M-14 and a brake?
- Thread starter Jamie
- Start date
I understand the XB2 is cool looking, but isn't it designed to help keep pressures up for reliably cycling the action?
Would this extra back pressure over power the system and cause damage like running heavy ammunition?
Would this extra back pressure over power the system and cause damage like running heavy ammunition?
yes
Dlask
Im using a Dlask A6 bored out for .308. Works well but is quite hard on the people beside you.
Back when my shorty was having cyling issues I tried a XB-1. It helped a little with cycling but didn't do anything for recoil. I tried the A6, XB-1 and no brake in the time it took to change the brake, and there was a significant difference with the A6, and next to non with the XB.
Gas Can
Im using a Dlask A6 bored out for .308. Works well but is quite hard on the people beside you.
Back when my shorty was having cyling issues I tried a XB-1. It helped a little with cycling but didn't do anything for recoil. I tried the A6, XB-1 and no brake in the time it took to change the brake, and there was a significant difference with the A6, and next to non with the XB.
Gas Can
Compensator design is probably as much VOODOO as it is science, as the perceived "FEEL" of the recoil is a personally subjective intangible that is hard to measure objectively or quantitatively. Different shooters will prefer different "felt" recoil.
I have some experience with compensator design, dating back to the 1980s, when I built some of the first comped race gun IPSC match pistols on the Wet Coast. From this, and more recent experience I know that compensator design involves some tricky compromises … basically a balancing act, trying to keep recoil control, muzzle flip, blast, and sometimes muzzle flash, all under acceptable limits. Unfortunately, increasing the effectiveness of one component may come at the reduction of another. Plus, at the end of the day, the new Muzzle Fashion Accessory has to look good too.
These days, what I am most interested in is 7.62 NATO /.308 Comp design and performance. Especially as it applies to the shorty M14 rifles I like so much. I have built many dozens of these M14 shorty rifles, and tried several different comp designs on them. Up until recently, the Dlask / Miceluk clone AR 15 comp, bored out for .30 cal, was my personal favorite, balancing recoil reduction, muzzle blast, and muzzle flip control into a package that "felt" the best to my personal tastes. And it didn't look too hideous hanging off a shorty 14.
Lately, I have also been using the YHM AR 15 COMBINATION flash hider/compensator, again bored out to take .30 cal bullets. The YHM combo design, for me, seems to provide slightly less recoil reduction, but also a significant drop in muzzle blast over the Dlask / Miceluk model ... plus it looks even more TactiCOOL on the end of a shorty M14.
I have NOT worried much about muzzle flash reduction with any of my shorty M14 rifles, as personally my shooting adventures take place on the ONE WAY range.
Others, with two way ranges in their adventure planning, may be more concerned about flash reduction. You may consider flash a more important part of what you want your muzzle accessory to control. After all, Zombis, Vampires, and Werewolves mostly come out at night.
The following review did NOT take muzzle flash into consideration, and be warned, it IS NOT totally un-biased, because I did have a very small part in the design.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a review of one of the newest comps on the Canadian market, which was designed specifically for the M14 shorty rifle conversions. Sean Rauch, of Rauch Tactical has taken the original Miceluk three port compensator design, and modified it specifically to optimize it for the M14 shorty conversions. The Miceluk comp is an old, well respected classic design, that works well at controlling muzzle jump, is somewhat loud to the sides, and makes no pretensions at all about controlling muzzle flash.
Sean has his comps made in 303 Stainless steel, and they are truly a thing of beauty … if you like bright shiny things. There will be a matte black coating available for the next batch, but I am simply going to bead blast my currently shiny SS comp, to give it a more subdued matte grey finish. I like the idea of SS as a comp material, and I want my personal muzzle accessory in matte grey bead blasted SS.
