Do linear comps reduce perceived blast?

[Pistoler0]

In your experience,

do linear comps help in reducing perceived muzzle blast and noise to the shooter? How about bystanders at the range?

I know this is a "perception" issue but I'd like your personal take on it.

Do you have experience with KVP linear comps? What do you think of them?

 

[Sharkbite]

Yes. In my experience they reduce blast to the side significantly. Do they reduce sound to the shooter...i dont think so, but they do reduce the pressure wave

 

[Pistoler0]

Thank you Sharkbite.

Hey how do you get shark bitten in the Western slope of Colorado?
Here in the Front Range I only have to watch for bears and mountain lions

 

[Shadow9mm]

yes they do. I have tried them on 223 and 30-06. I have compared them to a bare muzzle, flash hider, and compensator. Perceived blast is without a doubt reduced to the shooter and those near him.

here is a good vid where DB are measured.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhbyrvAvEU

DB are exponential, not linear. As I understand it, every 3db represents a doubling or halving of the volume. In the vid it shows about a 3db reduction to the shooter.

 

[zukiphile]

In your experience,

do linear comps help in reducing perceived muzzle blast and noise to the shooter? How about bystanders at the range?

Compared to what?

I tried a number of devices with a bullpup 5.56 rifle with an almost 18 inch barrel.

The single chamber side discharge brake made it seem almost recoil-less, but the blast was punishing, noticeably more so than on an AR carbine.

The bare muzzle reduced blast, but also featured a long gentle recoil push.

A krinkov device is four inches long and pretty heavy. It produced no felt blast, but the push seemed a bit stronger.

An A2 flash hider seemed to be the sweet spot -- light, not much felt blast or muzzle rise, but the impression of recoil was still present.

I do have experience with a Lavang Linear on a different rifle. I like it, but that's a 20 inch barrelled AR with a heavy buffer, so the comparison isn't direct.

The lesson I drew from my tinkering was that there is no free lunch, and that should guide one's expectations. All of the blast that isn't direct to the sides to annoy neighbors is turned into a recoil impulse. I like the Kaw Valley line, and I've considered one on a shorter barrel, but the size weight and price didn't make sense for me.

 

[Sharkbite]

Hey how do you get shark bitten in the Western slope of Colorado?

I bite the Sharks...LOL

 

[bamaranger]

supposed to

Every body says so. I've thought about a Vang or a Kaw Valley for years, but still shoot a GI A2 device.

 

[Nathan]

I have the Kaw Valley on a 300 blk. It definitely has reduced blast. I’m not sure how much recoil reduction I’m getting.

 

[bamaranger]

concussion

I was attending a training session for AR carbine, one of the shooting drills involved firing from behind an old window with multiple panes of glass. The drill was to find a spot on the window where you could shoot from behind the glass (picking a pane w/ no glass) and manage the offset of sights to bore on the AR carbine.

Guy with a linear comp was ahead of me, on his first shot, several panes of glass broke forward of his muzzle. It was clear his muzzle device had directed significant blast and concussion forward. We had not see that reaction (from the window glass) from any of the previous shooters running A2 style muzzle devices.

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend had one, I did not think it did much.
He didn't either and replaced it with a conventional brake.

 

[krunchnik]

I have 2 Kaw Valley-one on a .300 BO and the other on a rifle gas .223 and both divert the blast away from the shooter and surrounding fellow shooters-on one .300 BO I have a K&D forward can that also works pretty much the same.
I have a 3 gun comp on my .556 carbine and can without a doubt say the felt concussion is much worse than the others..

 

[Scorch]

Do linear comps reduce perceived blast?

I have installed several on customers' guns. Some like them, others not so much. They are quieter than most muzzle brakes that vent perpendicular to the bore. They do not reduce recoil as much. Ask yourself if it is more important to you to reduce blast or reduce recoil, then choose accordingly.

 

[Pistoler0]

Thank you for pointing out the tradeoff between blast and recoil, I think for me it is the blast that bothers me most.

I just put a Kaw Valley on my .45 ACP PCC, I'll report back when I shoot it.

 

[Captains1911]

In run a Kaw Valley on an 11.5” 5.56, and do notice a difference, albeit slight. Of course this is with ear pro, and shooting outdoors. I have no experience testing it without ear pro and/or in confined spaces, and pray that I never have to find out, although that’s the main reason I have it.