muzzle brakes

[starnbar]

Had this come up at the range the other day. A young man was firing a ar15 with a brake on it and particles of something it appeared to be metallic were spraying the shooters on either side of him. I got hit with a fragment while walking by him and I asked him what he was shooting the projectile type. Well he had some fmj bullets loaded I asked if I could check one of his reloaded rounds he said ok and said people were giving him hard looks about him shooting. A quick check confirmed what I all ready knew these were PLATED fmj he got at a gun show he had them maxed out on the charge and they were coming apart at the muzzle. I had him sit on the bench next to me and fired one of his rounds he was quite surprised when he got hit by the fragments he apologizes to me and the other shooters just a newbie with his built by himself new rifle one of the guys we shoot with had some 55 gr real fmj we told him load these up and give em a try. If I see him again I will let you know how it goes.

 

[entropy]

Glad he was repentant once he realized his mistake. I run linear compensators on all my ARs. (except the A1 clone, whenever that gets built) I load FMJ to close to GI specs. (M193 or M855)
There are a lot like him out there, sadly. I have also done as you have and gently intervened when needed a few times.

 

[AlexanderA]

It's possible the muzzle brake was not aligned properly. If misaligned, the bullet jacket might have been contacting the inside of the brake as the bullet exited the muzzle. That would explain the fragments spewing out the side.

 

[lightman]

A well designed brake can do wonders for taming recoil but they sure can be obnoxious sometimes. I would have never thought about plated bullets being a problem. Then again, I don't load or shoot plated bullets!

 

[12Bravo20]

Plated bullets can and will come apart when pushed to max velocities/powder charges depending on the manufacturer and the thickness of the plating. Most manufacturers will recommend using lead bullet load data or FMJ starting loads for plated bullets and will state not to exceed a certain velocity.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I run sound forwarders on mine. Im waiting for the one for my 223 Wlyde to come in. I like to courteous to the shooter next to me. AR 10's are really annoying.

 

[doubleh]

As do I. I only have two ARs and the devices are just a steel tube about 3" long. They do make a difference. My son-in-law shoots one with a plain end 16" barrel. That thing is almost as bad as one with a brake.

 

[Chuck R.]

I've got a couple on some precision rigs (Area 419s and one really, really obnoxious one (Hyper Tap) on my 3Gun carbine.

The Hyper tap is an amazing brake, but when we shoot from inside a blue barrel you'll want to triple up on the ear pro to the point you won't here the buzzer.

 

[InTheSwamp]

I run the 7.62 Dead Air KeyMo in my 5.56 AR. It gets the job done with little concussion and you can attach a can to it.

Dead Air Keymount Muzzle Brake 1/2-28 (5.56)

Shop Now - Dead Air Keymount Muzzle Brake in 1/2-28 for the Sandman line of silencers or as a stand alone flat shooting brake with minimal concussion.

www.bauer-precision.com

 

[trackskippy]

I have a couple of ban-era Armalites that came with them mounted. I got them right after the ban was over and they included a standard flash suppressor in the box with the gun, but didnt do anything with the blind pinned and welded brakes, and I had to file them off. I actually sold them on eBay and got $50 for the pair, even with them having been filed off, which kind of amazed me.

I shot them a couple of times before I did take them off, and about the only good part about them was, they kept the benches on either side of you clear. Boy did people bitch!

They bitched even more when I was shooting my SOCOM M1A. A 16" 308 is bad enough, and the brake just takes it to another level. That thing was really obnoxious to people around you. Some pretty impressive fireballs out of it too.

Im not a fan of them in general, and really dont see the point on things like the 223's and 308's, but to each his own.

 

[lysanderxiii]

Muzzle brakes can produce a good bit of overpressure.

Skip to 7:00.00

 

[JDGray]

Muzzle brakes can produce a good bit of overpressure.

Skip to 7:00.00

A brake don't cause over pressure, they just direct it to manage recoil. Sure, it changes dwell time, but to say it creates overpressure? IDK. If shooting super hot ammo, will adding a brake put it over the top causing a KB?

 

[Navy87Guy]

I have an APA Fat B@stard on my AR10. It does the trick with recoil but man does it send out shock waves! I was shooting at our indoor range - with the barrel a good foot beyond the partitions of the lane - and it still blew the warning and instruction signs off the walls!

