Who uses/has a pistol compensator?

[TITAN308]

How dare you post useful and valid information.

This is an outrage!

All though when you say common, I see "barrel weights" referred to as compensators. I don't ever recall someone calling them "barrel weights". Maybe its just my region here.

 

[hentown]

I have a compensator on my Ruger Mark III (just for fun) and on my Springer 1911, the muzzle flash is VERY noticeable during the day. At night in a dark room, it'd be pretty disorienting.

Under what circumstances were you shooting the 1911 in a dark room?

BTW, so far, everybody's mentioned the ports' directing gasses upward, in order to mitigate muzzle flip. True compensators also have expansion chambers that mitigate slide speed. There's no comparison between a ported barrel and a real compensator.

 

[F-111 John]

Even without the mentioned item, there would still be some light "porting action" based merely in the fact that when the bullet exits the barrel all that gas is behind it and my compensator will still direct some of it out the top, even if its designed to work best with an extended barrel. Does that make sense?

Absolutely it does. Not unlike some AK muzzle devices that are not much more than a close bottomed trough.

I like your design.

 

[MCgunner]

Anyone here an old enough shotgunner to remember the "Cutts Compensator". It wasn't just weight, it had the gas slots.

I have a machined in compensator on my .30-30 barrel for my Contender pistol, called the "TC Hunter" barrel. It's a 12" barrel. The gas ports work REALLY well with .30-30, very slow powder (IMR3031) and 34 grains of it behind a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. Lots of expanding gas means less recoil. That's how a compensator works. That gun with that load recoils about like a 4" K frame with wadcutters, seriously. It's amazingly effective on that barrel. Auto pistol calibers don't have so much expanding gas to work with, so results vary.

 

[otasan56]

I have one on my SA M1911A1 .45 ACP bowling pin pistol, made by King's Gunworks in Los Angeles.

 

[firesky101]

I run comps on my TTC with both the 7.62x25 barrel and the 9x23 barrel. Not a HD gun, that is my 870. I cannot speak for the 9x23 since I do not have a standard barrel bushing to compare it to, but the 7.62x25 is tamed quite a bit even if it becomes a vertical flame thrower.

 

[Greg528iT]

When would I shoot a 1911 in a dark room? Well, per the OP, a bedside table gun, will most likely be used in the middle of the night ala darkened room.

Luckily I have not had to use my 1911 as such. I HAVE been at my outdoor range at dusk has come upon us. We've stayed a bit longer to practice our low light shooting. I can say the upward flash is quite significant. Iwould find it extra disorienting after having just woken up.

 

[StrikeFire83]

I think they're pretty stupid.

 

[1SOW]

9mmEpiphany +1

Compensators attached to the barrel affect the action timing, just as a barrel weight would. One attached to the frame do not. However compensators attached to the barrel are more effective.

The volume of the gas column behind bullet determines the effectiveness of the compensator

The pistol load has to generate enough gas for the compensator to work/stop muzzle flip.
Reloaders can tailor their loads to make enough gas so the sights don't move after a shot.

If there is a gap between the bbl and the comp.,much ofthe pressurized gas escapes before being deflected up by the comp.

 

[TITAN308]

Yea so my first attempt at 3D rendering using clay clearly shows I'm not even remotely close to making it look like what I can draw on paper...

Its fun though. Quickly learning that having water nearby is needed and making 90 degree angles is a PITA... lol

Basic shape...

Little more trimming with basic shape...

Starting to make the 90 degree angles to match the slide profile...

Toying with artistic lines and three mounting points for the slide rail...

Well it ain't pretty yet, but its fun trying...

 

[LiveLife]

Since we are in the "design" stage, how about a "coupling" compensator?

Not sure how it would be designed but when the slide is in battery, the extended portion of the barrel would "couple" with the frame mounted compensator to seal the high pressure gas to operate/feed the compensator ports/slots/holes. As the slide/barrel travels back, the extended portion of the barrel disengages from the compensator to operate normally for the tilt back of the barrel.

What do you think?

Also, have you considered removable weighted inserts for the compensator base to better "fine tune" the compensator for no rise of front sight shot-to-shot?

Is the large base of compensator designated for laser/light/battery?

 

[9mmepiphany]

The vents atop the compensator look like they are pointing the wrong direction

 

[hentown]

I think they're pretty stupid.

Per my highly-intelligent progenitor, "inanimate objects aren't stupid!"

Whether a ported or compensated barrel exhibits enough flash to be a distraction in low light has much to do with ammo used. Most folks who actually shoot ported or compensated handguns in low light (and not those speculating) find that the "night blindness" mantra is fallacious.

 

[TonyAngel]

As cool as all of this looks, I really don't understand how it's going to work.

If I'm understanding this right, your device will attach to the accessory rail of the pistol and butt up against the barrel of the pistol. What I don't understand is how you are going to get a seal between the expansion chamber of the compensator and the barrel.

