I see muzzle brakes called suppressors and to me a suppressor is a silencers and muzzle brakes as recoil reducers.. see this quite often on AR and by knowable posters?? Am I wrong??

In my opinion you are correct but opinions are like a-holes everyone has one and some of them stink

I’ve seen the “improper use” of the names and I also think you are correct in your thinking.

Ray, you're correct.

I think that the confusion comes from the people who buy the semi-auto rifles with "Flash Suppressors" on the muzzle. They just shorten the name to "Suppressor"

I have been asked to regulate doubles many times and they considered that sighting them in. with a file. another mistake of the Kings English! but Ive been told that I mutilate the Kings English by Saeed and that I only speak Texas and that's a fact: My Spanish is as bad as my Texan and I do mutilate the Kings English I think! Getten old and cant hardly talk! might be a better configeratiin!

Suppressors are a noise reduction device and muzzle breaks are a noise enhancing device. Both reduce recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by wildmansix:
Suppressors are a noise reduction device and muzzle breaks are a noise enhancing device. Both reduce recoil.

Exactly. But there are some "exceptions", for example Magnus muzzle brake by Victrix Italy. It actually reduce sound pressure on shooter a little. But I can't speak for bystanders ;-)

BTW I have their silencer and it is crazy effective. You can shoot full loads of 338 LM easy without ear protection.

Lapua factory load with 250gr Scenar: https://youtu.be/jrASGdvHdcc

Jiri

The word 'suppression' and its noun 'suppressor' could apply to muzzle brakes with the meaning of suppressing recoil.

Many of the suppressors we use on our rifles do have built in muzzle brakes so the suppressor reduces both recoil and sound.
The Gunworks suppressor I have on my 7mm WSM (22" barrel) has a stainless steel built in muzzle brake, good for 10,000 rounds and definitely does a great job on reducing recoil as well as reducing noise to that of a 22 rimfire magnum.

A muzzle brake is a one piece uni. A Suppressor has a series of baffles inside the 'can'. A suppressor does not have holes drilled through it the way a brake does.

quote:

The word 'suppression' and its noun 'suppressor' could apply to muzzle brakes with the meaning of suppressing recoil.

This is an unnecessary obfuscation that adds nothing to understanding the difference between the two devices.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Ray, you're correct.

I think that the confusion comes from the people who buy the semi-auto rifles with "Flash Suppressors" on the muzzle. They just shorten the name to "Suppressor"

Hirarm Maxim invented/patented the first commercial muzzle device to reduce sound that attached to the muzzle.

He called this invention a silencer. The patent clearly says silencer and is from 1909.

The Maxim design was different than modern suppressors, as it used curved vanes to force muzzle gasses to spin in little vortices inside the device while they cooled. This reduced their pressure.

This design was expensive to manufacture and causes the silencer to heat up quickly. Modern designs use baffles to slow down gasses without absorbing too much heat.

Another feature of Maxim’s silencer was it’s off-center attachment to a rifle barrel. By placing the centerline of the suppressor below the muzzle of the firearm, stock iron sights on the weapon could still be used (concentric suppressors typically block the view through the sights).

Anyway, that is the grandfather tech for “suppressors.” The guy who on inter turn called them silencers.

Muscle breaks done correctly do reduce felt recoil.

quote:

Originally posted by ggruber:
A muzzle brake is a one piece uni. A Suppressor has a series of baffles inside the 'can'. A suppressor does not have holes drilled through it the way a brake does.

And there are suppressors over muzzle brakes too.

To my ears a muzzle brake is the opposite of a suppressor!

IMHO the only place a muzzle brake is ok is on a 50 BMG sniper rifle

The modern generation is quite unaware of proper English, spelling, punctuation, meanings, usage, history, and practically everything else that used to be taught in our schools. The internet, especially YouTube are an cesspool of uneducated rule breakers. My humble opinion, of course.

Michael,
Spot on ole chap!

Muzzle brakes should be banned, not by the government, I'm not a fan of the government banning any firearm related items, but they should be banned for pure obnoxiousness. I want to save what little hearing I have.

lavaca, they are banned in NRA Highpower competition.

God gave you fingers to plug your ears, cotton balls, wax, and highdollar ear phones, all of which work or help, but Im not fond of them either and have paid the price, sooooo?

Years ago in London, England.

Went to a shop to buy a Parker Hale 22 silencer.

They had them on the shelves.

I asked for a silencer.

The man said he could not sell me a SILENCER.

But he could sell me A SOUND MODERATER!

I started using suppressors after using one in Botswana.
I love them.
In essence, they are designed to reduce the “heard/created” decibels when a bullet leaves the muzzle at super sonic velocities breaking the sound barrier.
They are NOT silencers as they only lower the heard report. They act as recoils reducers as well. I do not like muzzle brakes except on the Barret .416 and bigger.

clowdis,

Back when I competed, these vile things did not exist. I was at the range a while back sighting in a .416 and the guy on the bench next to me, shooting some .300 mag variation had a brake.
I had to sit there and wait for him to shoot before I could because I could literally feel it, not just hear it. Every PH I've ever talked to about these hates them.

Shoot what you can handle, but please don't put a brake on them.

I have a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle.

Given to me, with 2 aluminum briefcases, full of ammo organized in slotted foam.

Very beautifully done, as a gift set.

The rifle is very accurate, never seen anything like it before.

I am out of the country, and I will try to remember and post pictures here.

Anyway, it is one of those over designed pieces of kit.

One cannot remove the bolt unless one removes the stock!

It has a very large muzzle brake.

It is a sort of square contraption with large slots pointing out and back.

With ear plugs, and earmuffs on top of them, it still makes my ear ring!!

The side blast shooting in our indoor range is so bad, if I don’t have the muzzle deep into the tunnel, it knocks rifles on stands on the outside down!!

That will not make you friends at a public range!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Years ago in London, England.

Went to a shop to buy a Parker Hale 22 silencer.

They had them on the shelves.

I asked for a silencer.

The man said he could not sell me a SILENCER.

But he could sell me A SOUND MODERATER!

I remember those Parker Hale 22 silencers, had one myself. Long skinny all steel thing packed with concave baffles/washers. They were the only silencer available in NZ where it was in those days actually illegal to possess a silencer. Law enforcement were not active in enforcing the law provided the silencers were not openly paraded in public.

There is now no restriction on silencers or suppressors in NZ as they are better known and they have become the norm rather than the exception amongst firearm users. Most of our firearms retail already threaded from factory or by inhouse gunsmiths for suppressors.

Suppressors for the rimfire cartridges don't have to be too fancy to work well with subsonic ammunition. I have used a small light plastic suppressor on my Gevarm semi auto 22RF rifle (shown below) for nearly 40 years now and it is still going strong. These were made in NZ and internally have a long spring wrapped in some sort of ballistic cloth held in place by the end cap. Only hear the clunk of the breach block falling in the Gevarm.

2.5" x 1" barrel 22RF suppressor.

Saeed, that muzzle brake hurts my ears just to look at!