NEW RECOIL REDUCERS

[GLSHOOTER]

After a long wait the recoil reducer showed up at the front door. Of course so did the rain. A little history and where it stands today. About two years ago I was sent a prototype recoil reducer system from Black Hole. I shot them in a standard stock and a carbine form, they are different, and was pleased to find they did in fact reduce recoil by around 25-30%. Installation was a bit tough but not that hard.

As Black Hole moved they turned the project over to Andy who was their office manager. Like many thing life got in the way and it was back burnered a bit. Andy got together with some people and started reworking the system. He needed to make it a bit more interchangeable since all tubes are not created equal. The company Andy is running is Shooting Innovations, SHOOTING INNOVATIONS They are handling Black Hole goods and starting to branch out in to other areas..

As I mentioned the package came in the other evening with a carbine recoil reducer set up. It comes assembled and has an extra light weight spring if you run into that underpowered ammo or want to be a hot rocks 3Gun guy with light bullets and fast loads. Directions are straight forward and easy to follow including how to swap out to the light weight set up.

I grabbed a couple collapsible stock lowers and sat down for my Lego experience. I found it was easy to install and having chatted with Andy I pulled the buffer retainer and spring. He said it would run a bit better that way though it can be left in place., The only difference is you have to push the front in slightly as you close the upper. Spring pressure is very light so it isn't like you have to be Arnold to accomplish the task.

Here's what I got.




Assembly took almost two minutes and this is what I have set up.



If you go to Andy's website they have an explanation on the physics/dynamics of the reducer. The design is innovative in that it does more than act as a as silent spring capture rig as the weights work in concert to decrease the recoil.

I will be shooting this on Friday and I will report back. Since the prototypes worked so well I don't anticipate any issues or decrease in performance. The weather here is weird and it has been raining off on and on the past few weeks keeping my shooting spot damp and muddy.

Greg

[GLSHOOTER]

I took the new system out for a shakedown run yesterday Two identical collapsible lowers were used. One with standard buffer/spring and one with the reducer installed. These were under a standard CAR 556 upper. Nothing fancy just box stock.

I fired single shots along three and five round strings. I would shoot several rounds and then swap the lowers. I was using a fixed aiming point observing how the recoil moved the rifle and me. Barrel location was referenced against a selected point on the back stop. Obviously this is a subjective assessment as no tools were used. My experience in shooting and familiarity with the platform were what I went on. Shot grouping on the target was very tight and predictable.

I found that muzzle movement in the longer shot strings was definitely less and that recoil feeling was definitely softer in the push. The sharpness went away. I found that shot to shot recovery shooting at speed was improved by a notable amount. I estimate that I was receiving a perceived decrease of about 25% with the reducer in place. Function of the rifle was 100% with no noted change in ejection patterns as to direction and distance.

Now realistically one can say that a 556/223 doesn't have much recoil and that is correct. That being said a decrease of recoil is a plus if you have smaller statured shooter that may well be a beginner ala our kids or wife. (Yes even some husbands in the crowd might benefit) In 3Gun splits on shots that are shorter pay off in Gold. I plan on running this in my new 3Gun build. Working in concert with a well designed muzzle break it can only help me in my final scoring. I do know that several PD's in the western US have tried the prototype out and with the finished product available I predict some purchase orders will be written very shortly.

With the advent of bigger and bigger cartridges in the AR market, like the Bushmaster, SOCOM and Phantom, a reduced recoil system might well be in order. My SOCOM weighs less than seven pounds so you can bet when I get a full size version of this where it will be housed.

One hundred rounds fired and one hundred perfect repetitions with less wear and tear on this shooter today has me convinced. I would recommend trying one of these out. Andy and his associates have done very well on this one. I can't wait to see their next offerings.

Greg

[shootinginnovations]

Thanks Greg, I really am excited for this project as it does work great. I did try one in a Beowolf the other day and it worked awesome. If anyone has any questions let me know.