Protagonist camping out of the city with his father for the first time on a hunting spree, extremely enthusiastic about hunting a deer, all set with the black coloured “beanfield sniper Remington Sendero SF II Rifle designed to squeeze in the velocity for long & accurate shots. With a desire to get a perfect prey with an absolute straight first shot is making a writer admire the rifle in his hand.
The long front swivel, full-length bedding blocks and 26” heavy contour stainless steel barrel making the rifle all the way more desirable to just blow the first shot. But, pouring rain coupled with thunderstorms is making it absolutely difficult for the first-timer to fix in the hand on the rifle trigger and make a shot of glory.
The deer is right in front of the eyes, writer has just made a shot “Boom” leaving a smoke/muzzle rise all around unleashing the propellant gases, loud thunderous jolt screeching every bit possible of the flora and fauna space. However, there is no prey hunted - the deer ran away irrespective of the perfect rifle in the hand.
Here, begins the story of the missing “Muzzle Brake”
What is a muzzle brake and why is it important for all set of guns shot or rifle shots?
If you wish to be a sensible owner of guns and rifles it is of utmost importance to know what benefit muzzle brake can give to your hunting experience?
Here’s a read on as a beginner guide:
Like Newton's third law “Every action has an opposite and equal reaction” let’s take a case of you jumping while applying a force on the ground and ground in return putting an equal and opposite force that propels you in the air.
So, is in the case of bullet firing. As the trigger compresses, an explosion is made which releases the gasses and as an opposite equal reaction it causes recoil. To understand this phenomenon, a muzzle brake is a solution to make a recoil less strong.
A muzzle brake is also known as recoil compensator is primarily a device that is an integral part to the construction of the barrel of the firearm or a cannon. It is usually attached to the end of the barrel in order to redirect the section of gasses released while making a gunshot.
The combustion or propellant gasses are nothing but a by-product of the chemical reaction that takes place on the explosion and muzzle brake controls the direction of muzzle rise which follow the departure of a projectile or shot. Hence, giving the shooter an experience of a flatter shot.
How do Muzzle brakes work and what are the advantages of having a muzzle brake for your gun or rifle?
The structure and build of the muzzle brake make it more usable and wanting. It primarily aims to ensure the redirection and control of the combustion gasses that evolve in the atmosphere post the departure of the projectile from the barrel.
Muzzle brakes share a basic principle in the design makeup of having a perpendicular angle to the long axis of the barrel which allows it to partially divert propellant gasses from the muzzle end of the bore.
Usually, this structure of muzzle brake puts a quotient on the accuracy level of the bullet shot but it is equally important to know that muzzle brakes do not degrade the accuracy of the gun, but only changes or reduces the recoil timing after the bullet is left the barrel.
While the muzzle brake reduces the recoil time. It also ensures a quicker and sharper focus of target and stable accuracy. It also reduces the upward and side to side motion while firing. After all such advantages, muzzle brake still falls under the category of controversial devices solely because of its one and only disadvantage and that is muzzle brake is exceptionally hard on hearing.
The only solution to break this odd is to wear earplugs inside the earmuffs which will act as protectors to the eardrums.
Since, now we know what exactly Muzzle brake is, how it works and what are the benefits of the same? Here are few tips on choosing a right muzzle brake for your rifle or gun:
The Flash Thrower:
The flash thrower or a flash hider is a way to redirect propellant gasses. Flash throwers work in an opposite direction instead of hiding or concealing the combustion gasses to make it less visible to the shooter; these rather reduce the recoil time of the firearm after a bullet gets shot from a projectile.
Barrel Length:
A standard sized 16” rifle barrel and 10” rifle barrel produces a muddle pressure of approximately 7000 psi and 14000 psi respectively. The by-product of explosion that is combustion gasses are overly strong, extremely concentrated which impact the short-sized barrels resulting in the stress applied during force of materials and design of flash throwers.
So, it is important to look for a brake which ensures the prevention or lowers the impact of such propellent gasses specifically if you’re going lower than 14.5”
The sync of muzzle brake and suppressor:
While choosing a muzzle brake it is quintessential to keep in mind the compatibility quotient of the suppressor. Though, the suppressor is usually confused or fumbled with silencer but, technically silencer mellows down the shot noise while suppressor not only reduces the noise associated with explosion but also, makes a gradual transition of the gasses to ensure that after the explosion, expansion chambers are allowed efficient cool time to spread out the gasses.
- Weight and size
The important element or consideration to be made while choosing a perfect muzzle brake is the size and weight of the weapon, refile or a gunshot. For an accurate bullet shot, a perfect fitment of the muzzle brake in the gun is equally important.
- Durability:
Usual theory of muzzle brake states that they outlive the barrel life which makes them reliable irrespective of the rigorous activity involved during the projectile of the bullet. But while buying a muzzle brake make sure that you choose the right compensator also that can take the heavy muzzle strike bearing too.
So, with these top 5 tips for choosing a right muzzle brake for your weapon and benefits of having the same, I wish you a happy hunting experience. Good Luck!