Reader Don writes:
I really enjoy reading your reviews and you actually inspired me to try a 3 gun competition at my local range. Even after negotiating through my California bullet button and 10 round mags on my AR, I still have a blast and plan to compete again this month. At the competition, each paper target required two shots. One thing that was obvious is that many guys were able to get that second shot off much faster than I was. Initially I attributed to me having iron (actually plastic magpul) sights on my AR while most of them had red dots. After talking to the other shooters and and them observing them shooting, it looks like the muzzle breaks make a big difference as well (my AR has the stock A2 flash hider). There were a variety of different breaks in use from sure fire to battle comp 1.0. I was looking through your past articles and was not able to come up with much info on muzzle breaks. Could you provide some information and/or suggestions on muzzle breaks? They appear to be expensive (compared to an A2 flash hider) so I wanted to see what others experiences are before I went all in.
It’s definitely the brake and not the sights. People might bash irons, but they’re damn quick if you’ve practiced with them. Let me share with you what I’ve learned . . .
When I first put a compensator on my competition AR-15, my teammates laughed at me for being a pansy. Something about how I needed some help with the “punishing recoil” of the 5.56 cartridge. But when I consistently beat them in competition after competition, they changed their tune and joined in.
When a gun goes off, what’s really happening is that a small cache of powder is burning in your chamber and creating gasses that propel a projectile down the barrel. When the projectile leaves the muzzle, these gasses escape and are turned into noise — the report of the firearm. Those expanding gasses, in addition to the projectile, create a sizable impulse rearward, as Newton’s laws of physics need to be satisfied with the conservation of mass and momentum (equal and opposite reaction and all that). That’s the recoil we feel. And the more mass, the harder the recoil.
A muzzle brake or compensator is a device attached to the end of your rifle that uses the excess gasses from the round going off to create a force that counteracts the recoil of the gun. It does this by redirecting the gasses as they leave the barrel and having them apply some forward force to the baffles of the brake. The net effect of the muzzle brake is that the felt recoil of the gun is reduced.
Recoil reduction isn’t the only thing that a brake does, though. With most modern guns, there is a significant amount of upward movement of the muzzle in addition to the rearwards recoil. Muzzle brakes compensate for that muzzle climb as well. Some even compensate for the rotational force applied by the spinning bullet in the barrel.
The general rule of thumb for muzzle brakes is the bigger and more aggressive the brake, the more recoil is mitigated. Like this gigantic one here. The idea is that the more surface area there is for the escaping gas to contact, the more recoil reduction there will be.
But bigger isn’t always better, for two big reasons.
First, bigger muzzle brakes and compensators make the gun much louder for those standing nearby. I’ve had more than one person complain about my competition rifle with muzzle brake while on the firing line, even when larger caliber rifles are only a few steps away. For someone who enjoys their quiet firearms these days, a compensator can be a little annoying. And bigger ones are almost always louder.
Second is that big muzzle brakes aren’t necessarily “legal” for competition shooting. For 3-gun, most divisions limit you to a 1 inch by 3 inch muzzle brake at the absolute maximum, and larger ones (silencers are included here) kick you into open division. It keeps the competition fair, limiting the help you get from muzzle devices.
So, what is best in muzzle brakes?
Silencers, believe it or not, are fantastic muzzle brakes. Go figure that the same mechanics that trap the gasses and quiet down your gun also reduce recoil. But they’re not competition legal for most cases, and include a $200 stamp and some paperwork.
My favorite muzzle brake of all time is one I had on my rifle for a while: the PRI MSTN QC Brake.
This brake, available in stainless and black finish, uses three chambers to redirect the gasses and counteract the PUNISHING RECOIL of the 5.56 cartridge. Its competition legal, does a fantastic job, and is usually in stock (unlike the similar JP Enterprises brake which is (A) a little flashy, (B) lacks a chamber and (C) a little flashy).
However, if you’re a gigantic nerd like me and want to fine tune your compensator to exactly match your gun’s recoil, then the Ares Armor Effin A compensator is what you need. Available for .308 and 5.56, this device will allow you to fine tune the way the gasses are redirected, and if you love tinkering with stuff this is right up your alley.
In the end, it comes down to personal preference. I really like the PRI MSTN QC brake, and so do all of my friends who have tried it (and still use it on their competition guns), but there are other options, and by no means have I tried them all. If you find one that you like, go for it and be happy.
And a word of advice: double check that you get it in the right thread pitch for your barrel.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZH2VDHksM
For those claiming hearing loss issues, wear doubles…problem solved. For it not being practical in hunting situations, thats BS too..if your muff are electronic, it makes it like not wearing ear pro at all, and you can communicate just fine. If you are seriously concerned about hunting situations, get a comp that allows for use with an actual suppressor and stop complaining about noise.
As for the “need” for a comp…some people never use their rifle in a manner that they will benefit from a comp, but for those of us who shoot AR15’s not strictly from the prone or off a bench, there is unarguably a benefit, as evidenced by all the top 3 gun shooters out there…for the “competitive” shooters who have commented, no offense, but I’ve never heard of you….
Gotta understand the “context” of the “content”… comps are for folks who want to reduce rise and recoil, if you arent concerned with either…dont concern yourself with a comp.
I may just cut the threads off my new barrel and 11° it…
I don’t shoot much 3 gun, mostly CMP, sporting high power and steel (long range), along with varmint hunting with my AR.
I know I don’t need the extra noise(huh?).
I can certainly see where comps/brakes have application, however, especially reducing muzzle rise.
Thanks for the good thread!
Excellent article and the usual big mouths telling us how wrong the writer is. I agree 100% with the writer in that muzzle brakes do work and they work great. Now I will add that some work a lot better than others. Some appear to be nearly useless. So do your homework before buying one.
I have quite a bit of hearing loss in my left ear. I started shooting a 22 when I was 10. My brother was never a hunter and he has the same hearing loss on the same ear. So you can’t blame shooting and you can’t blame brakes or the lack thereof. I always felt the brake would interfere with the accuracy and swore to never have one. It was purely by accident that I bought a Mark V 270 Wby mag with a brake on it. The gun shot factory ammo into 1/2″ groups. It was a KDF brake and it worked wonders. I had been shooting a 7 mag and always wore ear protectors at the range. Using the 270 Wby with the brake I saw ZERO difference in noise wearing the same ear protectors. But the recoil was nil and it made shooting a magnum rifle a fun thing to do. The 7 mag used to leave my shoulder looking like it had been in a car wreck after a day of trying various loads. At the end of the day I could hardly hold the gun against my shoulder. Guess what accuracy does in that situation… it ain’t good.
Once I was shown the benefits of having a brake I’ve had quite a few and other than the cost and installation cost they are fabulous. I’ve had 300 Wbys with brakes that were putty cats to shoot. Without the brake they were bucking mothers. I’ve had 338 Win mags with and without, same rifle. Made a huge difference. Again wearing hearing protection I see zero difference in the noise whether the brake is on the rifle or not. Would love to blindfold a lot of these experts and see if they can really tell if the rifle has a brake or not. Most are full of bull and have their mind made up which is all they need to know they are correct.
Whether for competition shooting or just shooting from a bench I can’t say enough good about a brake. Don’t want one, please don’t get one.