducing stocks out there -- I don't know.

I don't feel that changing springs or buffers in itself noticeably changes recoil. However, tweaking your load to reduce its power, along with adjusting spring/buffer/BCG can noticeably reduce recoil -- this is what some 3-gun competitors do.

Take a look at the Vltor A5 system. It's touted as a recoil reduction system among other claimed benefits.

Both brakes and suppressors, as mentioned, are effective. My 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun is a lot more pleasant to shoot with a suppressor than without a muzzle device. 6.5 CM isn't an especially powerful round, but the rifle is pretty light. With a suppressor I can put hundreds of rounds downrange in one sitting without any trouble. Without the suppressor it starts to be unpleasant somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-50 rounds.

I have a couple of suppressors I use on ARs and other 5.56 guns and haven't noticed a huge difference but I've spent so much time behind shotguns and more powerful rifles that I don't really notice the 5.56 recoil to begin with.

One quick, easy, inexpensive option that might be worth trying is a good recoil pad.

This one just slips on to a standard M4 collapsible stock.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...cks-sorbothane-black

I haven't used one on an AR, but I had a Kick-Eez recoil pad put on the lightweight 12ga over-under I use for bird hunting and clay games and it made a huge difference.

Kick-Eez pads use a fancy material called Sorbothane that is almost magical in it's ability to absorb energy and damp vibration (it is used in a lot of other vibration-dampening and acoustic isolation applications). They are a LOT more effective than the ubiquitous old rubber butt pads.

I believe the Pachmayr Decelerator line is a similar product.

The other hot high-tech recoil thing I'm familiar with from the world of shotguns is mercury-filled recoil reducers mounted in the stock (I think they're basically a baffled tube filled with mercury, and the heavy mercury sloshing through the baffles absorbs a bunch of the recoil). They work surprisingly well on super-lightweight shotguns. There's bound to be a way to retrofit one to an AR. I'll look around and see if I can find anything.

EDIT: Searching around, I haven't found an AR-15 specific mercury recoil reducer system, but the things everyone uses in shotguns are just metal cylinders, I'm sure you could find a way to clamp one on somewhere or glue one into an A2 stock or something.

One thing my search turned up that I forgot about is the Enidine hydraulic buffer, which replaces the normal buffer in an AR-15. They've been around for a while and a lot of people swear by them for reducing recoil and muzzle flip.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...-ar-15-carbine-3-1-4

I'd say Maladat has probably given you the easiest answer. However, another option is a wearable recoil pad similar to what shot gun shooters use. Link. You use that pad with other guns as well as your AR.

If you don't mind my asking, where is the pain and how do you describe it. I've never though of a 5.56 as a particularly hard recoiling and I am worried that the issue could be due to grip shape or stock positioning and that it might not be directly related to the amount of recoil generated by the firearm.

if you are looking for a muzzle brake, check here...

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.c...le-brake-shootout-3/

Oh, also:

It is my understanding that overgassed AR-15s recoil more, and that most AR-15s are at least somewhat overgassed (because there is a lot of variation in ammunition and too much gas is still reliable while too little is not).

You may be able to reduce recoil at least somewhat by getting an adjustable gas block and adjusting it down to just enough gas to reliably cycle the action.

You have a few options, some of which are mentioned above (I am assuming that by "m4" you are not allowing for changing the length of your current gas system from carbine to mid, intermediate, or rifle length).

1) Change your buffer. I keep C, H1, H2, and H3s on hand just for experimentation. Gas system length matters, but sometimes you get a gas port that is over or underbored for what the gas length typically is. In that chase, it's good to have extra buffers lying around. The heavier the buffer, the less perceived recoil you will get. So if you are using an H1 now, move up to an H2 and see if the gun will still cycle with the ammunition you typically use. If it short-strokes, you're using too much buffer.

2) Suppressors--these are the best brakes because they dampen noise and muzzle movement. If you are in a non-NFA permissive state, a good brake may be your only choice.

3) Anything that makes the gun heavier including a suppressor or heavier bbl will reduce felt recoil. I know you said M4, but you want a heavier bbl, you could move up to a 20" upper which can also give you a longer gas system length.

4) Adjustable gas block. I list this one last because it can be the most troublesome of the three measures, particularly if your muzzle device is pinned and welded or silver soddered. But, with an adj gas block, you can reduce the amount of gas going back into the gun to the bare minimum to cycle the action. This will have a similar effect as adding a heavier buffer except that your controlling the amount of energy going into the gun rather than the counterweight that balances that energy--also, an adj gas block will allow for finer adjustments than are possible by simply switching between standard buffer weights.

I hear you Hal, I have Osteo and Rheumatoid going on and the first change I made was with the Benelli M1S90. It was just too brutal on my already enflamed shoulders. I found the low/managed recoil rounds functioned flawlessly and burned slow enough to make it more of a push on my shoulder rather than a punch. Everyone has already covered most of the issues I was going to mention. I traded my Scar16 for a B&T APC9 to have something nice and still fun to shoot. The brake on the Scar did a decent job helping with a little of the recoil. I have a M4 built for my daughter and want to help her shoot it for the first time this year. I've been thinking if it's too much for her still (she's 8), I may get a rifle length gas upper and rifle length buffer, tube, and spring because that will make its really soft. Might end up doing that anyway since I've been considering a mid to rifle length build. Have you thought about a 300 upper and a can? I haven't shot one yet but heard its softer shooting. I'd think about a 300 Blackout, a AAC muzzle break/can attachment, and a 30 cal AAC can maybe a SDN6. Just another thought.

May not have thought of this and maybe you don't want to go this direction but a 20" barrel rifle length upper is a total pussycat. Even more so with an hbar with out having to fiddle too much. The 20" is also more forgiving in regards to functioning with lighter loads and if you reload can tone the load down a bit to reduce recoil as well, usually well below a load that would choke a carbine

A good muzzle brake.

JP Low mass bolt carrier, paired with a low mass buffer.

Adjustable gas block, preferably on a rifle or mid length gas system.

I have this system and nothing else I have tried comes close.

If you are willing to jump thru NFA hoops, a silencer is more pleasant than a brake.

You could also get a pad - something like this:

https://ads.midwayusa.com/prod...vqwtMCFR2ewAodBQcPaA

I know where you are coming from.

I fired 75+ 12 gauge buckshot over the weekend and had some soreness / bruising.

-------------------------------

Just an observation from the AR's I have, my piston driven PWS MK1 has less recoil than my DI AR's. No doubt the ability to adjust the gun (much like an adjustable gas block) makes the difference.

I would start with a Limbsaver or Pachymer pad. It may be hard to fit to a M4 stock but a slip on style may at least give you an idea.

http://www.cabelas.com/product...d9p8GdA&gclsrc=aw.ds

At this time, I am not in a hurry. It is just that I would like to prep for the future and get going on my research for what will be a fix for the pain increase in my AC joint.

Thanks for the input so far. I have my work cut out for me for a while.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
Just an observation from the AR's I have, my piston driven PWS MK1 has less recoil than my DI AR's. No doubt the ability to adjust the gun (much like an adjustable gas block) makes the difference.

Agreed. My 10" Sig 516G2 w/ ASR brake feels about like a .22LR, but sounds as if the world is ending. Much better with the Omega on it.