 

[bfoosh006]

I have an APA Fat B@stard on my AR10. It does the trick with recoil but man does it send out shock waves! I was shooting at our indoor range - with the barrel a good foot beyond the partitions of the lane - and it still blew the warning and instruction signs off the walls!

FWIW... this link shows how some brakes can direct their gases... The APA gases do come back towards the shooter.
https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/08/12/muzzle-brake-blast-ground-signature/

https://precisionrifleblog.com/?s=Muzzle+Brakes

 

[lysanderxiii]

A brake don't cause over pressure, they just direct it to manage recoil. Sure, it changes dwell time, but to say it creates overpressure? IDK. If shooting super hot ammo, will adding a brake put it over the top causing a KB?

"OVER-PRESSURE" as in "above ambient".

The folks around you experience "over-pressure".

 

[JDGray]

"OVER-PRESSURE" as in "above ambient".

The folks around you experience "over-pressure".

Copy that! Misunderstood your wording
Shooting a Barrett 50 cal prone on a tarp, it was quite impressive watching the pressure waves tossing the empty cases around!

 

[Kingcreek]

I have an M1A Bush Rifle (pre scout/squad without the forward rail) with a smith ent brake. I would never shoot it at a range near other shooters. It’s a wonderful shorty M1A but the fireball and blast signature is obnoxious. Fun but obnoxious.

 

[jmorris]

The fast twists came around with the black guns. Some old .223 jacketed varmint bullets intended for 1:12 twist guns would come apart from the centrifugal force so shooting the exact same load out of a 1:7, disintegrating upon exit of the barrel.

A plated bullet wouldn’t have a chance in .223, who makes them? Even Berry‘s (fairly large plated bullet MFG) sells FMJ .223 projectiles.

 

[12Bravo20]

The Berry's 223 bullets are jacketed bullets. https://www.berrysmfg.com/category/preferred-plated-bullets/rjacketed

In fact I am having a difficult time even finding copper plated 223 bullets. Copper plated bullet have a maximum velocity before they come apart which most manufacturers state on their websites.

One would not think that a jacketed 55grain 223 bullet would disintegrate out of a 1-7 test barrel when loaded to max powder charge per reloading manuals. I have shot NATO spec 55GR M193 ammo in 1-7 twist barrels without issue. Of course they had a true 5.56 chamber or a 223 Wylde chamber. I can definitely see the really light 223 varmint type bullets coming part if pushed to max velocities and shot out of a 1-7 twist barrel.

 

[Pat Riot]

I have a Ruger SFAR 16” in .308 Winchester.
The gun came with a “Boomer” muzzle brake mounted on it. It really tames recoil, but it also sends the pulse concussion to the side and rear. I had my nephew shoot it while I stood next to the shooting bench to our left. The noise was impressive and the pulse wave was annoying.
Others shooting at the range said it didn’t bother them. I think they were being polite.

I looked for some plated rifle bullets just for grins. This is all I found.

Plated rifle bullets:
.308 for subsonic loads

30 Caliber (.308) 220 Grain Bullets – Evergreen Ballistics

30 Caliber 220 Grain Plated Bullets available in boxes of 250 or 500. Reload your 300 Blackout subsonic ammo for less with Evergreen Ballistics bullets

evergreenballistics.com

EDIT:
Since we’re on the subject of muzzle brakes, I have a question for you folks on .308 Win / 7.62x51 ammo and muzzle devices.

I am considering dumping the brake that’s on my SFAR. I hate it when I am at the range and someone next to me is using a side deflecting style brake. I don’t want to inflict that on others.

Do front emitting inline style brakes (can’t think of the name) reduce recoil or flash?I was looking at the KAW Valley model.

I liked the flash hider I had on my old AR-15. It was a Yankee Hill Machine “Phantom”. It also mitigated muzzle rise. Does the YHM for .308 perform similarly to the 5.56 version?

 

[Riomouse911]

Great for the shooters shoulder.

Bad for anyone around.

My least favorite shooters are the guys who shoot with brakes at my usual indoor range. I know it’s allowed, but I wish they shot unbraked and put those on in the desert. A few guys blasting away were such a piece of work it almost made me want to bring my .300 Weatherby every time I go. Just to watch the jump as I touch a few off in the next lane as that guy is trying to shoot well. (.300 mag is allowed, too.)

Instead, I just leave and come back another day. Saving what’s left of my hearing is more important than a crappy time at the range.

