The brake is going to change the direction of the gases, but the sleeve directs gases and noise forward.
I review a lot of guns. Sometimes I am pulling the trigger. More often than not, when I’m out on the range, I shoot some and then get behind the camera. Yesterday, when shooting for a different review, I had the misfortune of standing almost directly beside an AR with a typical M4 flash hider. It reminded me that I really needed to finish this review of the Kineti-Tech muzzle brake. It is my considered opinion that every AR should have on of these.
If you’ve never stood five feet off to the side of an AR, I don’t suggest you try it. It is ridiculously loud. The typical flash hider may hide the flash, but it doesn’t do much for hiding the sound. The concussion is intense. I had on ear plugs, and ear protection that was rated to 30 db, but the sound hit hard enough to rattle my fillings. It is stupid loud.
The Kineti-Tech brake and sleeve redirects the blast downrange.
Kineti-Tech has been looking for a way around that. Let’s back up–of course there’s a way around it. Silencers should be both legal and hassle free. They are obviously legal, but can be a pain in the ass to procure. So what’s the next best option? Why not send the sound down range with the lead? Seems like a novel solution.
And that’s exactly what this simple shroud does. It begins with a muzzle brake. The brake threads onto the barrel. It is an incredibly easy installation, assuming you have a vice that isn’t going to mar your gun. Clamping is recommended, as you will need to tighten the brake on the barrel, and then muscle the brake into proper alignment, a process called “timing.” That way, the gasses escape in the appropriate direction (typically on the east/west axis).
The muzzle brake is threaded to accept the steel sleeve.
This escaping gas is what mitigates muzzle rise. A good brake physically holds the gun down, complementing your form and grip, and allowing for faster follow up shots. I’ve seen half a million brake patterns, and some seem more about visual aesthetics than performance. But they work. And Kineti-Tech’s works well.
What I find noteworthy is the addition of the steel tube that directs sound out, away from the shooter (and away form the camera man standing beside the gun). The sleeve itself attaches to the brake on 13/16 x 16 threads. The brake is available in two thread patterns: 1/2 x 28 or 5/8 x 24. The whole sleeve is only 2.35 inches long and comes in four textures.
Impressions from use
The first time I pulled the trigger on this AR, I popped open the upper and checked for a squib. That’s how different it sounded. I’ve never had a squib on an AR, so I’m guessing here, but it didn’t sound right. The sharp crack I associate with the .223 was gone. I was shooting at a target that was shot to hell, so I couldn’t see the bullet’s impact, and it just seemed odd.
When you reach out on the forend, you run the risk of reaching too far, but less so with the sleeve installed.
So I put it back together and pulled the trigger again. Same strange sound. It is not so quiet that I’d take off my ear protection. This isn’t a silencer. That said, it would be much safer to shoot an AR with one of these sleeves and no ear protection. And it is much easier to stand beside the gun. If I were shooting with anyone else–fighting, competing, whatever–I’d want one.
We shot several magazines through this AR and could see no change in accuracy. The muzzle brake functions well, and helps hold down recoil, and the addition of the sleeve doesn’t change that. In fact, I’d say it actually helps. There’s another benefit that comes from Kineti-Tech’s combination, and that is the protection of your support hand.
Tall shooters like me often have to get cramped up on an AR in a very uncomfortable posture. I want a carbine length (or shorter) AR, but I hold thumb-over-bore. I’m also 6’4″. This means my I often end up holding thumb-over-muzzle, which hasn’t really caught on yet as a shooting stance. My long-ass monkey arms are more suited to a 20 inch AR barrel, but I still have to go in and out of vehicles and doors, just like everyone else.
At 6’4″ I have a hard time shooting a carbine length AR. There’s never enough barrel, and I need a couple more inches of LOP.
The solution to me seems logical. I need a long forend and I need some way to keep gasses off my hand. I’d been relying on gloves, but steel is much better. With this Parallax Tactical forend (review to follow shortly) and this Kineti-Tech brake/sleeve combo, I can hold much farther down on the gun and pull the rifle in to my shoulder so tightly that I don’t even have to grip the pistol grip at all.
For me, the sound redirection is the extra. I’ll have one of these on this AR until the day it dies, I suspect. And it would be equally (maybe even more) valuable on an SBR. The device offers a unique visual aesthetic, an increase in operational safety, and a more secure protection for your support hand. For $48.95.