The machining on these comps is simple but elegantly done. The design is as simple as you can get … three BIG ports cut straight through on the horizontal … no additional scallops or holes. This makes for less time in manufacturing, and keeps the cost down. The three ports decrease in size as they go towards the muzzle. Sean tells me that after some experimentation with the shorty M14, these ports were sized and placed to make the most efficient use of the escaping gases, to hold the muzzle down more effectively than the original Miceluk type comps. This comp is not merely a copy of the Miceluk, but more of an evolution of the original, and once again, designed SPECIFICALLY for the M14 shorties.
While this seemingly simple design may not be theoretically as efficient as some of the more modern [ and vastly more expensive ] designs, I don’t think most of us less than tier 1 wannabes, will ever notice the small difference in real world performance. As for execution of the design, the machine work is excellent. All sharp corners and edges are still sharp, but the finishing process has smoothed off all wire edges and burrs, commonly left by the machining stage of production. You can’t cut yourself with this comp …. but it does look sharp.
As I said, if you like bright shiny things, these comps are a thing of beauty. For the Tacticool look, Matte Black coating [ probably a ceramic ] will be available for the next batch. But personally, I’m going to bead blast my shiny samples and have the subdued elegance of satin stainless steel on my Muzzle Fashion Accessory.
Next installment:
The range test –
How does this comp compare with some of the other M14 shorty flash hider/ compensators we’ve seen before? I’ve done over a hundred of these shorty conversions, and I’ve used all sorts of front sight and compensator or flash hider treatments. All of these worked out well … sort of. But now we have a compensator that is actually designed SPECIFICALLY for an M14 shorty, and hopefully it will do even better than some of our previous versions.
Now if only Sean will make that M14 shorty clamp on front sight base to go with his new comp … then we would finally be in M14 shorty heaven..
PS: I am looking for MORE shorty M14s for this test. Any one in the Victoria area who has a shorty M14 [ probably one of my many other shorty 14 builds ] but any M14 shorty will do, Please PM me and we can schedule some range time for the mother of all side by side M14 shorty muzzle brake / flash hider comparison tests.
I have some experience with compensator design, dating back to the 1980s, when I built some of the first comped race gun IPSC match pistols on the Wet Coast. From this, and more recent experience I know that compensator design involves some tricky compromises … basically a balancing act, trying to keep recoil control, muzzle flip, blast, and sometimes muzzle flash, all under acceptable limits. Unfortunately, increasing the effectiveness of one component may come at the reduction of another. Plus, at the end of the day, the new Muzzle Fashion Accessory has to look good too.
These days, what I am most interested in is 7.62 NATO /.308 Comp design and performance. Especially as it applies to the shorty M14 rifles I like so much. I have built many dozens of these M14 shorty rifles, and tried several different comp designs on them. Up until recently, the Dlask / Miceluk clone AR 15 comp, bored out for .30 cal, was my personal favorite, balancing recoil reduction, muzzle blast, and muzzle flip control into a package that "felt" the best to my personal tastes. And it didn't look too hideous hanging off a shorty 14.
Lately, I have also been using the YHM AR 15 COMBINATION flash hider/compensator, again bored out to take .30 cal bullets. The YHM combo design, for me, seems to provide slightly less recoil reduction, but also a significant drop in muzzle blast over the Dlask / Miceluk model ... plus it looks even more TactiCOOL on the end of a shorty M14.
I have NOT worried much about muzzle flash reduction with any of my shorty M14 rifles, as personally my shooting adventures take place on the ONE WAY range.
Others, with two way ranges in their adventure planning, may be more concerned about flash reduction. You may consider flash a more important part of what you want your muzzle accessory to control. After all, Zombis, Vampires, and Werewolves mostly come out at night.
The following review did NOT take muzzle flash into consideration, and be warned, it IS NOT totally un-biased, because I did have a very small part in the design.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a review of one of the newest comps on the Canadian market, which was designed specifically for the M14 shorty rifle conversions. Sean Rauch, of Rauch Tactical has taken the original Miceluk three port compensator design, and modified it specifically to optimize it for the M14 shorty conversions. The Miceluk comp is an old, well respected classic design, that works well at controlling muzzle jump, is somewhat loud to the sides, and makes no pretensions at all about controlling muzzle flash.
