Muzzlebrake VS thread protector

[Hawkin 0]

I'm finishing up my first AR build. 16" barrel. I've heard the muzzlebreak can significantly make the rifle louder. What about a thread protector? I'm looking for the quieter of the two.  Thanks.

[Lalo 13]

Get a brake that throws the blast forward like a Troy Claymore.

[Vlad G 345]

Guns are loud.

 

Muzzle breaks do a LOT more then make the gun louder, their benefits far outweight the negatives. To my mind, don't worry about noise or blast, its a gun on a gun range and that means they are loud. A muzzle break is the MOST important component that changes how a rifle feels when shot.

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

From your question and your profile info, I assume you built your AR with a pre-ban (exposed muzzle threads) barrel and you shoot indoors.

Do yourself and the other shooters on the line with you a huge favor and put a metal (ie. Schuster) thread protector on that muzzle.

Have your local gunsmith (or neighborhood welder or muffler shop) give it 4 quick tack welds and voila, you've almost got the equivalent of a crowned muzzle like the competition guys in NJ have on their $2000+ match guns.

 

Typically, a muzzle BRAKE on an indoor range will make your fellow shooters not very happy with you.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Muzzle Brakes can definitely make it louder - however I've heard some real blasts from ARs with crowned barrels as well.  If you get a muzzle brake that is designed to direct the noise and concussion forward, it's not nearly as bad as one that is made more for compensation, which tends to throw the noise out to the sides and back to alleviate muzzle climb.

[Old School 611]

Guns are loud.

 

Muzzle breaks do a LOT more then make the gun louder, their benefits far outweight the negatives. To my mind, don't worry about noise or blast, its a gun on a gun range and that means they are loud. A muzzle break is the MOST important component that changes how a rifle feels when shot.

I strongly disagree with your OPINION on a small rifle of the caliber .223 Rem / 5.56 NATO

 

Loud obnoxious rifles don't make range friends when the benefit in my OPINION is minimal.

[Vlad G 345]

If every rifle is fired from the bench, then yes it doesn't matter.

 

If this was a state where this was a simple problem of replacing it when you change your mind, then it wouldn't matter. In NJ, personally I'd go for the most effective option.

 

But hey, what do I know.

[High Exposure 5,661]

Guns are loud.

 

Muzzle breaks do a LOT more then make the gun louder, their benefits far outweight the negatives. To my mind, don't worry about noise or blast, its a gun on a gun range and that means they are loud. A muzzle break is the MOST important component that changes how a rifle feels when shot.

Agreed 100%

 

Everyone knows guns are loud. Everyone knows that gas escapes the muzzle when shooting. Everyone needs to get over it.

 

If someone wants to shoot their rifle indoors so be it. The gun should be set up to the shooter's preferences, not their possible shooting neighbors.

 

I'm not saying to not be courteous, or polite, or friendly to other shooters. I'm just saying they shouldn't dictate how your rifle is setup because they don't like it.

 

The loudest gun I ever shot next to in an indoor range wasn't even a rifle, it was a .44 Desert Eagle. That thing was way louder than my AR. I didn't whine about it. I said hi, let him shoot my rifle, I shot his pistol and we got into a rhythm of I shoot, he shoots. Easy.

 

As far as brakes/comps they make a huge difference when shooting, yes even the puny 5.56 can be tamed by a quality muze device - reducing felt recoil, reducing muzzle rise, decreasing split times - these are all advantages that can be the resut of a good brake or muzzle. Granted the degree of effectiveness is very subjective to individual shooters and which device is better is often argued about, but that doesn't change the fact that they do work.

[Hawkin 0]

Guns are loud.

 

Muzzle breaks do a LOT more then make the gun louder, their benefits far outweight the negatives. To my mind, don't worry about noise or blast, its a gun on a gun range and that means they are loud. A muzzle break is the MOST important component that changes how a rifle feels when shot.

Thanks for the lesson,  I was just asking a question between the 2 options. I'm not looking to run and gun, just put some rounds down range and possible home defense. (While staying NJ legal)

[CAPTBIL3 10]

I went with a thread protector for my first build for a few reasons,

 

1. Muzzle break is rough on the ears for indoor shooting, Hell even outdoor shooting. My friend and I compared them at an outdoor range and yes my gun was loud, but it wasn't as bad as his with the muzzle break.

 

2. If we were a free state this wouldn't be an issue, but since everything needs to be pinned have fun changing your gun around or repairing it, paying a great amount to have the barrel unpinned just to change the gas block or install a free float handguard or just change things around. You just spent alot of time and money to have it pinned-unpinned-pinned.

 

www.tacticalambush.com has crowned M4 barrels for a great price

[Shane45 807]

It may have not been reality, but a old Bushmaster Commando Carbine I had that was unthreaded seemed like the loudest, blastiest AR I ever owned!

[High Exposure 5,661]

Thanks for the lesson, I was just asking a question between the 2 options. I'm not looking to run and gun, just put some rounds down range and possible home defense. (While staying NJ legal)

I think what Vlad G was saying was that there is no "quieter" of the two. If I shot an AR with a crowned barrel, a barrel with a thread protector, and a rifle with a brake/comp on it - I doubt you would be able to determine which one I shot by sound alone, or to tell me which one is quieter.

 

However, if I set you up with a blindfold and had you shoot each rifle without being told which one it was, I guarantee you could tell which one had the brake/comp over the ones that didn't based on feel, but not volume.

[Vlad G 345]

Thanks for the lesson,  I was just asking a question between the 2 options. I'm not looking to run and gun, just put some rounds down range and possible home defense. (While staying NJ legal)

 

I wasn't being snarky, it just doesn't make any sense to worry about the noise of a firearm until you go to a sound suppressor. Comp'ed guns are mostly not louder but "blastier" because they redirect the the path of gases and people feel the "wind" of the gases and for some reason the associate that with loud. Sure some of the sound get redirected as well, but they really are not as loud as people make them out to be. Some very specific comps are more annoying then other, but some are quite well behaved.

 

I also I would suggest that if you consider using the rifle for home defense, you should probably take some classes specific to rifle defensive shooting. The moment you leave the shooting bench you will know why a compensator/brake matters.

 

The reality is that if you decide the choice you made is not for you, you can always buy a new barrel and muzzle device.

 

Good luck, no matter which you decide to go.

[MB24 37]

I'm in the same situation. So which way did you go, brake or protector?

[ADK1113 1]

Get a linear comp or a muzzle brake like a ferfrans CRD and don't worry about the blast.

 

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