DO muzzle brakes actually do anything??

[DasGestapo]

recently i built a medium sized combustion cannon, and for fun i put on a muzzle brake. it was .25" larger in diameter than the barrel, and had two 1" diameter porting holes.

i honestly do not think it did much, but when i fired at night it made two jets of flame come out. it looked like a hand held artillery piece.

even if it did look sexy, i doubt it did much
has anyone ever built one that really helped accuracy & recoil?

[mopherman]

im pretty sure the just look cool

[A-98]

actually, they do work on artillery, and guns for that matter. im not sure if they work on cannons tho, and if they do, they dont do much.

i would explain how thay work on big things, but it would be a long, boring explanation, and someone could probably say it better than me anyway

[COD_FILLETS]

Muzzle breaks help recoil by redirecting the exhaust gases from the explosion in the opposite direction (of the recoil).

[Pete Zaria]

COD_FILLETS got it right; a well-designed muzzle break will help reduce felt recoil significantly. They can also help to suppress muzzle flash, and very slightly dampen noise (a muzzle break helps a bit to make a gunshot sound more like a BOOM than a CRACK). If improperly designed, they can negatively effect accuracy. Most muzzle breaks will very slightly reduce velocity.

If I was going to put a muzzle break on a potato cannon, I'd use a pipe just slightly larger than my barrel, and I'd cut slits along the top side of the muzzle break, running "across" the pipe rather than "along" the pipe. This will help to vent gases upwards, counteracting recoil.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[Blitz]

I attempted to make a muzzle break similar to what Pete Zaria describes, but I felt it made little difference. I wanted to do some actual testing by seeing how much recoil was removed, but I just never got around to it. I was going to do this by putting my gun on a 4-wheeled carriage, and see how far back it rolled when remotely fired, and then add the muzzle break and repeat.

Maybe something y'all can do if you have the time.

[Matheusilla]

It's to my understanding that muzzle brakes work better with firearms because of all the extra gases they produce from firing. Spudguns don't have as much gases coming out so a muzzle brake doesn't do as much on a spuddy. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

it was .25" larger in diameter than the barrel

There's your problem. In that configuration, the gasses can simply blow out through the muzzle as if the brake wasn't there. Ideally you should make holes directly in the barrely itself.

Also you can tailor the type of brake to the sort of effect you want to achieve. Cutting slits in the top of the barrel will prevent muzzle flip, while directing the gasses backwards will help reduce recoil.

[DasGestapo]

hmm
good idea
i understand the concept of gas venting, as i have studied most every aspect of .50 caliber sniper rifles in my various hours of pointless free time
i think i will try that actually


if nothing else, it will still look pretty sick

[deusXmachina]

Muzzle brakes on spud guns, in my opinion, are more of a style thing, especially when they shoot flames out the side . What you could try is something akin to a silencer, you have the last 1.5' of barrel perforated, and have a pipe around that large enough to leave a .25" gap and have the front sealed off, like this:
____________________
[_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __________
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _________<- fire this way
[____________________

Gasses will leave through the hole as it fires and vent backwards, reducing recoil and noise (to a small extent). How effective this would work would depend on a lot of tuning, finding the right length of barrel and brake.

[paaiyan]

On a spug gun,muzzle brakes really are more about style. The cannons don't have enuogh power to notice an effect. When you've got 20 pounds of powder charge behind a 20-inch wide shell, it makes all the difference n the world. When you're talking about a potato and some propane, not so much.

[rebalgray]

Here is a muzzle brake on my .22BR. Side view and end view. The hole in the muzzle is just a little bigger than the bullet. It is the same size all the way through the muzzle brake. It does do away with most of the recoil. The noise is just as bad or worse. You don't shoot it with out hearing protection. This is to give you the idea.




rebalgray

[PAspuder]

my friend put one on his combustion gun, and he claims that it silenced it a little. i have not seen it yet, but he drilled a few holes, and made an extension that is about 1" wider than the opening.

[Solar]

The true reason that the Eclipse semi auto has a muzzle break is to allow for inspection of the muzzle in case someone sticks it into the mud and gets dirt and rocks compacted into the barrel. It makes the removal a lot easier with the break holes drilled out. We will be using a spring load CAR style stock for firing the larger 9oz. gas rounds to reduce the effects of recoil.

[bboymatty]

muzzle breaks are no good on a spud gun, especially a combustion. Just not enough pressure to make it worthwhile.