In the world of precision rifle shooting, there are three main classes of muzzle devices that see widespread use.
These are flash suppressors, muzzle brakes, and suppressors. Each of them does something slightly different from the rest; however, often there is some overlap.
Here’s what to know about what they offer.
Flash Hiders
A flash hider, also known as a flash suppressor, is a muzzle device that helps shield the shooter’s eye from the bulk of the bright muzzle flash. Contrary to the name (and popular opinion) the primary objective of a flash hider is not to conceal the shooter’s position (although that may be a secondary effect, depending on the efficacy of the device).
Flash hiders are less common on precision rifles than they are on infantry rifles like the M16, because with a precision rifle, often it is the precision of one shot that counts, rather than the ability to make a series of several accurate follow up shots. Therefore, it is more important to protect a shooter’s sight picture when there is a necessity to fire rapidly in succession.
As a result, flash hiders are somewhat uncommon on precision rifles.
Muzzle Brakes
The next category of muzzle devices commonly encountered on precision rifles is that of muzzle brakes.
Like flash hiders, muzzle brakes are muzzle devices; however, in this case, the muzzle brake is a device with ports that change the manner in which gasses are vented at the rifle’s muzzle. This means that the force of felt recoil can be distributed or dispersed.
Some muzzle brakes are “radial” muzzle brakes, a configuration in which the ports are distributed around the outside of the muzzle, helping to diminish muzzle flip and felt recoil. A good muzzle brake can cut felt recoil by close to 50%, but on rifles, more common figures at 20% to 30%.
These devices are common on long-range precision rifles because of the severe recoil many long-range cartridges, like .50 BMG and .338 Lapua, produce.
However, with a muzzle brake, the muzzle blast is often made worse, as is the muzzle flash, so a muzzle brake can actually produce more obstruction to the sight picture – which may not be a big concern when it is one shot that counts and the shooter has time to rest and reacquire the target afterwards.
(Note: Muzzle brakes are commonly called compensators when they are installed on pistols.)
Suppressors
Lastly, we have suppressors, which are also known as silencers and in slang as cans. Suppressors are muzzle devices that have internal vanes and baffles that help to contain and/or redistribute gasses vented at the end of the barrel.
Suppressors are NFA items, which makes them harder to get, but the offer among the most value for shooters of precision rifles.
The main benefit of a suppressor is that it will considerably diminish the muzzle blast of a rifle by containing some of the escaping gasses; as a result, suppressors also make a rifle quieter – hence the common name, silencer.
But this is only one of the benefits of a suppressor for a precision rifle. Suppressors also obstruct (and in some cases even eliminate) the muzzle flash, and they can also considerably counteract felt recoil and muzzle jump.
On top of that, a suppressor will increase bore pressure and effectively serve as a barrel extension, which results in higher muzzle velocities, energy, and a marginally flatter trajectory.
In this way, suppressors offer all of the main advantages of flash hiders and muzzle brakes (although they often don’t cut recoil quite as much) and then some.
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