Pardon my ignorance and lack of armed service knowlege.  I am debating weather or not to get a post or pre ban carbine.  This gun may be used for home defense bringing the issue of a bright flash.  Do flash hiders really do all they are purported to do?  Does a post ban break have any flash hiding or dispersing characteristics Ex. mini Y comp.

Yes. A flash hider like a vortex will be critical for use with a militia weapon.

My friend has a post ban AR and it throws a BIG flame. My AR with a Phantom hider is really sweet. Very little flash if at all. Even my A2 hider is "adequate" but not as good as a Vortex or Phantom.

Get a pre94 so you can put the shorty stock on it.

Also, does anyone have any eXperience with the
"closed end birdcage" flash hider?

I've tested these things over the years and the effect is dramatic. The right flash hider, with the right ammo is VERY effective. The vortex works great as does the old Vietnam 3 prong "vine catcher". Once you close the end it is not quite as effective.  Mil spec ammo uses a flash retardant, which helps.
That all being said.....I'll spend my money on a good comp.
As for home defense, spend the money for a good TAC light.  Target ID is paramount.

Unless you do a lot of low light shooting where you dont want your firing position ascertained..if you shoot during the day at a range..why spend all that money...prong types "more better"..prong types didnt really catch branches that much.anyway one learns not to lead with the weapon in heavy cover (be careful when using the barrel to push brush out of your way)..the reason prongs were abandoned in vietnam is that line troops (cherrys and dumbshits) would actually use the prongs to twist the wires then use the barrel as a crow bar to get into c-rat cases..springing the barrels rendering them just about useless..like the man for home defense spend your money on a good light and some sort of good optic..my .02

I'd go with a postban carbine with either a Cav Comp(Cavalry Arms) or a Wilson Combat tac brake. This, if used with good flash suppressed ammo works well. An unbraked carbine without flash suppressed powder is like someone setting of a camera flash in your face! BTW the Y Comp is terrible for muzzle flash and very loud.

i would buy use a post for home defense  since if i ever have to use it in a defensive roll i wont have to hand over a gun that would cost me alot of money to replace whilst the ar is in the evidence locker i use my AR for targets and my win 1300 for defense

The post ban muzzle brake on my armalite does a pretty good job on the flash also

Actually, the best flash suppressor is of the sound suppressor type for those of you who can, have a can. AWC is by far the best, with a 5.56mm can that can be used in CQB/OPS.

Any other suppressor can be identified through 3rd+ gen. nightvision and thermal imaging sights.

As for the standard flash suppressor, "Smith Vortex twisted, and hardened style are the best", they are open ended, by have provisions to pit bailing wire on them to effectively prevent the branches from getting captured in the suppressor!

Pro's often us burlap to shroud that crowned muzzle of precision weapons, which is even better that standard flash suppressors, but it takes plenty of practice for this option, to perfect it!

The Vortex flash hider does kick up dust for us desert shooters.  If you are worried about dust signature and muzzle flash, the A2 flash hider is probably the best overall.  If kicking up dust is not an issue, get the Vortex for your pre-ban AR15.  

I saved this from snipercountry.com for just such an occasion.  The text is from one of the instructors in regard to flash and flash suppression on a bolt-gun, but, is good information for us on this forum...

Flash suppresors on sniper rifles. Unfortunatley the more correct term would be "muzzle blast enancers". When a
sniper is trying to fire from a concealed position he creates a "window" for the blast path to travel through. This
window is very small at the muzzle and many times the sniper will put his muzzle into the window and use the depth
of concealment to his front to conceal his blast. The blast pattern is very small near the muzzle and it widens to a
couple of feet in width at about 6-7 feet. (Anybody ever measure this? Wait, I know Rick has because HE is the
keeper of all sniper knowledge!) When you slap on a muzzle blast enhancer, the pattern is now huge at the muzzle
which tends to blow the shit out of the snipers cover and concealment.

As far as the flame goes with a 24" barrel all I see with live ammo is about a 8"-10" blue flame which is very hard
to see in the with the naked eye at close range within 50 ft. I have even stuck my head over the butts during night
fire and can tell you that at 300 yds you can't see shit with the naked eye. I think that the 26" barrel is a better deal
as you get a little more velocity and a little less flame.


:so, make of it what you will.  There is a lot of good info on that site.  Check it out.  It helped me make a couple of decisions, as did the advice I've received here on this forum.  Have fun.

Please expound a little more.

Yes. Either one would do fine.

[url]www.snipercountry.com[/url]