Muzzle Brake Query

nchunt101

nchunt101

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Granted I am far from an operator and don't shoot three gun but why in the hell do so many folks have them on ARs? I am kicking my self for putting one an 18" SPR upper. Granted it was free and I didn't have a spare flash hider laying around. The brake does look very tactical but is so damn loud it is unpleasant to shoot. A .223/5.56 as the recoil of a mouse fart so what is the point of a brake other than to blow ear drums/slighly quicker follow up shots? Thank you for indulging a rant/question that popped in my head out of the blue.
 
Follow ups, spotting hits.
Why so many? Cause cool bro.
Getting the gas and reciprocating mass in balance does more in my opinion.

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Only reason I use one is for mounting a suppressor, which kind of negates the noise issue and ups the tacti-cool factor at the same time.
 
Simple: because 556 does recoil (much more than a mouse fart I am afraid) and when you are trying to run with it and drive the gun and get two hits on paper, you need one if you plan on doing well.
That's why every single 3gun shooter in the history of man uses one. If it didn't work, nobody would use it. Competition weeds out bullshit right away. Good brakes can cut that recoil by 80%, which is massive. Jerry Micukek doesn't use one because of marketing, lol.

However, on a bench gun it's completely pointless on an AR. The noise is reflected even more by the bench itself. Add many benches are covered, trapping even more noise! And, you likely have fellas on benches right next to you, where all of the gas/noise is deflected.
For that type of gun I'd use something with compensation that drives the muzzle down into the bipod and keeps my eye in the glass.

Just my opinions and I am no expert.
 
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I don't know what kind of brake you are using, but mine makes for significantly faster follow up shots. Noise isn't an issue to me, unless your standing off to the side of it.
 
Derek8404 said:
I don't know what kind of brake you are using, but mine makes for significantly faster follow up shots. Noise isn't an issue to me, unless your standing off to the side of it.
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LOL yeah

Shot a match in June and the guy next to me was using a Lantac Dragon. His first shot blew my hat off. I was courteously using a suppressor.

I have a Griffin mini brake but it stays inside my Recce 5 and is never shot without the can. Otherwise I wouldn’t have it
 
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Thanks for the answers. I was wondering about this during a pointless conference call and wanted to consult the experts.
 
11B CIB said:
LOL yeah

Shot a match in June and the guy next to me was using a Lantac Dragon. His first shot blew my hat off. I was courteously using a suppressor.

I have a Griffin mini brake but it stays inside my Recce 5 and is never shot without the can. Otherwise I wouldn’t have it
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Yeah, they'll beat you up if your next to one. I normally shoot on ranges that have your own bay that you are free to move around on, so having people next to me is never an issue. The one and only time I shot my rifle at a rang with traditional type benches where everyone shoots next to each other I chose a spot furthest away from anyone and cautioned a guy who started to set up next to me that it would be in his best interest to move further away from me.
 
I have a miculek comp on one of my rifles, and it does do a great job in keeping the muzzle level. There isn't much recoil in the .223 to speak of really, but with a decent brake a "little" turns to about "nothing".

I had to stop taking that rifle to public ranges because the noise while firing underneath any cover borders on obnoxious.
 
Yeah. A brake on a crowded Appleseed shoot line isn't very nice.
 
Have Midwest Industries brakes on a 223 and a 308 AR. They look just like the DPMS Miculek brake. Any brake I have been around is louder than than just a flash hider. The brake on the 223 keeps the gun down and not moving around as much. The brake on the 308 AR is just plain necessary to keep the gun under control and from kicking the crap out of you.
 
I love muzzle brakes/comps on an AR. I typically shoot alone so I don't care if they make extra noise. The first time I shot a rifle with a comp and my sights stayed perfectly on the target it blew my mind. Faster split times, more shots on target makes for a more effective weapon.
 
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11B CIB said:
LOL yeah

Shot a match in June and the guy next to me was using a Lantac Dragon. His first shot blew my hat off. I was courteously using a suppressor.

I have a Griffin mini brake but it stays inside my Recce 5 and is never shot without the can. Otherwise I wouldn’t have it
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I have a Lantac Dragon on one of mine and they are loud! Funny thing is you don't notice it when sitting behind it. I had a few guys who came up from the pistol range ask me what caliber I was shooting. They couldn't believe it was only a .223. I apologized for the noise and told them I would switch to my other AR but they told me that it was cool as hell and keep shooting. Though they did set up a few bays down from me. Lol
 
First time I ever used a brake it was on an spr type rifle on a bench. Hated it. Felt like a smack from a 2x4!
Sold it to Booger!
But once I started shooting offhand in matches one went right back on. Now I have like 5 brakes!
I am used to it and now I quite enjoy the feel of the concussion smack while have almost zero muzzle movement. It's sorta like an USPSA open pistol. Hard to explain until you feel it.
 
Get on a timer and the benefits of a brake become blatantly apparent. Not needed if you're just plinking for fun or slow fire from the bench

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B00ger said:
I have a miculek comp on one of my rifles, and it does do a great job in keeping the muzzle level. There isn't much recoil in the .223 to speak of really, but with a decent brake a "little" turns to about "nothing".

I had to stop taking that rifle to public ranges because the noise while firing underneath any cover borders on obnoxious.
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Borders??? Borders obnoxious, you say?! Let me crank off a few rounds with you standing nearby! ;) That border was crossed a little while back.

They're quite effective but double up on the ear pro.

I have brakes on all of my rifles, and all except my comp rifle are battle comp'esque.
 
On a bench gun or range toy? NO WAY. They're designed to vent gases back and to the side making for a very unpleasant day for anyone around you. Want to alienate your range neighbor? Plunk down a brake on the line next to him and see what happens. Now for 3G competition, heck yeah! Back when I was active, I was using a Rolling Thunder comp and it is darn effective and like mentioned before, better double up on ear pro. When shooting 3G with that gun, I'm using foam ear plugs and muffs at the same time. Even with that, the blast from the side transmits through the bones of your face and ears will still ring. The effect is even worse if shooting from a covered firing point. With my comp and other goodies, my AR has negligible recoil, but it's downright obnoxious to stand anywhere to the side during firing.
 
Muzzle brakes will make a good shooter better especially with quick semi-auto shots, but when you're running a bolt action in .223 with cheap ammo and your target looks like it was hit with a pattern of birdshot, i wouldn't appreciate that person being next to me while i try and teach someone how to operate an AR.
 
Exonautic said:
Muzzle brakes will make a good shooter better especially with quick semi-auto shots, but when you're running a bolt action in .223 with cheap ammo and your target looks like it was hit with a pattern of birdshot, i wouldn't appreciate that person being next to me while i try and teach someone how to operate an AR.
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Would it be any different if the person next to you was shooting a magnum....i.e. 300WM? I always hear people complain about AR'S with brakes but it's like they give a pass for the guys shooting large Centerfield rifles at the range which are just as loud.

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Wahoo95 said:
Would it be any different if the person next to you was shooting a magnum....i.e. 300WM? I always hear people complain about AR'S with brakes but it's like they give a pass for the guys shooting large Centerfield rifles at the range which are just as loud.

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I definitely would not enjoy it, but a .300 win mag kicks a whole lot more than a .223 so that would be an understandable use of a brake. It would be kind of hard to shoot a 300 wm all day without one especially if he's trying out groupings of different loads.

alternatively, and back to the AR like this question was about, putting a muzzle brake on any rifle has the potential to change your POI so while the person with the AR may be on the bench right now, who knows what else they do with that gun that would require them to practice with the muzzle brake on.
 
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