So you just came back from the shooting range and overheard two people talking about muzzle brakes, but you have no idea what they are and what their purpose is, and whether they’re worth investing into.
Muzzle brakes are gun parts that can help reduce recoil and offset smoke when firing your gun. Not only are they used for guns, but also for artillery like tanks. Recoil happens as a result of the firing pin compressing and the primer igniting the gunpowder, which creates an explosion whose expanding gases push the bullet out of the gun’s barrel. A muzzle break is one of the best solutions for dampening the recoil, as it allows the gases to leave the barrel from more than one direction.
However, as briefly aforementioned, that’s not the only thing they help with. A
can help reduce the amount of discharge smoke released from the gun. Smoke can obscure your vision from the target after you shoot at it, and it can prevent you from seeing where the shells land so that you can correct your aim.
Most brakes in guns are 5cm tubes that can be screwed onto the end of the muzzle. Of course, they can also be integrated into the gun design and they’re typically designed to divert the gas 90° perpendicular to the barrel. Generally, gun brakes are designed to be detached, but that’s not always the case.
Muzzle brakes on guns will reduce the recoil by about 50%, which is quite a considerable amount. Some rifles, in fact, are almost unshootable without one and can cause a recoil injury like a blown shoulder. Evidence also suggests that muzzle brakes can improve accuracy and make the entire shooting experience more comfortable.
However, there are also a few drawbacks to using a muzzle brake. They aren’t the cheapest gun accessory around and can cost a few hundred dollars. Then, they can make your gun slightly noisier, as they redirect the sound of the blast towards you instead of redirecting it away. For that reason, using ear defenders is highly advisable to prevent hearing damage.
Furthermore, muzzle brakes add length to the gun, which might not be an issue for some shooters, but it can bother veteran shooters who are used to their gun being a specific length. And lastly, muzzle brakes can break scopes. Most scopes are specifically designed to withstand violent recoil with gradual deceleration, and since muzzle brakes prevent recoil, the sudden stopping can damage the scope.