AR 15 build kits can represent a great way to save time and effort and potentially even money when you want to build a rifle from scratch. They can also help you circumvent shortages that prevent you from getting a rifle with the specifications you want.
That being said, most AR 15 build kits come with plain, typically standard parts that are run-of-the-mill for lack of a better term.
So, for instance, if you want to build a rifle that produces very little felt recoil, you’re going to need to go beyond what comes with a typical AR 15 build kit.
Here are 4 ways you can build a rifle that produces less recoil during that process.
Lighter BCGs
Let’s start with one of the lesser upgrades, which is a lightweight bolt carrier group, also known as a BCG.
The BCG is the heart of the rifle, the AR part that contains the firing pin, extractor and ejection, and which serves as the critical action component that effectively runs the gun.
However, it is also a part that moves during firing, which means it is reciprocating mass, not static mass. And reciprocating mass, unlike static mass, increases recoil rather than mitigating it.
So, there are lightweight bolt carrier groups you can get that reduce reciprocating mass, lowering the forces of felt recoil when all other factors are held constant.
It just so happens that there are some other benefits associated with upgrading to a lightweight BCG. One of the biggest of these is that the action will likely cycle faster and more fluidly than would be the case with a heavier BCG, even one with an advanced coating or finish.
Heavier Buffer Weights
One of the easiest ways to cut felt recoil without making any other adjustments to the gun is to increase the buffer weight.
The buffer weight is basically static mass housed in the buffer tube system that arrests the rearward progress of the bolt carrier group. If you make both this and the immediately prior upgrade, you will be combining two factors that will reduce recoil both by lowering the mass of the BCG while simultaneously increasing the mass of the buffer weights.
Together, these can make a marked impact on the force of felt recoil.
Heavier Barrels
Unless your goal is to build a very lightweight, very compact rifle, which absolutely could be the case here, one way to reduce the recoil the overall platform generates is to invest in a heavier barrel. This will benefit you in other ways as well but the main impact here, for our purposes, is that you will increase static mass and therefore you will decrease felt recoil.
The easiest way to increase barrel mass is simply to buy a longer barrel, which will potentially offer some other added benefits as well; for instance, it’ll have a longer sight radius, which will be more forgiving when shooting over iron sights, and the barrel will also take longer to heat up, which means it should wear at a lower rate and also that it should stay cooler during firing for longer and therefore shoot more accurately.
If you are building a carbine or an SBR or a micro ARP, disregard this recommendation. Otherwise, consider installing a heavier barrel on your AR-15. You can use all the other parts that came with the AR 15 build kit, just get yourself a longer barrel.
Muzzle Brakes
Your AR-15 build kit likely comes with a threaded barrel and that threaded barrel likely comes with a muzzle device known as a flash hider.
A flash hider helps obstruct the muzzle flash, which helps prevent the operator from becoming temporarily blinded, keeping the sight picture in focus and enabling faster, more accurate follow-up shots.
The issue with flash hiders is that, while they do keep the sight picture clearer, they don’t do much else other than that, and they certainly don’t reduce recoil.
For that, you will want a different muzzle device known as a muzzle brake. A muzzle brake is a special muzzle device that alters how gasses are ported at the muzzle, redirecting the forces of felt recoil.
A good muzzle brake can cut felt recoil by as much as 50% without adversely affecting shot power. You experience less recoil, your sights stay on target because muzzle brakes also slash muzzle jump, and you can make faster, more confident, more accurate follow-up shots.
Shop AR 15 Build Kits and AR Parts Here
In the market for an AR 15 build kit or for any of the AR parts mentioned here so you can make upgrades along the way? Shop our collection of AR 15 build kits, AR parts and assembled uppers here and get in touch with us if you have any questions.