A bit of preamble: Back in the dim distant past I owned a Ruger Mini-14 which was modified by the addition of a barrel shroud/device that attached more-or-less like one of the fake reverse suppressors sold by TNA and others. It was made of aluminum and carbon fibre, and required gunsmith installation of a muzzle portion onto the barrel to which the rest of the gizmo attached. It extended back almost all the way to the gas block, without actually touching the block. It was essentially a tube that contacted the barrel only at the very front; the geometry of the thing was designed to impart a great amount of increased rigidity to the barrel.
Not only did it look very cool, but it was likely the single biggest improvement I ever made to a Mini-14. That gun was almost MOA with almost any factory load I tried, and well sub-MOA with its favourites. It was noticeably heavier and more muzzle-heavy than the stock gun, but was absolutely the best Mini I ever owned, and I owned a bunch.
The reverse fake suppressors look like exactly the same idea, although a fair bit shorter and smaller, and much easier to install if your barrel is already threaded. But although I hear users drooling about how great they look, I haven't noticed anybody talking about any changes to the accuracy of the rifle.
I have a Ruger American Ranch in .223 that is already plenty accurate for my uses for it, but I can't help but think one of these might improve it further. I don't really care about the cosmetics, but I'm not a fan of extra weight for no practical gain. I'll probably try one out, since they're not expensive and seem to be easy to sell on the EE if I don't like it. The TNA steel ones seem to weight about 12 ounces, and even the aluminum version TNA sells is still listed at 10 ounces; either one seems dang heavy. I'm just curious if anyone else has used one and achieved anything other than increased bad-assed-ness.
Not only did it look very cool, but it was likely the single biggest improvement I ever made to a Mini-14. That gun was almost MOA with almost any factory load I tried, and well sub-MOA with its favourites. It was noticeably heavier and more muzzle-heavy than the stock gun, but was absolutely the best Mini I ever owned, and I owned a bunch.
The reverse fake suppressors look like exactly the same idea, although a fair bit shorter and smaller, and much easier to install if your barrel is already threaded. But although I hear users drooling about how great they look, I haven't noticed anybody talking about any changes to the accuracy of the rifle.
I have a Ruger American Ranch in .223 that is already plenty accurate for my uses for it, but I can't help but think one of these might improve it further. I don't really care about the cosmetics, but I'm not a fan of extra weight for no practical gain. I'll probably try one out, since they're not expensive and seem to be easy to sell on the EE if I don't like it. The TNA steel ones seem to weight about 12 ounces, and even the aluminum version TNA sells is still listed at 10 ounces; either one seems dang heavy. I'm just curious if anyone else has used one and achieved anything other than increased bad-assed-ness.
