Armalite AR-10 Carbine - Flash Suppressor vs Muzzle Break

[Anthony]

Hello Everyone,

I am seriously considering the purchase of an Armalite AR-10A4 Carbine (16 1/4 inch barrel) and cannot decide between the flash suppressor and muzzle break that can be fitted on this rifle. This would be a general purpose rifle so it would be used on the range, in the field, and possibly for home defense.

What are the pros and cons of each muzzle attachment?

Thanks for the help.

 

[deadly50bmg]

Muzzlebrake.

You probably wont be needing to hide your shot signature on a shooting range. the muzzlebrake will make followup shots a heck of a lot better. just get a smith to make it tight for you and you wont be disappointed.

 

[DMK]

What are the pros and cons of each muzzle attachment?

A flash suppressor reduces the bright ball of flame that shoots out of the muzzle when you fire (especially in a short barreled carbine). This is most effective at dusk, dawn or night. You probably don't even notice the "flash" of the fireball in bright sunlight. Flash suppressors really don't have any drawbacks except that they add length to the rifle and add a little weight to the end of the barrel.

A muzzle brake redirects the muzzle blast to the sides, also sometimes up, and down(depending on the design). This uses some of the energy of the muzzle blast to reduce recoil. However, because this blast is redirected to the sides and back, muzzle brakes have the noticable drawback of greatly increasing the felt pressure wave and noise to those at the sides of the rifle and in some cases to the shooter.

Those brakes that redirect the blast up are often called Compensators, and they reduce muzzle rise. Compensators are mainly used in semi-autos to allow for quick follow up shots.

If you don't plan on shooting the rifle in the dark, then you won't find the flash suppressor as useful as a brake. Reduced recoil is always nice. However, please be considerate of those you shoot next to.

I have a 17" barreled FAL with a brake (same caliber as the AR10) and another 18" barreled FAL without one. The brake very noticably reduces felt recoil and it only sounds a little louder when shooting the rifle. However, if I let a friend shoot the rifle next to me, the pressure wave off the side of it can actually get painful after a while, even with double ear protection.

 

[TIMC]

I would not put the muzzle brake on it. You will not want to fire it in the field without ear plugs. Speaking for myself I usually don't wear hearing protection while hunting because I like to hear what is going on around me.
Being a semi-auto there is not a lot of recoil anyway. My M-4 has a muzzle brake on it and it is terribly loud for a .223, I would hate to think what a short barreled .308 would sound like. I have a 20" AR-10 with a flash supressor and I am happy with it.

 

[esldude]

I owned, notice past tense, owned an AR-10 Armalite with muzzle brake. DO NOT GET THE MUZZLE BRAKE

It is incredibly LOUD! WHAT?! I SAID LOUD!

Each time I took it to the local range, the range would clear out after just a few shots. It was uncomfortable even when using ear plugs combined with ear muffs.

Now the brake made it shoot wonderfully. But it simply isn't worth it. Don't get the muzzle brake. It simply is much too loud.

 

[BusMaster007]

I have an ArmaLite AR10.
It came with a 'nubbin' on the end for later installation of a muzzlebrake or other appendage.

I opted to get the 'installed for free at ArmaLite' muzzlebrake...BIG MISTAKE.
I will get that removed and install a VORTEX flashsuppressor at the earliest opportunity.

The BRAKE makes shooting my really 'neato-jet' rifle a pain to those around me~!

 

[BusMaster007]

http://www.smithenterprise.com/products06.html

1000V Vortex® .30 cal ARSR-700 Flash Suppressor $75.00
World's best flash suppressor now available for bolt action sniper rifles (i.e. M40A3, M24 SWS, etc), the SR25 and AR-10 semiauto weapons and similar systems. Sound suppressor capable.

 

[lycanthrope]

If you don't need flash suppression.....don't get a FS. Just get a good target crown. Some service rifle guys believe a poor FS can effect accuracy, although I think that's difficult to quantify.

If you want to shoot as rapid as possible, get the brake. Rifles are all loud. I enjoy seeing my hits in the scope and ANY short barreled rifle shouldn't be shot without protection. I have an short barreled .243 (Remington 600 Mohawk) and it rattles the sinuses without any help.

 

[.50DE]

I alway's

shoot with ear muffs on, my AR-10 does not seem to be any louder than my M-14, FAL ( both with flash), or my G3 with muzzle brake.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I had two identical AR-10 .308 uppers. One had a brake, the other a plain barrel. The plain barrel was much more pleasant to shoot plus it was more accurate. I couldn't tell any difference in recoil. I sold the upper with the brake and kept the plain barrel.

I also bought an AR15 which had a brake. It was just plain brutal to shoot from the hip because the blast would hit me in the face. I was shooting it off the hood of my truck and the blast literally wore a line through the blanket I had on the hood.
I couldn't varmint hunt with it because my ears would ring all day long if I shot it just once.
I finally took that worthless contraption off. The rifle is much more pleasant to shoot now and my group size has shrunk almost 50%.

A friend of mine has a Browning BAR just like mine except his has the BOSS on the barrel and mine has a plain barrel. Both are .338 Win Mag. When we shoot at the range, I get no complaints from other shooters. My friend gets lots of complaints about muzzle blast even from people several benches away. It's very unpleasant to sit at the next bench when he shoots. Our accuracy is about the same.

I would avoid brakes. My experiences with them have all been negative.