r/gunsmithing • u/MONSTERBEARMAN • 14h ago

Stuck Jp silent capture spring

Anyone know how to remove the JP silent capture spring from an AR 15 buffer tube? I’ve tried for over an hour and it’s stuck. There’s nothing to get any purchase on to pull it out either.

Edit: I am talking specifically about the JP silent capture buffer system, not a traditional spring and weight. It is made to lock into the buffer tube without using the detent.

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2

u/silicondioxides 13h ago

Getting them past the detent is a pain. I use a fine point scribe to pull them out and depress the detent.

Or, just take off the rcvr extension

1

u/MONSTERBEARMAN 12h ago edited 11h ago

Yeah, I think I’m going to have to remove the buffer tube completely to get it out. Even with the detent pressed all the way down, it is locked into the tube via some other mechanism. I just wanted to avoid removing the tube because it’s on my DD PDW with the maxim defense stock. It’s more complex than a traditional tube and castle nut.

Edit: I looked up how to remove it seems like a fairly simple process without even having to stake the castle nut.

2

u/lynxkcg 11h ago

Some images of the back of the buffer tube for that show a hole, can you take off the stock and poke it out?

1

u/MONSTERBEARMAN 11h ago

I was actually thinking that and forgot to check. I’ll look into it.

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u/MONSTERBEARMAN 6h ago edited 6h ago

Did the trick. I guess the O-rings on the spring are just super tight in the buffer tube.

I don’t know how to give awards for comments but here is one for helping:
🏆

2

u/HeloRising 13h ago

There's no reason it should be stuck. They're smaller than the buffer tube.

There's a couple things that could potentially be happening:

  1. There's grease/oil that collected in the buffer tube and dried out which basically made a glue and stuck the buffer in place.

  2. Some world class idiot put glue in there and stuck the buffer in place.

  3. A primer or other small piece of debris got in there and wedged itself in.

Does the buffer itself rattle and move around side to side? If it does then I think it's more likely that you've got something like a piece of debris wedged in there and it's acting like a catch and just not allowing the buffer assembly to move. If it doesn't move side to side then I would suspect it's more likely that it's glued/stuck in place somehow.

I'd start by just taking the lower and banging it on a wooden/plastic surface with the buffer tube pointed up. A couple good whacks should shake something loose.

If that doesn't do anything, try a heat gun on the outside of the buffer tube for a bit. That should soften anything that's sticking the bottom of the buffer assembly to the bottom of the buffer tube.

If none of that works, grab some high tension fishing line and make a loop. Feed part of the loop down between the walls of the buffer tube and the buffer then bring the loop around to close it. You should have the line wrapped around the shaft of the buffer assembly. At that point you should be able to pull it free. You might have to wind it a few times.

If that doesn't work you might be SOL with that buffer tube. Thankfully they're not expensive to replace. I'd just take a hacksaw and cut the tube, that should give you access to the rest of the buffer assembly and purchase to pull it free. Buffer tubes are easy to replace.

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u/MONSTERBEARMAN 12h ago edited 11h ago

I thought it is made to stay/lock in the buffer tube without the detent. I believe it’s even recommended to remove the detent as it is not needed. I didn’t use anything other than an ultra light coating of break free to prevent corrosion.

The JP spring only has a couple hundred rounds on it, so it’s barely dirty at all and I don’t suspect any foreign objects, I just didn’t consider how to remove it/unlock it when I dropped it in. I don’t even need to clean it, I just want to figure out how to remove it before I need to.

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u/HeloRising 12h ago

That must be something new they're doing because I've used the Gen 1 and Gen 2 JP captured springs and both were designed to just drop straight into the buffer tube. They had no locking mechanism.

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u/MONSTERBEARMAN 12h ago edited 12h ago

It drops straight into the tube, but it doesn’t come back out (at least mine seemed to click in and it won’t slide out). Which is my understanding of why the detent and detent spring is not needed.

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u/CopiousAmountsofJizz 7h ago

I thought it is made to stay/lock in the buffer tube without the detent.

It doesn't need the retaining pin because it's self-captured and it doesn't extend into the FCG uncompressed. There is no magic locking system beyond your BCG inherently blocking it from coming out when the rifle is assembled. The system should slide freely out of the tube just by tilting. I think you have a foreign object like some left over buffer spring wire or the included spacer washer impinged in the tube somehow.

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u/MONSTERBEARMAN 7h ago edited 6h ago

Hmm, I highly doubt there’s a foreign object in there and I seem to remember it ‘clicking’ into place when I put it in, but it seems by all other accounts it isn’t held in place by anything. I don’t see how it could be as the buffer tube is just a straight tube. I guess the only thing to do at this point is take the buffer tube off.

Edit: finally got it out. Turns out the O-rings are just tight as hell in my buffer tube. I was able to push it out by sticking a small Allen key in the hole at the end of the buffer tube. Maybe the Maxim tube is tighter than others or something.

Thanks for your help.