Well… you came to the right place.
Now you're thinking! The AR in 223/5.56 generates somewhere between 4-5 ft/lbs of "free recoil" in an "average" AR. That is about as "light" as it gets in a centerfire rifle cartridge. By contrast, if my memory isn't lying to me, a full-house 30-06 round can generate up to 20 ft/lbs of "free recoil". More weight on the gun, a thicker butt pad, possibly an A5 length buffer tube / buffer MIGHT reduce felt recoil. But more rounds downrange to get used to the "feel" of the recoil is the real answer. If the recoil genuinely HURTS you after a few magazines, I really don't know what to say except, start over and shoot a 22 rimfire until you're comfortable with that, then come back to your AR and try again. Also, make certain that you're getting the butt of the stock into the pocket of your shoulder, not out on the shoulder joint or extreme upper portion of your arm. If that doesn't make sense, then seek the guidance of a competent instructor.
For goodness sake! If the recoil is bothersome, the extra blast from a muzzle break is gonna make matters worse, not better. Loud muzzle blast increases the perception of recoil for most people. Even at its most effective, a muzzle break's reduction of actual "free recoil" will probably not be noticeable to someone just getting started in the AR shooting game.
I'm going to advise, in general, that you avoid starting to add stuff / change stuff until you've gotten a few more rounds downrange. (like about 10x your current stated round count). If you're new to shooting and/or new to the AR platform, you really don't know what to change out to make YOUR gun better for YOU. Just shoot the stuffin' out of it as-is, and don't worry about what Tack Tickle Timmy sez (search for recent other thread here if that doesn't make sense. It's sarcasm.)OK AR noob here, so please be gentlePicked up a basic Ruger AR556MPR as my first AR. I enjoy the rifle and its been reliable and accurate through 400+/- rounds so far. My biggest issue is that the recoil gets to me after a few magazines. I enjoy tinkering with my firearms and since this was an inexpensive rifle I figured it was a perfect platform to start learning with.
After some web-foo, I figure a new muzzle break like the Fortis RED 556 AR 15 would be easy enough for a beginner to add. I then started looking at buffer weights and springs to help with recoil. Heres where I started getting confused; theres a huge variety of options and price ranges out there but I don't know what to look for. Are all buffers the same size and are they interchangeable? How do I know what will fit in my particular rifle and how much will the different option decrease felt recoil? what about adjustable gas systems?
Just looking for some advice to get me pointed in the right direction
I came here to say the same thing. A standard run of the mill even $300 to $400 AR doesn't have much recoil. When my son was 7 years old, even he could shoot it. Women have no problems shooting it. It's softer shooting than all the lightweight single and micro stacked 9mm handguns I've fired that's doing a fraction of the velocity. I doubt the OP is shooting full auto, so worrying about the recoil of mostly slow shooting single shots as apposed to trying to keep the muzzle down on full auto makes even less sense.
