The gasses, instead of going upward, like a compensator (or being evenly distributed all the way around, like a flash suppressor), exit through the gas ports and hit against these flat surfaces, which helps mitigate all that recoil you would feel otherwise-keeping the muzzle from moving to the rear. How do Muzzle Brakes Work?Ī muzzle brake has these small gas ports inside the brake, facing a flat surface and openings on the side. The muzzle brake only helps with the recoil, not the muzzle rise. This is recoil and muzzle rise in the same motion. Left-handed shooters pull the trigger the rifle recoils to the rear, and the muzzle will go up and to the left. This tends to happen when you fire a rifle: Right-handed shooters pull the trigger the rifle goes back into the shoulder (recoil), and the rifle’s muzzle goes up and to the right. But it’s important in a gas-operated rifle if you want to extract spent rounds and chamber new ones automatically. Recoil isn’t exactly a shooter’s best friend when it comes to accuracy. When you fire your rifle, gas is created. Now, let’s get into muzzle brakes because, again, this isn’t the same thing as a compensator. These typically have something that looks like a suppressor on top (evenly spaced open slots) but a completely closed bottom (a place for the gas to push against to keep the muzzle from rising). Photo Credit: Tire Iron/Compensator-Muzzle Flash HybridĪ common hybrid you might see on the end of a rifle is a compensator/flash suppressor combination. This is also why a compensator can’t be a flash suppressor because the gas can’t be evenly distributed. Instead, there is a closed portion on the bottom. Unlike a flash suppressor, though, there aren’t openings evenly placed all the way around the device. One thing you’ll notice on a compensator is the opening on top of the device (pictured above). How do Compensators Work?Īs I addressed above, a compensator works to help mitigate muzzle climb-this happens because gas is directed upward, pushing against the closed portion of the compensator. Again, there are devices helpful for both of these, but that’s a compensator/brake hybrid, not a true compensator. What’s not the same thing is muzzle climb and recoil. Photo Credit: Tire Iron/Compensator Muzzle Device Muzzle climb, muzzle rise, no matter how you call it, is the same thing. Sometimes, you will hear people call it muzzle climb-we have a great way of giving everything a few, if not several different names in the gun community. So, what is a compensator? A compensator, simply put, is a device that goes on the end of your muzzle to help prevent muzzle rise. Flash suppressors and muzzle brakes are often mislabeled - muzzle brakes do not suppress the flash produced from the gasses exiting your rifle’s muzzle.But, on its own, a compensator isn’t meant to mitigate recoil. Recoil can be decreased using a compensator - this is only true if you have a hybrid.Compensators are often referred to as muzzle brakes-they aren’t the same thing, and they have two different jobs.Here’s where you typically find inaccurate information. Keep an eye out for a future blog post all about flash suppressors! Now throw in the fact that there are hybrid versions of these muzzle devices-you’ll find more inaccurate information, which is why I’ve decided to cove a few of these today. But if you don’t know what you’re looking at, it’s easy to think they’re all the same thing. They also look slightly different from one another. Each of these muzzle devices is responsible for different things. Unfortunately, these devices are often confused, and you’ll find, even those behind the gun counter mess it up. Photo Credit: Tire Iron/Muzzle Devices Muzzle Devicesįirst off, what’s a muzzle device? A muzzle device can be any number of devices that attach to the muzzle of your firearm-surprising, I know. I’ll even touch on the hybrid versions of these muzzle devices. While this blog will be looking at muzzle brakes and compensators, specifically, there are also flash suppressors/flash hiders. There are several devices available, depending on what you want the device to do. Today I will cover two similar-looking but very different parts-often confused-muzzle brakes and compensators. However, this isn’t the only option available. In my last article about building a custom AR-15, I mentioned compensators as one of your muzzle devices.
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