Sean has his comps made in 303 Stainless steel, and they are truly a thing of beauty … if you like bright shiny things. There will be a matte black coating available for the next batch, but I am simply going to bead blast my currently shiny SS comp, to give it a more subdued matte grey finish. I like the idea of SS as a comp material, and I want my personal muzzle accessory in matte grey bead blasted SS.
The machining on these comps is simple but elegantly done. The design is as simple as you can get … three BIG ports cut straight through on the horizontal … no additional scallops or holes. This makes for less time in manufacturing, and keeps the cost down. The three ports decrease in size as they go towards the muzzle. Sean tells me that after some experimentation with the shorty M14, these ports were sized and placed to make the most efficient use of the escaping gases, to hold the muzzle down more effectively than the original Miceluk type comps. This comp is not merely a copy of the Miceluk, but more of an evolution of the original, and once again, designed SPECIFICALLY for the M14 shorties.
While this seemingly simple design may not be theoretically as efficient as some of the more modern [ and vastly more expensive ] designs, I don’t think most of us less than tier 1 wannabes, will ever notice the small difference in real world performance. As for execution of the design, the machine work is excellent. All sharp corners and edges are still sharp, but the finishing process has smoothed off all wire edges and burrs, commonly left by the machining stage of production. You can’t cut yourself with this comp …. but it does look sharp.
As I said, if you like bright shiny things, these comps are a thing of beauty. For the Tacticool look, Matte Black coating [ probably a ceramic ] will be available for the next batch. But personally, I’m going to bead blast my shiny samples and have the subdued elegance of satin stainless steel on my Muzzle Fashion Accessory.
Next installment:
The range test –
How does this comp compare with some of the other M14 shorty flash hider/ compensators we’ve seen before? I’ve done over a hundred of these shorty conversions, and I’ve used all sorts of front sight and compensator or flash hider treatments. All of these worked out well … sort of. But now we have a compensator that is actually designed SPECIFICALLY for an M14 shorty, and hopefully it will do even better than some of our previous versions.
Now if only Sean will make that M14 shorty clamp on front sight base to go with his new comp … then we would finally be in M14 shorty heaven..
PS: I am looking for MORE shorty M14s for this test. Any one in the Victoria area who has a shorty M14 [ probably one of my many other shorty 14 builds ] but any M14 shorty will do, Please PM me and we can schedule some range time for the mother of all side by side M14 shorty muzzle brake / flash hider comparison tests.
The Rauch Miceluk clone has a narrower rail at the top [ metal left after the cut outs] which theoretically means more gas goes up, to reduce muzzle flip even more. The cuts are straight in, with no bevels at the back. Also, the Rauch is made of SS.
The OLD Dlask / Miceluk clones are smaller diameter than Joe's new design. Talking this over with Joe, he said that having a larger diameter surface to redirect the gases gives a more efficient comp.
Personally, I like the old slimmer style ...
I am willing to give up a bit of efficiency for a lighter slimmer comp.
PS: last time I stopped by, Dlask had a new comp that looks very interesting ... basically a PWS WITHOUT the flash hider fingers.
Apparently the fingers don't really reduce the flash all that much any how.
for a look at some of the comps commercially available, with pics,
COMP ####:
htt_://www.nokick.com/category_s/32.htm
[;{)
LAZ 1
The OLD Dlask / Miceluk clones are smaller diameter than Joe's new design. Talking this over with Joe, he said that having a larger diameter surface to redirect the gases gives a more efficient comp.
Personally, I like the old slimmer style ...
I am willing to give up a bit of efficiency for a lighter slimmer comp.
PS: last time I stopped by, Dlask had a new comp that looks very interesting ... basically a PWS WITHOUT the flash hider fingers.
