Firearms are endlessly customizable these days. It's not to say that folks haven't been altering their guns over the years; however, the aftermarket support of today is astounding. Adding accessories allows shooters to create firearms that suit their exact needs. Adding or changing muzzle devices is a great way to obtain desirable shooting characteristics from your preferred firearm. What Is a Muzzle Device? For many years, firearms generally did not have gadgets on the ends of their barrels, which is known as a bare muzzle. Eventually, designers added accessories to bare muzzles to change the firing properties of firearms. These muzzle devices
break down into two broad categories: muzzle brakes/compensators and flash hiders/flash suppressors. What is a Muzzle Brake or Muzzle Compensator? Before we go over muzzle brakes and muzzle compensators, we need to discuss recoil and what causes it. High-pressure gas escaping the muzzle drives a firearm backward, just like a jet engine pushes an airplane forward. Thrust from gas moving in a straight line leaving the muzzle pushes a long gun
into your shoulder or flips a pistol
in your hands. Muzzle brakes reduce recoil by diverting this high-velocity gas to the sides of the barrel using ports (holes). Some muzzle brake designs also redirect gas backward to slightly pull a rifle away from the shoulder, further cutting recoil. Muzzle brakes allow for a more comfortable shooting experience, especially with firearms chambered in large calibers with strong recoil.

AAC 51T Muzzle Brake. Note the large side ports giving effective recoil reduction. This muzzle brake also acts as a quick detach mount for AAC suppressors.

While muzzle brakes reduce recoil by redirecting gas to the sides or towards the rear of a barrel, muzzle compensators minimize muzzle climb/rise. Muzzle rise or climb occurs when the recoil of multiple rapid shots raises the end of the barrel. This climb causes sights to move off target, decreasing accuracy. Compensators work against muzzle rise by directing gas upward, which pushes the muzzle down. Some muzzle devices combine the characteristics of a muzzle brake and compensator to mitigate both recoil and muzzle climb. The most effective combination muzzle brake/compensators virtually eliminate recoil and muzzle climb, causing a firearm to remain very stable under rapid fire.

Bravo Company GFC MOD 1 Compensator. This muzzle device combines the characteristics of a brake and compensator.

Who Benefits From Muzzle Brakes/Compensators? While muzzle brakes/compensators lower recoil and muzzle rise considerably, they also significantly increase flash and blast. We will cover muzzle flash/blast in the next section. However, some folks, like competition shooters, usually do not mind the harsh blast and flash. These muzzle devices allow them to shoot much faster. In competition shooting, fractions of a second can mean the difference between winning and losing. Regardless of the purpose, muzzle brakes/compensators tame firearms and make them more enjoyable to shoot. What is a Flash Hider or Flash Suppressor? When a firearm fires, hot gas pushes the bullet down the barrel. After the bullet leaves the barrel, all this gas dumps out into the atmosphere. This hot gas also carries traces of unburned gunpowder, and when the gas/powder hits oxygen in the air, it creates muzzle flash and blast. While muzzle flash always happens, it's more apparent in low light conditions. Muzzle flash is not a good thing as it blinds the shooter in low light. Flash hiders or flash suppressors do not take away flash; they just make it harder to see. Flash hiders fasten to the muzzle and have slits or prongs to split and dissipate the hot gas to hide or suppress the flash. Some flash hiders feature minor recoil mitigation like the A2 Birdcage flash hider. The A1 and A2 Birdcage flash hider also kicks up less dust when one fires from the prone position (flat on the ground) due to its closed bottom. Flash hiders that let gas escape in 360 degrees disturb the ground beneath a shooter.

An A2 Birdcage flash hider, note the closed bottom section.

There are two broad kinds of flash hiders or flash suppressors: prong and closed type. Prong type flash hiders have three to four open prongs. While prong type flash hiders often do the best job of cutting flash, the open tines can snag on things like tree limbs or other items in the environment. Closed flash hiders, like the A1 and later A2 Birdcage, are slightly less effective than their prong counterparts. However, they have the benefit of hanging up less on things.

Wilson Combat Accu-Tac Flash Hider. This flash hider is representative of a three-prong flash hider.

Who Benefits from Flash Hiders? As we stated earlier, muzzle flash is inconvenient for the shooter because it blinds them when shooting in low light. Folks that need more flash reduction than recoil mitigation do well using a flash hider. Also, when shooters operate close to one other in a team, flash hiders are fitting since they limit muzzle blast and flash, which can be quite disorienting. Conclusion With the addition of muzzle devices like flash hiders and muzzle brakes, we can squeeze the most control out of firearms. Whether they control flash or tame recoil and muzzle rise, these muzzle devices open the firearms experience up to more people. Gain control over your firearm with our large variety of muzzle devices
.