Stay safe.

 

[Pat Riot]

@Riomouse911
When I lived in CA there was a 25 yard indoor range in Westminster that allowed rifles from .22LR to 300 Win Mag.
I was resting .38 Special SD rounds one day when I ended up with 2 guys on my right with ARs with muzzle brakes that looked like they came off of WW2 Tanks.
I had a guy in my left with a similar AR set up. The concussion was knocking stuff off the bench in front of me.
Then the guy on the left started shooting an M1A with a brake on it.
That was it for me. I left.
When I was paying at the counter I asked why they couldn’t put rifles in one range and pistols in the other. (They had two different ranges separated by a concrete wall).
The guys behind the counter said their noise mitigation and back drops allowed for high power rifles.
I told them that their noise mitigation didn’t help with muzzle brake concussion.

Man that was annoying.

 

[JDGray]

I have a Ruger SFAR 16” in .308 Winchester.
The gun came with a “Boomer” muzzle brake mounted on it. It really tames recoil, but it also sends the pulse concussion to the side and rear. I had my nephew shoot it while I stood next to the shooting bench to our left. The noise was impressive and the pulse wave was annoying.
Others shooting at the range said it didn’t bother them. I think they were being polite.

I looked for some plated rifle bullets just for grins. This is all I found.

Plated rifle bullets:
.308 for subsonic loads

30 Caliber (.308) 220 Grain Bullets – Evergreen Ballistics

30 Caliber 220 Grain Plated Bullets available in boxes of 250 or 500. Reload your 300 Blackout subsonic ammo for less with Evergreen Ballistics bullets

evergreenballistics.com

EDIT:
Since we’re on the subject of muzzle brakes, I have a question for you folks on .308 Win / 7.62x51 ammo and muzzle devices.

I am considering dumping the brake that’s on my SFAR. I hate it when I am at the range and someone next to me is using a side deflecting style brake. I don’t want to inflict that on others.

Do front emitting inline style brakes (can’t think of the name) reduce recoil or flash?I was looking at the KAW Valley model.

I liked the flash hider I had on my old AR-15. It was a Yankee Hill Machine “Phantom”. It also mitigated muzzle rise. Does the YHM for .308 perform similarly to the 5.56 version?

Linear compensators will direct the blast towards the target, recoil will most likely not change. The blast from a standard muzzle will blast in a 360 degree pattern to the side as it escapes around the projectile.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I run these on my 7.62x39 AR'S.

Muzzle Brake 1/2x28 1/2x36 5/8x32 5/8x24 TPI With 13/16-16 Thread Sleeve | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Muzzle Brake 1/2x28 1/2x36 5/8x32 5/8x24 TPI With 13/16-16 Thread Sleeve at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

And these on my 223/556 AR'S.

1/2X28 .223 5.56 .224 Linear Compensator Muzzle Brake Stainless For Bolt Action 787639358916 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1/2X28 .223 5.56 .224 Linear Compensator Muzzle Brake Stainless For Bolt Action at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[jmorris]

The Berry's 223 bullets are jacketed bullets. https://www.berrysmfg.com/category/preferred-plated-bullets/rjacketed

In fact I am having a difficult time even finding copper plated 223 bullets. Copper plated bullet have a maximum velocity before they come apart which most manufacturers state on their websites.

That was my point even a plated bullet MFG understands the need for jacketed bullets. Although they could get them from a better supplier…

One would not think that a jacketed 55grain 223 bullet would disintegrate out of a 1-7 test barrel when loaded to max powder charge per reloading manuals.

It was only some of the varmint bullets I had issues with but I was certainly not alone. Hornady even warned about it in their manual.



A bullet that exits a 1:12 twist barrel at 3300 FPS is spinning at 198,000 RPM.

If we leave everything the same but spin it with a 1:7, that changes to 339,428 RPM. If they can’t handle that ADDITIONAL 141,000 rpm, they come apart. At some point things just can’t stay stuck to the spinning object…

4 Dopes and a Merry Go Round

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!* Jukin Media Verified *Find this video and others like it by visiting https://www.jukinmedia.com/licensing/vi...

www.youtube.com

Many plated bullets can’t even stand 1200 fps before they start coming apart. If there is question a target just far enou forward of the muzzle to not be destroyed by its blast can catch the particles that have already detached, looks like this.