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mneumiller · Member

Hello,

1st post here and I got a question already.

I wouldn't say I'm a gun nut, buy I know my way around a firearm and a fair bit about them and their history.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why the device on the end of the muzzle of some airguns is called a muzzle brake though. Its more of a barrel stabilizer or vibration damper than a brake. I also really don't think the description of a muzzle brake on the main page is entirely accurate - it has some points that are correct but some of them just, well, yeah.

Anyway, why do you airgunners call it a brake? On a powder burner (I've been lurking for a while) its purpose is to help control recoil by redirecting the escaping combustion gasses rearward in such a way as to try and pull the gun forward some. They do work in this regard, ask anyone who has fired a .50 cal rifle. A side effect of this is that some of the sound get redirected back toward the shooter, so the gun now seems louder, a lot louder. They also help with muzzle flip/jump in the same way as recoil.

The "muzzle brake" on my Gamo CFX does none of the above. Its just there. So why is it a muzzle brake?

Sorry for the rambling, just trying to explain myself.

Thanx,

Matt

rsterne · Moderator

X2^

I think it's just a way of describing the lump on the end of the barrel.... I have made one that vents only upwards and on a 32 FPE PCP it reduces muzzle flip noticeably.... The gun is more stable even when fired on sandbags on a bench....

I have also experimented with varying the weight by 0.2 oz. increments over a 1 oz. range and on a skinny Crosman barrel you can "tune" the harmonics for better accuracy.... Those weights, however, are deeply countersunk right to the barrel crown and have NO effect on the pellet / air exiting the barrel....

Most, however, are just for looks.... Mr. Green

Bob

donec · Senior Member

Welcome Matt to AGH. I've wondered the same thing.

mneumiller · Member

I see. So its just a easy thing to call it. Good enough.

I do not recall who makes them, but for powder burners there is a barrel tuning device that - I'm not sure exactly, but I think its a rubber ring with weight in it - you place on the barrel and slide up and down to change the harmonics and such. You put it on and shoot paper until you find the sweet spot for your rifle/load combination.

Putting a heavier weight on the end of the barrel, I can't say what that would do as I have never tried on any of my guns. I do know that putting a weight further out helps to stabilize things as it gives you more to work against with your muscles, and more inertia to keep it pointed where you put it. It has always seemed counter intuitive to me that heavier is more steady, but from what I understand of things it is.

Matt

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Who knows how some things get their names.

However, look here: http://www.airgunhome.com/pages/silencers.html

Item (c) probably comes the closest to rationalizing the term "brake" or "break".

kanyon · Silver Status Member

I call it a muzzel brake because...
If I call it any thing ealse most won't
know what I'm talking about...

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

It's just the common name...

Truly they are more of a compensator... aid in balance and in some cases actually reduce muzzle flip.

The bigger they get... you have to wonder if they are compensating for the air gun... or the AirGunner... Wink

Mark5043 · Silver Status Member

dobiman · Veteran Member

I remember the early muzzlebrakes Beemans was selling. They were meant to help cock a break barrel airgun by giving you something to hold on to. Some of the current muzzlebrakes don't seem to serve that purpose. Maybe the name is given because of the similarity to a manual brake handle on a past vehicle?

Slavia · Moderator

I think a true muzzle brake is a device that compensates for (or "puts the brakes on") recoil and muzzle rise by redirecting propellant gases. While that may be true for some airguns, I think the name just stuck because the blob on the end of an airgun barrel looks like a powder-burner's muzzle brake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzzle_brake

Which is not to say an airgun brake is purely cosmetic. I believe that rsterne's observation about dampening vibrations in skinny Crosman barrels also relates to thicker springer barrels, but perhaps in a more subtle way. Before I put a brake on my Slavia it was even sensitive to the placement of the front sight (dovetail mounted). Browning offers the "Boss" system, and Ruger puts a "harmonic dampener" on its Mini-14 - both similar in concept. The SIMS barrel de-resonator does the same thing, only with rubber:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/a-bolt.htm
http://www.shootingillustrated.com/Guns/Semi-Auto_Rifles/rugermini14.html
http://www.outdoorsexperience.com/simsderesonator.html

Besides the harmonic dampening issue, muzzle brakes on airguns also give a place to grip (for break barrels), keep sweat from eroding the blueing, protect the muzzle crown, and protect delicate threads and dovetails when a front sight is removed.

In the end, I guess it doesn't matter what they're called, as long as they look cool and selling them keeps yourdaddyjoe in cookies.

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

and beer... don't forget the beer uncle Slavia!

Slavia · Moderator

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

that's a wives tail...

I like steel wool as the final before anodizing for a pretty finish...

Bead blast for matte...

Beer is for after work and weekends... No "She who must be obeyed" to keep me walking the line anymore...

packrat · Senior Member

It's called an MB to avoid bringing up things that are, in some countries, illegal Shocked

Slavia · Moderator