Apparently the fingers don't really reduce the flash all that much any how.
for a look at some of the comps commercially available, with pics,
COMP ####:
htt_://www.nokick.com/category_s/32.htm
[;{)
LAZ 1
We took the basic Miceluk and re-engineered the braking faces to direct more gasses upwards instead of rearwards. The idea is that gasses that normally would have been going backwards and to the side are now directed upwards and backwards. Another thing we changed was to increase the braking surface of each tier. We wanted to make a brake that is as functional as possible but also as clean as possible, instead of using holes along the top of the brake the ports are open and large, so you can get in and clean it. Its just simplicity. Also we reduced the amount of rearward blast (offset by the larger braking surface) so it isn't as loud for the shooter. Standing beside the brake isn't pleasant though 
.
The end result is a brake that better controls muzzle rise, significantly reduces recoil and is clean and simple.
. The end result is a brake that better controls muzzle rise, significantly reduces recoil and is clean and simple.
Oldsmobiler
CGN Regular
- Location
- Coquitlam, BC
Just a heads up guys...if you plan on attending the Service Rifle matches here in BC there are no brakes allowed on the rifles. If it came stock with it then you are ok, however, if you installed one like the cool ones above they won't let you compete.
Though they may be easier to clean, the only real issue I have with the large open port comps on a rifle is they become way more susceptible to having foreign debris collect in the ports and this becomes an additional safety concern if they become partially obstructed.
It sounds like you are planing on using the m14 for doing the service rifle competion again this year Oldsmobiler? Are you practicing still out at Mission? Back on topic all brakes have there advantages and dis-advantages & it's up to you to figure out witch one suit's you best.
Cough...
Cough...
smithenterprise.com/misc/uscg_mb01.html
smithenterprise.com/misc/rey01.html
Oldsmobiler
CGN Regular
- Location
- Coquitlam, BC
You bet buddy! Someone has to carry the M14 flag....none of you other wimps ever show up to Service Rifle to see how fun it is. I keep dragging my ass but I will be sending off my LRB build to my gunsmith Tuesday (today) and should have it back in a month. Yes I will be at the Mission range honeing my skills and tuning up the loads to kick some AR ass! I brake on this rifle would really help in the rapids but alas can't have one...so I gotta use my ultra honed rifleman skills
Ante
Ante
You bet buddy! Someone has to carry the M14 flag....none of you other wimps ever show up to Service Rifle to see how fun it is. I keep dragging my ass but I will be sending off my LRB build to my gunsmith Tuesday (today) and should have it back in a month. Yes I will be at the Mission range honeing my skills and tuning up the loads to kick some AR ass! I brake on this rifle would really help in the rapids but alas can't have one...so I gotta use my ultra honed rifleman skills
Ante
I guess I won't be trying service rifle
I just put a smith on my rifle, though I haven't tried it yet I doubt I'm going to pull it off the end of my M14.
Oldsmobiler
CGN Regular
- Location
- Coquitlam, BC
If its the SEI Navy brake its kinda hard to tell that its a brake "if you know what I mean" If it were one of the obvious brakes then I think you'd have a problem with one of the RO's
JUST SHOW UP!!!! I'm tired of harping to guys about coming out. I'm usually the only guy with a 14 platform.
Ante
If it were one of the obvious brakes then I think you'd have a problem with one of the RO'sJUST SHOW UP!!!! I'm tired of harping to guys about coming out. I'm usually the only guy with a 14 platform.
Ante
aftermidnight
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna BC
Sean.. are those stainless shorty brakes (still) available?
Frankly I would rather have that happen with an open design then one with small ports or holes. Its pretty hard for anything to get stuck in this design being as open as it is.
Yep, I'll update the CGN add and get the website updated tomorrow.
Anyone try the Troy Brake?
http://store.troyind.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=SSUP-M14-00BT-00
http://store.troyind.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=SSUP-M14-00BT-00
