Also MachIVshooter how does that Noveske KX3 and the Troy Ind. Claymore muzzle break work?
Both direct blast forward, the KX3 also changes the signature a bit. The KX3 was specifically designed for short tubes.
From behind the rifle, the noise reduction to the shooter is about the same with either. As you start to move out to the side, I think the KX3 does a better job of keeping noise down range. Of course, it's also twice the size and twice the price. They look rather silly on guns with exposed barrel, too.
My original intention was the KX3 on an 11" barrel, with the UTG handguard and then hogging out the front to accomodate the KX3's diameter (rails would have remained 13", but would be missing the support between them for the last two inches). Well, DSA kept dragging thier feet with my 11" upper, so I scrounged all the parts for the 7.5" locally and put it together, still planning to use the quad rail on the 11" when it showed. Weeks later, I called DSA again, they said another 3-4 weeks (yeah right), so I began keeping an eye open for another 11"-ish upper. I found this BCM at the Tanner gun show for a smokin' price, so I grabbed it. In the interim, I had put a Claymore on my Armalite M15A2 carbine and really liked it, so I went that route with the BCM 12.5. I think it came out looking pretty good.
I'll probably still do a 10.5 or 11", but since I now have a 7.5 and 12.5 5.56 upper, the next one will likely be .300 Blk.
Suppressors also work somewhat better on a 16'' barrel (And last longer)
Depends on the supressor and the load. Take the .300 Blk; It was specifically designed for optimal performance in suppressed SBRs.