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3/7/2015 9:21:08 PM EDT
Has anyone found a 9mm compensator that does anything but look cool? Wanting to put one on a 16in. Colt for indoor matches. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
3/8/2015 11:23:38 AM EDT
[#1]
There really isn't enough gas pressure on a 9mm and 16" of barrel to make it effective.
You would be better served with light loads that keep the gun on target for quicker follow up shoots.
3/8/2015 11:50:33 AM EDT
[#2]
^^This^^
I found the same thing.  You cannot get enough gas out of a 16" barrel to make the comp effective.  If you run the comp on a 5" barrel then you probably have enough gas to allow the comp to work.  I went with a light 147gr load to try and smooth the cycle out.  Please someone develop a piston 9mm system with lighter bolt for the AR15 or a gas system that will work with standard factory ammo (RMW Extreme uppers will not).  I have one of Ron's uppers and while it is terrific to shoot tailoring a special load just for it is a pain when pistol powder is hard to come by.  YMMV
3/8/2015 2:46:36 PM EDT
[#3]
I have a YHM comp i,m using on my 5" SBR build but havnt tested it yet on the 9mm.

But i have the same compensator on a 16"  7.62x39 AR build I did and I love it.  The gun shoots very smooth, I highly recommend it for the price.
3/8/2015 6:42:38 PM EDT
[#4]
I've got a DI 9mm I built that is going to be tested within the week. Maybe I'll post back if it don't blow up in my face this weekend. Fingers crossed.



Quote History
Quoted:
^^This^^
I found the same thing.  You cannot get enough gas out of a 16" barrel to make the comp effective.  If you run the comp on a 5" barrel then you probably have enough gas to allow the comp to work.  I went with a light 147gr load to try and smooth the cycle out.  Please someone develop a piston 9mm system with lighter bolt for the AR15 or a gas system that will work with standard factory ammo (RMW Extreme uppers will not).  I have one of Ron's uppers and while it is terrific to shoot tailoring a special load just for it is a pain when pistol powder is hard to come by.  YMMV
View Quote

3/9/2015 8:12:34 AM EDT
[#5]
My RRA 9mm upper came with a standard A2 birdcage flash suppressor on it, then removed it and ran with nothing for a while. Later mounted a YHM Phantom comp which is what it wears now. None of them made any noticeable difference to me either in flash reduction, felt recoil or pont of impact shooting standard load 115 gr 9mm. If I hadn't chewed up the thread protector removing it I'd probably go back to that just to shorten the length of the rifle but at least the YHM looks good.
Best upgrade I did to reduce recoil was going from a RRA 5.4 oz carbine length buffer to a Spike's ST-9X (8.5 oz) dedicated length buffer. Also tried a Wolff xtra power buffer spring but caused occasional feed/eject issues.
3/9/2015 10:05:35 PM EDT
[#6]
Thanks for the advice guys. WANDERSON I ordered a Spikes Buffer. Hope it helps out. Gun is a Colt 16in. with A1 upper. Hope the buffer will take some "bounce" out of the recoil.
3/13/2015 9:26:26 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote History
Quoted:
You cannot get enough gas out of a 16" barrel to make the comp effective...  

Please someone develop a piston 9mm system with lighter bolt for the AR15 or a gas system that will work with standard factory ammo (RMW Extreme uppers will not).
View Quote

Same root cause for both issues: not enough gas pressure to run the comp, or to cycle the action with off the shelf ammo.

Fwiw, I haven't found a comp to be effective even on a 5" barrel. Good shooting stance does a lot more to help control the rise of the gun in recoil. This is true for both semi- and full-auto shooting.

Running a silencer seems to help, but this may be more due o the extra weight than anything else.
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