Even if the fit between the barrel and the compensator is pretty tight, the action of the pistol is going to begin to cycle as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel and then the seal between the barrel and the comp goes out the window. I'd guess that this would just blow gas back into your face.

The way "real" compensators work is that they force the rapidly expanding gases to slam against the walls of the expansion chambers, thereby negating the effects of recoil. They do not necessarily need to port the gases upward. The gases just need a means of escape from the expansion chambers. The best way for this to happen is to make the comp a part of the barrel. This is usually done by threading the barrel and screwing the comp onto the end, in the case of a semi auto.

 

[TITAN308]

The way "real" compensators work is that they force the rapidly expanding gases to slam against the walls of the expansion chambers, thereby negating the effects of recoil. They do not necessarily need to port the gases upward. The gases just need a means of escape from the expansion chambers. The best way for this to happen is to make the comp a part of the barrel. This is usually done by threading the barrel and screwing the comp onto the end, in the case of a semi auto.

We have already established this is a hybrid compensator / barrel weight (though I mentioned I never heard the term barrel weight used down in my parts).

While not as tight a seal as a classic threaded compensator I'm not quite how slow you think a bullet and the gas behind it are going to go in relations to the slide moving back. I think you under estimate the timing from start to finish.

But, as stated, its not a true compensator, but more of a hybrid.


Fun with vectoring:

 

[TonyAngel]

While not as tight a seal as a classic threaded compensator I'm not quite how slow you think a bullet and the gas behind it are going to go in relations to the slide moving back. I think you under estimate the timing from start to finish.

I don't think that the bullet, or the gas, are moving slow at all. I think that you are underestimating how fast all of this happens.

 

[TITAN308]

I think you are thinking that Im thinking that its of equal potency of a classic muzzle attached unit.

You're turn.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Are you thinking of a compensator with chambers for each set to vents or is it just one chamber and the vents are for show?

 

[TITAN308]

The vents are there in the event the user has an extended and ported barrel.

The two options are:

Version A: Ported Ceiling

Version B: Solid Ceiling

My thinking so far is, why not just give them Version A and forgo Version B in the event they upgrade or add on later. Its not hurting anything and still provides some minor gas direction on a standard barrel.

Edit: Can we come to the realization this exists as nothing more than some drawings, vectors and poorly molded clay (so far)? For all I know 30 days from now it will have a care bear engraved on the side and be colored pink. People get so antsy when things are simply being prototyped and act like its a final production unit.

 

[JShirley]

All though when you say common, I see "barrel weights" referred to as compensators.

I've never seen this. Barrel weights are common on match guns, some of which are not suitable for compensators. Some .22LRs, for instance, use barrel weights for stability, but have no need of a compensator. The mission of each is different.

Here is an example. At first glance, it might appear this is compensated, but there are no ports or expansion chamber. It's just a weight near the end of the barrel.

John

 

[dubya450]

I think having a comp custom made for your use will probably work out well but as for the aftermarket compensated barrels, save your money. I bought one for my glock 36 and wasn't too impressed for $200 so i got rid of it to a buddy for $120.

 

[WardenWolf]

I use a comp on my Tokarev, but other than that, no. The gun doesn't "need" it, but it does help me shoot it more accurately. Between that and the chrome-lined 7.62 barrel I installed, it's a very fine shooter.

 

[otasan56]

I think they're pretty stupid.

I don't. I won a $5000 shootoff with a compensated M1911A1 back in 1990.

The M1911A1 is still with me, but not as a CCW gun. I have a Gen3 G17 for that.

 

[barnbwt]

Ya'know, you could always close off whatever ports you decided to put in to make a "bolt on suppressor/compensator."

The lack of a perfect seal would let a good deal of noise out, but I'll bet it would still be quieter than a plain barrel (let alone a comp), and counter much of the recoil. Heck, that gap might (might) even exempt this product from NFA restrictions. For those postulating the slight gap present during the pressure spike would allow all the gas to escape out the sides before it could comp, go check out a .500 S&W revolver barrel.

While some gas does escape through the gap, the lion's share goes forward without a loss of velocity. One way to picture it: except for the low-speed (boundary layer) gas up against the chamber walls, the rest is moving too fast (bullet speed) to make the turn out the cylinder gap. That said, I think this comp setup would be most effective on chamberings with lots of slower powder. Think Wildey Magnum cartridges

At any rate, just set the design up with an adjustable gap, either with a threaded insert opposite the muzzle, or a sliding mount on the weaver rail. For whatever gun in use, just position the comp to where the gap is in the range seen in revolvers, and torque down. You could even make it have adjustable weight/length by stacking multiple compensator blocks together. Much more flexible than a fixed comp milled in a barrel or screw-on suppressor.

BTW, this setup has the very desirable ablilty to be mounted on any gun with a lower rail, and without any other modifications. Not all guns have threaded barrels available. The reciprocating mass also stays the same with an off-barrel setup, so recoil springs may not need changing, rate of fire would stay the same, and reliability would be less affected.

TCB

 

[TITAN308]

Well she ain't perfect, but not bad for a 3D modeler noob...