If it has holes or ports out the side - it's not a linear.
Battlecomps have their fans, but in one test of a sampling of brakes it lacked any distinction, placing middle of the road. There are better.
Comps/brakes are devices to reduce recoil and keep the muzzle on target - but the point is for fast followup shots under a timer. Recoil with the AR is minimal already, you can shoot it while resting the stock on your chin. And in combat getting off quick double taps is accomplished with full auto trigger control, which can cycle faster than most good shooters can. The auto sear trips before the learned reaction time of the shooter - it's house odds and will always be faster. Take a fatigued soldier who just road marched ten miles with a pack and that's the whole point.
That's why comps and brakes are competition items. Soldiers who work in teams side by side Do Not Use Brakes! Their teammate is standing there, and despite all the protective gear you don't need to have your brains exposed to concussive waves just to be incrementally more accurate anyway. The targets are 18MOA wide, moving, and trying not to get shot, all while shooting back.
On your SBR or AR pistol, consider that it will be no different. You, your buddy, or even your family does not need to be exposed to the extra blast and noise, especially in a defensive situation. Comps/brakes have no tactical application - they are range options, and with the emphasis on light bolts and reducing the action causing the muzzle to lower when chambering, brakes aren't all that needed, either.
If silencers were available at the local hardware store, linears would likely be a rarely offered item. With SBR's and pistols, tho, they are the better choice and have the performance qualities needed. I use a BRT on my 6.8 hunting AR and the first few shots will not ring my ears - great for hunting if no ear pro is used. Now I do, amplified muffs, but the linear still has a place. On the AR pistol, which is much more likely to be used in built up areas (even a range,) then having the 25% higher muzzle blast go forward means having less of it bother others around me - maybe even family.
Leave comps/brakes on the range guns, for timed events. That they have gotten as popular as they have goes to marketing and how some choose to shoot - to get as much attention as possible. There are far more of them sold than actual competition users - same as the latest Navy SEAL knife, right?
Linears are the better choice and we'd be better representatives of the MSR user to those who have easily thrown us under the bus before - those who supported the AWB as long as their guns weren't included.
