Flash Hiders: how do they work?

[Mooseman]

what do flash hiders do to stop the flash? Just curious.

 

[cdrt]

They don't stop the flash. They just make it less apparent for the person firing the rifle. Anti-gunners are the ones who think it makes the flash disappear and they use it when defining what they think an assault weapon is.

The person on the receiving end is still going to see the flash.

 

[Geronimo45]

Anti-gunners are the ones who think it makes the flash disappear and they use it when defining what they think an assault weapon is.

They also think it's a silencer.

 

[pdowg881]

And that it goes on a high powered police armor piercing military sniper rifle.

 

[Geronimo45]

Isn't it that shoulder thingy that goes up?

 

[RNB65]

Flash suppressors allow cool air to mix in with the powder gas as it exits the muzzle which rapidly cools it and reduces the flash.

 

[MErl]

I think they focus the gasses so that one point gets much hotter and gives off bluer light. kind of like a propane torch, you can burn the propane and get a sooty yellow flame or focus and add a little O2 to get a near invisible blue flame. since powder doesn't need the extra O2 it just needs the focusing.

then again I could be completely wrong.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Flash suppressors allow cool air to mix in with the powder gas as it exits the muzzle which rapidly cools it and reduces the flash.

How does a flash suppressor do that?

I mean, the powder gas and air are going to mix whether there is a flash suppressor or not.

 

[Clipper]

The flash supressor directs the flash into a set pattern of small jets instead of allowing one huge undisciplined ball. Obviously, the portion of the flash that either gets directed downward or is otherwise occluded (from the shooter's view) by the barrel and action of the gun itself, doesn't contribute to the flash-blinding effect to the shooter. The flash is supposed to be (at least partially) hidden from the shooter, not the shootee...

 

[Sunray]

Flash hiders and flash suppressors are two different things. Neither of which you'll find on a handgun. Neither will totally eliminate the flash either.
The hider does just that. It's a cone on the end of the barrel of a RIFLE, that hides the flash mostly from the side only. Do a net search for a No. 5 Lee-Enfield. The tapered muzzle is a flash hider.
A flash suppressor spreads the burning gases out via the slots or holes in the flash suppressor. They allow the gases to be released over a longer space than just the muzzle causing the flash to be shorter. If you've ever shot at dusk, you've seen how long the flash is. Some cartridges can produce a flash that's a foot long. Spreading that long flame out the sides reduces the flash. Look at a picture of an AR-15 or FAL. They have flash suppressors.
Handguns don't use either a flash hider or flash suppressor.

 

[M2 Carbine]

How it works I don't know but a good flash hider, like this Phantom on a 9 inch barrel Kel Tec PLR 223pistol, does work.

Without the flash hider.


With the flash hider. Yes, the gun is firing.


The flash hider.

 

[DWARREN123]

They usually divide the hot gases and allow them to cool much faster plus the hot gas is not condensed in just one area. Just a basic explanation.