Additionally, small auxiliary ports are often drilled or machined into the upper surface of the brake and are designed to control muzzle jump.Įngineering the side ports and any auxiliary ports can be a complex task. Side vents direct most of the exploding propellant gases to each side, rather than equally all the way around. Directional Muzzle Brakesĭirectional brakes are typically more complex than radial brakes. Many modern directional brakes are indexable via a locking collar, which makes aligning them correctly easier and takes less time. The effect of directional brakes is much more manipulatable, as we’ll discuss shortly. They’re also a pain to install because they have to torque up correctly oriented, and that takes extra gunsmithing time. Directional brakes employ side ports and sometimes small top-side ports to minimize recoil and muzzle jump. And they can vent perpendicular or slightly forward or rearward. About all the designer can do is vary the size and number of the holes and the slant at which they come through the brake. It is not pleasant.Īnother weakness of radial-type muzzle brakes is the lack of control that engineers can apply. Sometimes it does so with enough force to settle around the face of the shooter and leave dust and particulates settling in the front of the scope and even in the action. Super-heated gas jets out in all directions from the brake and can cause the primary complaint about radial brakes: if the shooter is lying on a dusty or sandy surface-or really anything with loose detritus-the gases venting out from the portion of the brake near the ground kick up an unholy cloud of dust. These holes all vent burning propellant gases simultaneously as the bullet exits the muzzle. Simple but effective, radial muzzle brakes are round, usually the same or similar diameter as the barrel at the muzzle, and have several rows of round holes drilled all the way around the circumference of the brake. It effectively takes the edge off without causing excessive blast. The modest Quiet Slimbrake II (at left) is one of the author’s favorite hunting brakes. However, they kick up a big cloud of dust when shooting prone and are not tunable to compensate for muzzle jump. Radial brakes are easy to install and so are more common. We’ll start chronologically, with radial brakes. Let’s dive into the differences between the two types. The reason is they’re much easier to install. While both types have been around for close to a century, radial brakes were the most common until rather recently. When comparing radial and directional muzzle brakes, each one creates a somewhat different rifle response during recoil and, more importantly, a significantly different experience to the shooter.
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