Is Flash Suppression absolutely necessary?

I will say I just took the flash hinder off my MP15 this morning and put a thread protector on to see what the effect was. WOW I could see the orange flash in the scope and my son almost died laughing. He said throw a new mag in, let me shoot and watch the muzzle. There was about a foot of clear air right off the muzzle then a 2 foot orange flame. Don't know how it'd be with a comp on the end, but my factory hinder is going back on. As far as sound it became a much lower tone, but no less.

Was it still dark bud?
What ammo were you shooting?

I was initially motivated to take the A2 flash hider because I saw it as a dirt trap and just didn't like the looks. My AR was not scoped at the time. In broad daylight if there was a difference, I could not easily tell. same for the noise. Disclosure: I have good eyesight and hearing; I wear full protection; the ammo was most likely Remington 55gr .223 at $6 a box.

Did the same with a Tactical Mini 14, same result. (No wonder, because the Range Rifle is identical and comes with a naked muzzle)

The only confirmed daylight flamethrower in .223 I have fired was the 16" naked muzzle AK clone.

Necessary? In almost all circumstances, no. And naked muzzles are more accurate, usually. I found a great product though -- Micor muzzles. They have the cuts mirroring the twist of the barrel so the spinning gases ejecting through the muzzle don't "see" the muzzle device and cause backpressure to affect accuracy. I LUV 'em.

While I have flash suppresors on my M1A and AR15A2, I don't need them for target work. If you don't have them, don't worry. If you do, don't worry. If you want to be cool, consult your local coolness counselor.

FH

I dislike them. I am hunting in a blind at this moment and hate the added length. I hope to shoot soon and like always I am not blinded without a flash hider. Run a thread protector and it will look like you are part of an elite set next time you go to range.

Powder has a lot to do with the amount of flash too.

Mil surplus Yugo M67 (7.62x39) out of my AK with a brake has very little flash, even though the barrel is 16".

BSW

Was it still dark bud?
What ammo were you shooting?

Click to expand...

It was a cloudy day, mid day
I was shooting FEDERAL M193 (LC BRASS)
MP15 carbine

All I know is I see NO muzzle flash in the scope with the factory hinder on.

If you ever shoot the gun at night, yes the flash hider is a good thing. I would never have a home defense/fighting rifle without one. I can handle the recoil, but losing your vision in the dark is bad.

ford8nr said:

It was a cloudy day, mid day
I was shooting FEDERAL M193 (LC BRASS)
MP15 carbine

All I know is I see NO muzzle flash in the scope with the factory hinder on.

Click to expand...

Your son could see the flash when you fired the rifle. Could you see the flash yourself while shooting without a scope?

Alt solution

An external device might not be the best solution. If you handload, try a faster, single base powder. VV N133 might work for you. Single base powders generally display less flash than equivalent double base.

What Old Scratch just said, allthough I've used it and my accuracy went to he!!, very little muzzle flash though. Remember every rifle is a bit different in what loads it likes though.

hmm.

Noose, what bullet/primer/case combination were you using?

I have found N133 to be quite accurate with 69gr Sierra bullets.

...and as stated, very low flash.

Make no mistake--the YHM QD flash hider itself is NOT QD. It is an adapter for the YHM QD sound suppressor. (The sound suppressor is the ultimate solution to your problem, although you don't mention one in your post.) Due to the fact you don't mention the sound suppressor, I assume that you are thinking the flash hider itself may be quick detachable. This is not the case......just sayin'

I run the YHM phantom on my AR. It works better than an A2 and it looks cool.

Is Flash Suppression absolutely necessary? The short answer is No; unless you're engaging multiple armed combatants at night...then it is not absolutely necessary, but it is preferable.

Most of the riflemen in WW1 and WW2 got by without them. The others... well, maybe their muzzle flashes were seen.

The shorter the barrel the more you need a flash suppressor, even in low light conditions ,with some rifle and cartridge combinations, can cause enough flash blindness so target acquisition is darn near impossible.

I don't think compensators are necessary on a semi auto .223. Flash suppression more practical.

Whatcha going to be shooting at night?

For home defense a rifle would be my last choice, and for hunting hopefully you only need one shot. For couch commando scenarios, they are fantasies so it doesn't really matter.

A muzzle brake is probably a better choice if you want to screw something on the end of your rifle, in the event you get into fast-paced competition it might help a little.