drewthebrave Wrote:I suspect that most linear compensators do little to actually mitigate the soundwaves versus a bare muzzle, but I don't know enough about the physics of gas expansion to do anything but speculate. I have a handful of thread protectors and muzzle devices that I've tried over the years, but I haven't really felt the need to go for a linear compensator over a bare muzzle yet.I think part of the spread of the lore is because people have swapped to the LC from a standard muzzle brake. Of course the LC seems quieter. Nobody (that I know of) starts with just a thread protector and then puts on a linear comp to try to quiet it down. I think many people would not want to swap from a brake to a plain barrel end. They just wouldn't. Gotta have something cool looking on the end.
If the benefit could be measured & quantified, I might consider it. But as far as I can see, it seems like linear comps are a mostly cosmetic choice to make an AR pistol look like a Honey Badger, which I'll admit looks pretty dang cool. But if a longer barrel is about as loud (from the shooter's perspective) as the shorter barrel + linear comp, I'd rather have the additional velocity from the extra barrel length.
However, here's an honest test of sound level for various rifles, with and without a linear comp. Saw this the other day after reading a LC thread on Calguns.net. Got me curious and I found this. The muzzles are as I said, slightly quieter... behind the rifle. I would like to see for fun, simultaneous measurements 5' behind the rifle and 5' in front, just to see if there's anything to this "blast directing forward" deal. It is possible for sound to reflect off surfaces of course. That's why brakes are so damned loud when standing behind or the sides. Might be interesting to measure the sound ahead of the muzzle to see if a LC produces a louder noise out front than the bare muzzle. That's be evidence of the sound reflecting forward. Then if not any louder out front, it would have to be due to some other phenomenon.
[video=youtube;1WhbyrvAvEU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhbyrvAvEU[/video]