Flash Hider vs. Muzzle Break

[hittman]

Here's a newbie question from an old guy. I'm not a "rifle guy" at all so .... explain to me please the difference between the flash hider and the muzzle break.

Won't a muzzle break also hide the flash?

How are they different or what different things do each do?

 

[Mobuck]

Some of the "muzzle brakes" I've seen probably make the flash MORE visible by concentrating the gases in a specific direction rather than spreading or dissipating the flash.

 

[WAYNO]

My experience...

I've shot many rounds in dark or low-light conditions. At night time in full auto, the flash can completely obscure the target . The standard flash hiders do a very poor job of diminishing a flash. They may change the flash pattern, but again, very ineffectively. There are some after market flash hiders that are far more effective.

And muzzle brakes, they minutely change the timing of the muzzle blast, so instead of one big blast thru the muzzle, they brake up the blast to allow the blast to escape in different directions simultaneously, and/or they change the timing of the blast so it doesn't all happen at once. Muzzle brakes can be very effective at reducing recoil.

Some flash hiders calm the blast and recoil impulse a little, and some muzzle brakes calm the flash a little.

There are some combination flash hiders and muzzle brakes that do both.

Here's one of many videos showing the effects of different muzzle devices.

Fast forward to about 2:45 .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbXdghpxlrw


And as I always say, there's no free ride. There are some muzzle devices that are absolutely punishing, as the blast and concussion are redirected to people and things not intended to withstand such a concussion. I witnessed a car window explode from a muzzle device blast even though the car was a safe distance from the firing line.








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[daveg.inkc]

I always thought muzzle brake directed gas to control muzzle and hole diameter was close to bore size. Flash suppressor has larger shroud. M16’s Vietnam era had 3 prong flash suppressor.

 

[WAYNO]

I always thought muzzle brake directed gas to control muzzle and hole diameter was close to bore size. Flash suppressor has larger shroud. M16’s Vietnam era had 3 prong flash suppressor.

Early Vietnam era flash hiders were three prong. Later, we had the new improved birdcage design.



There are multiple brake designs. Some vent in a 360 degree pattern,


some vent only to the sides, laterally,


some vent vertically to keep the muzzle down,


and some (linear) actually vent forward.


The forward (linear) venting is the most interesting, and possibly the least effective, but the easiest on other nearby shooters. If you can visualize this, gases are metered from the muzzle device immediately outside the barrel where the muzzle device is attached, and directed thru channels to be released in a ring of porting adjacent to the muzzle. So you've got two separate impulses , albeit micro-milli seconds apart. One thru the bore sized exit in the center of the device, and smaller blasts from each of the smaller exhaust ports surrounding the bore port, or muzzle, of the device.


And the Grand Daddy. For the largest cartridges. .50 cal comes to mind. These vent laterally and to the rear, incredibly eliminating much of the recoil. You do not want to be anywhere adjacent to this muzzle brake while it's being fired.

 

[hittman]

Holy cow ..... thanks for all the great info, pics and video link.

I'll have to dig around in the safe tomorrow and see what my guns came with. I've never changed or added or removed a hider or break. Whatever came on any AR or AK when I bought it is what's on them now.

 

[Mobuck]

We've gone to the "linear" design on all of our coyote rifles that aren't suppressed and I have one on my AR9 PDW. In field use, these guns are usually fired w/o ear protection and often while beside someone so getting the muzzle blast away from the shooter(s) is the important issue. My EDC AR has a Witt Machine "Sound Mitigation" device which is a psuedo can legal to own w/o a NFA tax stamp. It reduces muzzle flash to nearly nothing and noise at the shooter's ear is reduced by about 1/2 of what a real suppressor would do. So far, I really like this unit.

 

[hittman]

That birdcage design is what came on my Colt SP-1. The Armalite AR-180 has the 3 prong; so do a couple of AKs.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Look at the muzzle brake Ruger designed for the early Mark 1. I’d like to shoot one of those.

 

[KurtC]

Early flash hiders were cone style, to protect the soldier's night vision. Current (fluted) style simply introduce ambient air to cool the burning gases. With extruded powders, they often aren't necessary. The military tends to use inexpensive spherical powders, which have more flame.

Muzzle brakes use large ports, usually on the side, to create a "wall" for the gas to hit, essentially pushing the rifle forward, minimizing recoil.

Compensators have ports on the top, to redirect gas upwards. This forces the barrel down for faster follow up shots.

 

[RSIno1]

In Calif if it has a large muzzle opening it's a flash hider. If the opening is only a little larger than the caliber it's a brake.

See page 2: https://www.calguns.net/caawid/flowchart.pdf

 

[dfletcher]

That birdcage design is what came on my Colt SP-1. The Armalite AR-180 has the 3 prong; so do a couple of AKs.

I have an old "duckbill" on an AR-180. Can't recall if it came that way or I later scrounged on for it.

 

[Billll]

I'm building a brake (compensator*) for a .40 cal carbine. My question to anyone who has a compensator is this: How much bigger is the thru hole on one of these than the actual bore of the gun?

I built mine with minimal clearance, .401 bullet to .418 hole. I ran 50 rounds through it today and noticed that it picked up tiny traces of lead in the ports. I suspect his is normal muzzle debris, but since it's there, I gotta ask.

*See: Cutts compensator for the Tommy gun to combat muzzle rise. I'm told it worked really well. Mine certainly works well with minimal muzzle rise in rapid fire.

 

[Mobuck]

I just noticed something in "WAYNO"'s pics. One of the muzzle devices is shown with a lock washer rather than a crush washer.
Just a word of warning: Only use a lock washer if you NEVER expect to mount any other type of device on the muzzle. Lock washers work by gouging into the metal and will damage the shoulder behind the threads if/when removed.

 

[Mobuck]

"How much bigger is the thru hole on one of these than the actual bore of the gun?"

Depends on your capability to make the device concentric. I have 2 Form 1 suppressors-- the dedicated 17HMR has a .20" inner diameter for the .177" bullet & the 22lr has a .25" ID for the .222" bullet. This doesn't leave much room for error. The plan for a 9mm (.355") was a .400" ID to allow for some movement of the gun before the bullet exited the device.
I'd say your .418" ID is adequate for the .401" bullet diameter.