01-27-2021, 09:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-27-2021, 09:43 PM by lazyengineer.)
Good article. And some good points in the replays. Particularly from DNS about suppressors themselves not being the end-all be-all alone. The worst ear-ringing I've expereinced in the last 2 years was from First-Shot-Pop of a suppressed sub-sonic .300 BO. Frankly, that experience was so bad, I concluded that suppressors aren't for me - expensive and lots of paperwork, Still have to wear hearing protection, and every supressed hunting video I see, shows all the animals running like Hell as soon as the gun goes off anyway.
But as to brakes, and the original premise of the article, the author notes that even with hearing protection, he suffered hearing damage from shooting guns with muzzle brakes. It's a good cautionary tale. Which I can see, the first time I shot a 10.5"AR pistol with a brake on it, I thought the gun exploded in my hands. I'm not kidding, I immediately plopped the gun down on the bench and started inspecting for damage on it and me! It comes down to pressure, and 5.56 at 10.5" is ejecting a lot of pressure. PRS guys run really high pressure too. And they also run really effecient brakes, so they can stay on target and see their splash. And do so in concrete pipes where all of it comes back on you. I experience this in my Creedmoor, where if I'm running mild loads with a fast powder, that long barrel brake doesn't do much. But if I run a hot load with a slow powder, at high pressure - yikes, that blast and noise is another world.
Some good news though,
-Grendel is lower pressure - lower pressuree makes all the difference in the blast from a brake
-Run an inefficient brake. This is one reason why I have a bias for really small muzzle brakes. The weight and mass savings, but really, the less efficient braking means less noise and blast. My current favorite is the BCMGUNFIGHTER, which is a purposely inefficient brake that looks mostly like an A2 flashhider But has some impingement surface for the gas to whack against and redirect. But that impingement surface is angled to deflect out, more then back, and there's not a lot of it. Result is slightly less breaking, but a lot less noise and blast. On my Grendel, I purposely run a .30 cal brake, which is less efficient, for the same reason.
Also, whenever I hunt, I always wear electronic muffs now.
But as to brakes, and the original premise of the article, the author notes that even with hearing protection, he suffered hearing damage from shooting guns with muzzle brakes. It's a good cautionary tale. Which I can see, the first time I shot a 10.5"AR pistol with a brake on it, I thought the gun exploded in my hands. I'm not kidding, I immediately plopped the gun down on the bench and started inspecting for damage on it and me! It comes down to pressure, and 5.56 at 10.5" is ejecting a lot of pressure. PRS guys run really high pressure too. And they also run really effecient brakes, so they can stay on target and see their splash. And do so in concrete pipes where all of it comes back on you. I experience this in my Creedmoor, where if I'm running mild loads with a fast powder, that long barrel brake doesn't do much. But if I run a hot load with a slow powder, at high pressure - yikes, that blast and noise is another world.
Some good news though,
-Grendel is lower pressure - lower pressuree makes all the difference in the blast from a brake
-Run an inefficient brake. This is one reason why I have a bias for really small muzzle brakes. The weight and mass savings, but really, the less efficient braking means less noise and blast. My current favorite is the BCMGUNFIGHTER, which is a purposely inefficient brake that looks mostly like an A2 flashhider But has some impingement surface for the gas to whack against and redirect. But that impingement surface is angled to deflect out, more then back, and there's not a lot of it. Result is slightly less breaking, but a lot less noise and blast. On my Grendel, I purposely run a .30 cal brake, which is less efficient, for the same reason.
Also, whenever I hunt, I always wear electronic muffs now.