Most shooters want both a muzzle brake or a suppressor. So, once I surveyed the 200 top-ranked shooters within the Precision Rifle Sequence (Be taught concerning the PRS), I particularly requested every of these high marksmen what they run in competitions.
There are a few national-level matches annually which might be particularly “suppressor solely” matches, just like the Field Canyon Showdown match and the Silent Night time match. Matches like these dictate what muzzle machine opponents can use, and I didn’t need that nuance to confuse these taking the survey or skew the outcomes. So right here is how I requested the query:
Listed here are the outcomes of that query:
On the chart above, the assorted colours characterize the place a shooter landed by way of season rank within the PRS. For instance, black signifies shooters who completed within the high 10, the darkest blue is individuals who completed 11-25, and the lighter the blue, the additional out they completed in general standings. The chart legend itemizes the ranks every shade represents, however principally, the darker the colour, the upper the shooter’s general rating.
77% of professional shooters use a muzzle brake completely, 10% use a suppressor completely, and the remaining 13% mentioned they may run one or the opposite relying on what match it’s. Actually, 9 out of the highest 10 mentioned they used muzzle brakes completely. The opposite 1 out of the highest 10 mentioned it will depend on the scenario. There have been solely 2 ranked within the high 25 who mentioned they used a suppressor completely.
In the event you’re new to this fashion of long-range, aggressive capturing, you is likely to be confused about why extra folks don’t use suppressors. First, it’s not as a result of they don’t personal a suppressor or don’t wish to wait on the ATF paperwork. Just about all of those guys personal suppressors however nonetheless select to run a muzzle brake in competitions.
So why do the overwhelming majority of opponents use a muzzle brake relatively than a suppressor? There are a number of tradeoffs between the 2, however I’ll attempt to briefly hit on the 2 greatest causes most of those guys are utilizing muzzle brakes:
Muzzle brakes assist you keep heading in the right direction higher than a standard suppressor. Recognizing your individual impacts is important in these kinds of competitions in an effort to right your subsequent shot to heart. I carried out empirical exams on this first-hand a number of years again. The outcomes present a number of completely different fashions of brakes, and you may examine these to a naked muzzle and suppressor on the high of the diagram. The purple dot represents the purpose of goal, and the opposite dots are the place the sights went beneath recoil. (View the total check on the power to remain heading in the right direction)
Some muzzle brake designs are virtually twice as efficient at decreasing recoil as conventional suppressors. Lowering recoil additionally helps you keep heading in the right direction and watch your impacts downrange. I carried out first-hand empirical exams on this a number of years again, the place I rigorously measured recoil discount of 20+ muzzle brake designs and in contrast these to a high-end 9” suppressor. (View the total check on recoil discount)
There are a number of different elements that will play into the choice to run a muzzle brake or suppressor for a few of these shooters. For instance, brakes are sometimes a lot shorter than suppressors, making the rifle simpler to maneuver as you progress positions. Muzzle brakes additionally sometimes don’t warmth the barrel as shortly as suppressors. However the 2 above are seemingly the largest drivers amongst this crowd.
New Merchandise Break The “Conventional” Mildew
Traditionally, muzzle brakes have been the far finish of the spectrum for efficiency by way of recoil discount and staying heading in the right direction, however the least shooter consolation. The elevated noise and concussion from a muzzle brake aren’t enjoyable. Conventional suppressors could possibly be seen on the far finish of the spectrum by way of optimizing for shooter consolation. It’d look one thing like this:
Discover I’ve been deliberately referencing “conventional suppressors.” That’s as a result of new suppressor designs have been launched that appear to blur the traces between a suppressor and a muzzle brake. Whereas they’re legally nonetheless categorized as suppressors, they’re shorter and have a muzzle brake on the top of them that may assist them additional scale back recoil and assist you keep heading in the right direction.
Listed here are a few examples of those extra hybrid merchandise that I’m referring to:
On the left, you may see Thunder Beast Arms Corp’s (TBAC) new line of Magnus suppressors, launched at SHOT Present 2024. Those with the brakes on the top are designated by TBAC as their “Magnus RR” suppressors, which stands for “Recoil Discount” as a result of it additional reduces recoil. The primary manufacturing run of those new TBAC Magnus RR suppressors is simply now making it to distributors, so we’ll have to attend to see what number of of those high opponents find yourself utilizing them. TBAC claims these new designs scale back recoil on a 308 by virtually 50%!
The product on the suitable within the picture above is Space 419’s Maverick suppressor, which is a single suppressor that’s modular and may be assembled in any of the proven configurations – together with a few configurations with a muzzle brake on the top. This design was initially launched in 2019 and is presently being utilized by 6 professional shooters within the high 50 within the PRS. (I’ll cowl that in-depth in an upcoming article.)
