What Do Muzzle Brakes Do? Are they helpful?

There are dozens of muzzle devices on the market today with muzzle brakes being one of the primary types. This leaves some confusion as to which each one does so we’re going to go over what muzzle brakes do and how they differ from some other muzzle devices.

We’ll also touch on picking the right muzzle brake for you and what you need to consider for your rifle.

What Is A Muzzle Brake?

A muzzle brake is a particular muzzle device that redirects the muzzle energy of a rifle. It does this through a series of open baffles that push that excess energy  horizontally, diagonally, or vertically depending on your muzzle brake’s design.

What Are The Benefits Of A Muzzle Brake?

Muzzle brakes are designed to help mitigate felt recoil when firing a rifle. This can make the rifle more controllable and can even keep the rifle’s recoil more linear. Keeping the recoil linear helps keep the sights on target.

Redirecting the muzzle energy can be very beneficial on full power cartridges or magnum cartridges since there is so much excess energy compared to intermediate or lower power loads.

Muzzle brakes can also help light and intermediate loads when doing multiple strings of fire. The brake will help you keep the gun pointed at your target zone, allowing for faster fire on the clock with better recoil control.

Are There Any Drawbacks To Using A Muzzle Brake?

While muzzle brakes provide more control, they do come with some drawbacks. The largest drawback comes from that redirected energy. This energy is concussive force and is usually redirected to either side of you. This becomes a problem when you are shooting next to others or are shooting indoors.

If you are in an indoor range and are really close to a solid object, that object can reflect your muzzle energy back at you. This is not a comfortable experience and can potentially cause some injury if you do not have proper protection or are exposed to it for long periods of time.

Another potential issue is if you have a brake that diverts energy upwards, it can produce “negative recoil” where the brake actually forces your gun downwards. This can be mitigated by training with your brake installed and is just something to keep in mind.

What Is The Difference Between A Muzzle Brakes And A Compensator?

Muzzle brakes and compensators are very similar  since they both redirect muzzle energy. The major difference is how much of a muzzle signature is allowed when redirecting that energy.

Muzzle brakes are more likely to “throw fireballs” when you’re shooting while compensators tend to even out the signature.

It is not uncommon to find muzzle brake and compensator hybrid designs. These designs are usually made for 3-gun competitions and bring the best of both worlds when it comes to muzzle flip and recoil impulse.

Are Flash Hiders Muzzle Brakes?

Muzzle brakes are not flash hiders. The necessary features required to mitigate the muzzle flash are the exact opposite of what makes a good muzzle brake. There might be some legal disputes over these two muzzle devices but that will come down to your local laws. But design wise they are entirely different things.

Which Muzzle Brake Should I Use?

When you are selecting your muzzle brake you need to know exactly what you’re looking for in terms of recoil mitigation and other features. This makes selecting a brake a very individual process.

Some brakes are more aggressive in recoil mitigation than others. If you do not need a lot of mitigation is it best to use a less aggressive brake that is appropriate for the caliber you’re shooting.

Your shooting style and skill will impact how each brake behaves since it is modifying the rifle’s behavior. When it comes to selecting a brake, how it performs is more important than how it looks. But aesthetics can be a factor if you are looking to “beautify” your rifle.

However we can recommend trying out the Meraki Machine M1 muzzle brake. It is an easily mounted, self timing brake that comes in multiple caliber configurations or as a blank that you can mill out to your own projectile dimensions.

If you’re not adventurous enough to bore your own muzzle brake, it comes in .264 caliber/6.5 mm and .308 caliber options which means it will also work with projectiles with diameters smaller than the brake’s exit port.