Whereas a muzzle brake is intended to lessen felt recoil, a compensator is intended to reduce muzzle climb (also known as muzzle flip). While some will argue that a compensator is just another type of muzzle brake, they perform a specific enough role to merit their own separate discussion.
Those gasses can also kick up dust and debris if you’re shooting from a prone position, which is something to keep in mind for those who live in drier climates.
If you’ve ever had the privilege of going to an indoor range and ending up next to someone running a brake, you know just how unpleasant it can be. They are also a common choice for shooters putting together lightweight rifle builds, since the reduced mass makes recoil more noticeable and there are many muzzle brakes constructed of lightweight aluminum or polymer that add negligible weight.Īs with all muzzle devices, there are some trade-offs: the gasses diverted by a muzzle brake are still moving very quickly, increasing the perceived decibel level and concussive force of each shot for anyone who is in their path. So who needs a muzzle brake? Typically, anyone who is shooting big-bore firearms with otherwise unmanageable recoil, though they are also popular among many medium-bore hunters who may have to fire from awkward positions or who want to be able to spot their hits at longer distances. Some muzzle brakes also come with one or more expansion chambers cut into them, which help to bleed off escaping gasses and reduce their momentum, further reducing recoil. In effect, this “pulls” the weapon forward, counteracting recoil. In simple terms, a brake works by redirecting gases backward, typically at a 45-degree angle to the shooter. They became especially useful for reducing the recoil impulse of large-bore rifles and anti-materiel weapons, often cutting the felt recoil by as much as 50%. While brakes were first invented to tame the recoil of artillery and vehicle-mounted gun systems, they eventually made their way over to the world of small arms as well. In order to reduce that recoil, those gases need to be redirected – and that’s exactly what a muzzle brake is for. And if we recall Newton’s Third Law of Motion, that means the same energy is exerted in the opposite direction, resulting in what we feel as recoil. When you fire a gun, the energy created by expanding gases is used to propel the bullet forward. If you’re shooting a carbine or short-barreled rifle, often shoot at night, or frequently use cartridges that either require large powder charges or the use of slower-burning powder, a flash hider is going to be your best friend. But how does it actually work? The answer is that the holes or gaps in the flash hider divert the super-heated gases from the primary flash, while also minimizing oxygen flow and rapidly cooling the residual gases to reduce or eliminate the secondary fireball effect. One of the earliest examples of a flash hider can be seen with the clamp-on conical flash suppressors used on Lee-Enfield Jungle Carbines in the later years of World War II, but the example that most shooters are probably familiar with is the A2 “bird cage” flash hider that comes standard on most AR-pattern rifles. This created an obvious problem as militaries around the world began shifting towards shorter, more maneuverable carbines – while increased muzzle flash also made the shooter a more visible target, the bigger problem was that it significantly impacted the shooter’s vision during night-time engagements, and in extreme cases could even cause temporary blindness.
But with a shorter barrel, where there isn’t enough time for the powder to be fully consumed, the result is an almost instantaneous two-stage muzzle flash – the primary flash is caused by super-heated propellant gases trailing behind the bullet, and the secondary flash is caused by residual gases that ignite after being exposed to oxygen in the air, creating the infamous “fireball” that you’ve probably encountered if you’ve ever fired an SBR or shot a firearm without a flash hider (especially at night). When a bullet is fired from a typical long-barreled rifle, most of the propellant is burned before the bullet exits the barrel. While the name is fairly self-explanatory, the science behind flash hiders (also known as flash suppressors) is more complicated than you might think.
Have you ever wondered how a flash hider actually works, or what’s inside a suppressor? Confused about the difference between a brake and a compensator? Or maybe you’re just curious which muzzle device will help you shave a second or two off of your competition time – whatever the case may be, you’re in luck, because we’re doing a deep dive on the different types of muzzle devices and exploring the pros and cons of each one. Ultimate Guide To Muzzle Devices: Muzzle Brake vs.
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