Input on why I need a brake or not...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Input on why I need a brake or not...

Posted: 6/7/2002 7:58:00 AM EDT

I just got my first AR - Bushy 20" HBAR A3.

I shoot at a range from 25-212yrds. Should I bother getting a brake? Recoil is not a problem.

So what I want to know is: Will it effect accuracy (good or bad) and what real advantage, if any, is there to a brake for my type of shooting? (other than the look factor)

Tony

Posted: 6/7/2002 8:25:55 AM EDT

[#1]

Brakes generally enhance niose, muzzle blast, and muzzle flash, all negative qualities.

I am unaware of any brakes that are reliably claimed to enhance accuracy. Few, if any varmint or sniper rifles use them.

Some FA applications might benefit from brakes due to more rapid target re-acquisition.

Skip it, IMHO.

Posted: 6/7/2002 8:29:00 AM EDT

[#2]

I don't think there is any benefit that can be gained by having a muzzle brake on a 20" Hbar. The 20" has very little recoil and muzzle rise any way. Muzzle breaks do come in handle with the 16" light barrels though, especially for double taps.
BIll3508

Posted: 6/7/2002 9:02:20 AM EDT

[#3]

I have one with (it came that way) and one without.. I wouldn't pay the difference to have one... My AR -10 could use one but the 15s are not that violent..

Posted: 6/7/2002 9:48:59 AM EDT

[#4]

Basically, I agree with both above resposes----but you know somethin'?; the darn thing just doesn't look right with a naked muzzle.

Of course I've been looking at the things for over 35 years, so my brain image is kind of set in concrete

Posted: 6/7/2002 9:52:09 AM EDT

[#5]

My .458 SOCOM upper with a 16" bbl has no brake, and I would not have one!!

Posted: 6/7/2002 10:00:11 AM EDT

[#6]

on a .223 all they do is irritate the other shooters. not a good thing.

Posted: 6/7/2002 10:39:32 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
I don't think there is any benefit that can be gained by having a muzzle brake on a 20" Hbar. The 20" has very little recoil and muzzle rise any way. Muzzle breaks do come in handle with the 16" light barrels though, especially for double taps.
BIll3508

Bill's tellin you like it is.

Posted: 6/7/2002 12:05:41 PM EDT

[#8]

You really don't need one, but I have an AK74 styled brake on my 20 inch Bushy Hbar and she kicks like a .22 (In other words no kick what so ever) If you want to avoid POing the neighbors, shoot next to a guy with a Mini Y comp or a Barret.

Posted: 6/7/2002 12:13:36 PM EDT

[#9]

Thanks for the input, guys. You reinforced what I was thinking.

I'm probably going to build my 2nd AR with a 16" barrel and will brake that one.

tony

Posted: 6/7/2002 5:03:31 PM EDT

[#10]

I don't think you really need to brake a 16" barrel either. The 223 round just isn't that powerful. Get an HBar shorty or an HBar fluted Dissipator. Those barrels are beefy enough to handle the attitude from the bullet.

If you do get a brake, the mini Y's are louder than heck. Use an AK74 or one of the many other brakes the guys on this board recommend.

Posted: 6/8/2002 2:19:22 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
I don't think there is any benefit that can be gained by having a muzzle brake on a 20" Hbar. The 20" has very little recoil and muzzle rise any way. Muzzle breaks do come in handle with the 16" light barrels though, especially for double taps.
BIll3508

I have compared a compensated 20"HBAR vs. a compensated 16"HBAR (Smith Ent. comp on both) and found it to be more effective on the 20" rifle. I presume this is because the compensator has 4" more leverage on the rifle.

If the rifle is just used to shoot groups at the rifle range, then a brake or compensator or flash suppressor isn't really necessary.

Posted: 6/8/2002 7:37:34 AM EDT

[#12]

It's not about recoil hurting your shoulder, hell if you can't take a few hundred .30-06 rounds you're holding the rifle wrong - it's about sight picture.

The proper way to hold the rifle is with the support hand just supporting the handguards - not gripping it. See Jim Crew's book for pictures and details why but basically the support hand will transmit corrections (flinch) to the barrel before the bullet leaves the barrel.

The barrel of even a fairly heavy 20" rifle will flip upwards with each shot causing the target at some distance to be obscured. On paper targets that don't often shoot back this is not a problem. At ranges where you can throw the rifle and hit the target this is also not a problem. When a more hostile target disappears from my sights I want to know if it's seeking cover or room temperature.

Next some mechanics men. The amount of energy coming out behind the bullet is relatively fixed in relationship to muzzle treatments. Suppressors (silencers) work by retarding the release of these gases muffling the energy release that we detect as sound. Flash suppressors (which the military uses because they are exempt from the screwy laws) are designed to modify the gas release to reduce the fireball to save the shooter's night vision. From the target's perspective you can still see the flash. Finally muzzle brakes take some of the energy and redirect it away from it's normal path (towards the target) and channel it off to the sides (recoil reduction) and upwards (to counter the flip). The brake doesn't add noise - it only redirects it.

Some times it's a good thing to reduce the amount of noise directed at the target.

Wearing proper hearing protection it's hard to hear the difference between a .223 and a .308 let alone a bare barrel and a muzzle brake. If it came to the point where I had to take an unprotected shot, damaging my hearing for life, it would be a situation of life or death and the tiny difference in damage wouldn't be of much concern compared to putting fast lead into the target.

IF you're getting into benchrest shooting with your AR you'd already know the answer to this question so I'm assuming that your not. A bare muzzle might be a couple percent better than one with a proper brake or flash suppressor. The difference at 200 yards might be all of a quarter inch.

You're abilities will not match those of the rifle for several years of normal shooting or several thousand rounds.

Posted: 6/8/2002 1:54:47 PM EDT

[#13]

I recently got an ak-74 brake for my dpms m4.I have a reflex sight on it and firing as fast as I could pull the trigger,there was almost no movement of the dot off of the target at 100yds.Noise to the shooter was not changed,but was told it was very loud on either side of me.

Posted: 6/8/2002 3:23:35 PM EDT

[#14]

I admit, I put a Wilson Brake primarily for cosmetic purposes, but it does work at keeping the muzzle flip down. Accuracy was not affected, either. If you can stand the look of a castrated barrel, I would say you don't need one. It is all a personnel thing.

Posted: 6/9/2002 6:57:00 AM EDT

[#15]

HBAR dissipator w/AK74 brake solid as a rock, just lays in your hands. M4-dissapator w/AK74 not quite as dead feeling. Brakes do add length and weight. .2lbs for the AK74 and around 2 inches of length depending on where you measure from.

Brakes are a personal preference. Some whine about how wimpy .223 is and how only wimps need them. IPSC shooters all use them for multiple follow up shots. Tis your choice.

M4-AK(74)brake

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Input on why I need a brake or not...

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