Posted: 6/22/2004 6:29:26 PM EDT
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(A) It is my understanding that the purpose of a flash suppressor is to reduce the muzzle flash visible to the shooter, so as to preserve night vision. Is this correct? Does a flash suppressor have the collateral effect of reducing the visibility of the flash from downrange? (B) Does a muzzle brake do anything but reduce recoil? Does it affect muzzle flash, and if so, how? |
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A flash suppressor will do both. If it hides it from you, it hides it from everyone. Some, like the Phantom and Vortex are VERY effective. Some also reduce muzzle rise somewhat. By ATF definition if a brake reduces the flash signature its illegal. Do they reduce flash at all? I dont know but they are supposed to reduce muzzle rise and recoil. They make guns nasty loud if they are effective because they direct the blast up and back and sideways. A flash hider is a bit different and I dont know much about them and have never seen one at night. |
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| Though smokeless powder contains most of its own oxygen for combustion, some of the products such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide are further 'burned' once they reach the muzzle and are exposed to additonal fresh oxygen from the surrounding air. The purpose of the flash suppressor is to disperse and thereby cool these gases to a point below which they will ignite when they exit the barrel. Flash hiders do this well but my understanding is that a break/compensator, while re-directing the gas to reduce felt recoil and muzzle rise, do not effectively cool the gases enough and there is quite a bit of incandescent combustion once they exit the barrel. While the primary goal is to reduce the flash for the shooter, it likely reduces the flash to an observer but to a lesser extent. |
Have you ever been beside an AK brake?  That is frikken loud!
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My AK brake doesn't seem too loud...to me!! ByteTheBullet (-: |
| Not all flash suppressors necessarily reduce the visibility of the flash from the view point anyone other than the firer. Because most of then don't actually eliminate the flash but instead focus it into a cone moving forward towards the target. Eliminating flash is more of a function of the propellant which is chosen for the ammo. In WWII, American forces were sometimes at a disadvantage because the propellants used for our ammo created a bigger flash signature than the German stuff. |
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I've seen the Votex and Phantom from the side at night. They virtually eliminated the flash. An A2 hider had a flash the size of a fist and no supressor was two feet long and very bright. I was impressed. |