So, are the Space 419 Maverick and TBAC Magnus RR suppressors or muzzle brakes? The ATF legally classifies them as suppressors, in order that they nonetheless require a $200 ATF stamp. However actually, these designs sport some advantages of each. Actually, the 5.5” configuration of the Maverick will increase the noise, that means it doesn’t suppress the sound any in comparison with a naked muzzle.
One other suppressor, the KGM’s R65K and R30K, are solely 5.8” lengthy and have an Adjustable Port Finish Cap. There are 8 tunable ports across the finish of the can, and every has a threaded plug that you would be able to take away to tune how a lot fuel is redirected each vertically and to the edges. By porting among the fuel up, you may offset muzzle rise and assist the shooter keep heading in the right direction – just like APA’s design on their Gen 3 muzzle brakes.
On the muzzle brake facet, merchandise just like the ACE brake and APA’s Cone of Disgrace Nut have been launched to scale back concussion to the shooter, even when they offer up a bit of on recoil discount. Some shooters have developed a flinch when utilizing muzzle brakes that redirect fuel rearward towards the shooter, and people merchandise have helped them mitigate that and maintain their eyes open to allow them to keep deal with the goal by the shot and higher see their impacts.
Right here is how 2-time PRS champion Austin Orgain describes the ACE brake he helped develop:
“We wished to design a brake that was efficient however that didn’t direct as a lot blast again on the shooter. This was across the time that the APA Fats Bastard Gen 3 Brakes and different brakes with ports angled again on the shooter had turn out to be very fashionable, and we tried these out like everybody else. I’d say I could also be barely extra blast-sensitive than some guys, however I didn’t actually like utilizing these brakes. On the finish of a two-day match, I’d have pounding complications, and it felt like somebody was squeezing my head. We thought that may’t be wholesome or good to your listening to, so we wished to provide you with one thing that saved the muzzle actually flat however didn’t direct as a lot blast again on the shooter.”
Now, if you wish to strictly optimize for recoil discount, the pure physics of ports which might be angled again to the shooter are laborious to beat, however that comes at a value. And for me, that was that I might flinch. I began videoing myself, and I observed that my eyes would shut for a break up second. Effectively, that recoil discount was doing me no good. The recoil was lowered, however as a result of my eyes closed for a break up second, I nonetheless missed a part of that bullet flight. With our brake, you don’t get close to as a lot concussion again on the shooter, and I don’t have that finch and maintain my eyes open by that first a part of recoil. It’s loads simpler to choose up hint, and it’s loads simpler to your eyes to trace that focus on in your scope by recoil and see the place your bullet impacted on the goal.” – Austin Orgain, 2-Time PRS Season Champion
In case you are capturing a brake with ports which might be angled again in direction of the shooter, I problem you to get a buddy to video you over a number of phases to see in case you react to the blast. I didn’t assume I used to be delicate to that till Justin Watts took a video of me capturing on the JTAC class. Actually, I had already had my interview with Austin above earlier than the JTAC class, and I keep in mind pondering that I simply should not be as delicate to concussion as Austin was! 😉 Perhaps you aren’t delicate to it, however I wager most individuals can be shocked by the outcomes. I do know that I used to be. I didn’t react each time, however possibly 1 in 5 pictures. However I additionally knew I didn’t appear to see my bullet impacts as persistently as different shooters, and that may make a extra important distinction than you assume.
There are slight delays for our brains and eyes to react, and basically, these are extraordinarily quick – however so is a bullet touring by the air! Here’s a tough estimate exhibiting common human response occasions and the way that interprets to the gap a bullet would have traveled:
The Take-Away
My level is that there are new merchandise available on the market that give shooters extra choices and the power to strike new balances between competing efficiency traits. As a substitute of merely selecting one polar excessive or the opposite, we are able to fine-tune the efficiency to our software and private preferences.
I didn’t intend this to be an exhaustive record of recent merchandise that fall someplace between the extremes, but when you realize of different merchandise that enable shooters to strike a brand new steadiness in efficiency between conventional brakes and suppressors – please share it within the feedback beneath!
Coming Up Subsequent
The following articles will cowl the particular manufacturers and fashions of muzzle brakes and suppressors that these top-tier opponents are utilizing. This yr, I additionally requested them in the event that they used barrel tuners, so I’ll embody that knowledge as effectively. So keep tuned for these outcomes!
In the event you loved this content material, there’s extra to return! Over the following few months, I’ll be publishing a ton of information on what the highest precision rifle shooters are utilizing. Take a look at the opposite “What The Professionals Use” articles which have already been revealed.
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