The standard A2 muzzle device acts as a flash hider and compensator as it has top-cut gas ports.Ĭompensators are easy to identify with the top holes, but they also have size vents similar to muzzle brakes. This allows the shooter to have a flatter shooting gun and keep the gun on target easier in multiple strings of fire. Specifically, a vertical rise of the muzzle compensators achieves this by venting the gases out of top cuts on the device. What does a compensator do?Ĭompensators reduce the muzzle rise of the gun. CompensatorsĪ compensator attaches to the gun just like any of the other mentioned muzzle devices and is similar to muzzle brakes. Anyone around you often feels the concussion of these style muzzle devices. You may not make any friends if you are shooting a rifle with a muzzle brake or compensator, and that has to stand beside you. You can easily spot a muzzle brake because the gas ports will be on the side of the device or 180 degrees from the muzzle. Muzzle brakes can reduce flash, like flash hiders, but they are designed to reduce the gun’s felt recoil.Ī typical muzzle break has cuts that direct the gases and muzzle blast away from the shooter. So let us be more helpful than that and explain what a muzzle brake actually does. the… thing, you know.”, got it?ĭidn’t think so. So what does a muzzle brake actually do for the shooter that a flash hider can’t? Glad you asked! What does a muzzle brake do?Īs Joe Biden would say, “you know it does the… the. Like flash hiders, muzzle brakes thread to the end of the barrel but are designed for a different purpose. The flash can obstruct the shooter’s view and even cause you to be seen when trying to remain covert.įlash hiders don’t eliminate flash, but they do a lot to mitigate the shooter’s amount of flash. Rifles flash because of unburned gunpowder, and while the flash may not be a big deal during the day, it’s important to reduce it at night. Carbine length weapons are known to have much more flash than rifle length. The more scientific answer: flash hiders cool or disperse the burning gases that exit the muzzle. In short, flash hiders are meant to reduce the flash from the muzzle break. Speaking of function let’s talk about what a flash hider actually does. This is probably mostly cosmetic and doesn’t change the function much. Many companies, like Daniel Defense, are putting their own spin on the A2 design and making different cuts to make the flash hider look different. Many guns like the Smith & Wesson M&P15 and Ruger AR556 come with the A2 flash hider. The A2 is the “standard flash hider” that comes on most rifles from the factory. The A2 flash hider is probably one of the most well-known muzzle devices for an AR-15 or possibly a well-known muzzle device on guns, period.

4 So which muzzle device should I use? Flash Hiders

Unique ar 15 muzzle brake