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You can tighten the brake with simple tools, though you may want more leverage and an AR vice to make it fool-proof.
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The sleeve looks odd on a naked barrel.
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Each of the sleeves has its own unique texture.
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These are the other three patterns available for the sleeves, which sell individually for $16.95.
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This Parallax forend offers more usable hand space for me.
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I haven’t got back-up sights on this forend yet, but it looks like there will be just enough room.
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When coupled with a longer forend, the sleeve looks more natural.
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The tube is narrow enough that it can fit inside most forends. I was able to install the brake and sleeve, then the forend on this AR.
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Brakes work by the blast being directed against forward baffles. Think of the “No Recoil” device typically employed on a .50 sniper rifle. The hot gases strike plates (baffles) pushing the rifle forward. Stop. Where the gases go from there or at what lateral/forward angle play a more minor role. Thus, the Kinetitec can still function as an excellent brake AND direct blast out the front without completely negating the initial forward ‘push’ of the gun forward. To find out how much this reduces the brake effect, I suggest trying it on a .50…
BTW, The add-on piece someone called the “timing ring” that helps get the muzzle break properly east west aligned Kineti-Tech calls it the “Clocking Ring for directional muzzle brakes. A clocking ring allows the “clocking” or the tighting of a muzzle brake so ports are directed in the proper direction.”
Clocking Rings 1/2 x 28 (.223 AR-15)
SKU: CLK1
Price: $8.95
Specs:
OD – 0.780″
Threads – 1/2″x 28
Material – A311 StressProof Steel.
Clocking Rings 5/8 x 24 (.308 AR-10)
SKU: CLK5824
Price: $8.95
Specs:
OD – 0.780″
Threads – 5/8″x 24
Material – A311 StressProof Steel.
Where can I buy this noise reducing muzzle break at?
I have one on my AR 7 1/2” pistol. I cut the baffle/insert off. So it’s just the can. I really saw no difference with it or without it, sound wise or muzzle rise wise. But with a pistol, who cares?! With an AR pistol, you want it to be as loud and scary as possible!!
I have the one that is, or I should say was, knurled. I was able to remove the knurling and polish it out to almost a mirror finish, as the shroud’s barrel is Aluminum and the part that attaches to the barrel is steel. It really looks cool with the stainless barrel.
I have a Sears & Robuck Mosin Nagant (imported in the 50’s) and it had the barrel cut down to 21.25 inches and a Springfield 1903 front sight put on. I have already removed the front sight and threaded it to 5/8-24 standards and want to put a muzzle brake that can really reduce the recoil. I have already checked the clearances and it should be fine as long as the inner diameter is more than 3/10 of an inch. How effective would this brake be on a high velocity round?
Hi, i am very interested in your sound directing muzzle brakes for the purpose of hearing protection and target practicing as far as shooting and having the sound deflect away from neighbors, and would like to know if you have a catalog, thank you, Ken
I have one on a 14″ PSA non-FF & Sig Brace for pistol-length compliance. This brake works better than my other 16″ PSA, FF AR-15’s standard A2-style muzzle device. I have only put a few hundred rounds down range. I was sceptical that it would work with the shroud on as well as off, but I can only hear a difference and feel the blast reduction in my face. Not sure how/why it works with the shroud but it does. I left the shroud off at first, report was loud as expected but muzzle climb well mitigated. I put the shroud on only hand tight and it makes for a much less intrusive shooting experience. Suggest you purchase their “timing ring” which helps in the install and does away with crush washer(s). I have not yet used this in any CQB or team drills but expect that others will appreciate this as much or more than me (the shooter). For about $65 (with shipping and timing ring) it is a good piece of kit. Will be ordering one for my 16″ FF as well.
Think of the recoil reduction in light of a suppressor rather than a brake. Suppressors reduce recoil by creating opposite physical action of the gases on the baffles and by reducing the pressure on the crown. It is not the direction of the gas away from the barrel but the pushing of the gas on the baffles. There are a couple of discussions on this on The HighRoad dot com.
If the shroud over the muzzle brake is directing gas forward, then the shroud must be contributing to recoil. The fact that the gas is first directed to the sides or rear by the brake doesn’t matter; the gas coming out of the brake can’t possibly reduce recoil because it is pushing against a component of the gun (the shroud) instead of against the outside air. This is like trying to push a car by sitting in the back seat and pushing against the seat in front of you. The only thing that matters is where the gas finally exits the system. Its velocity may be reduced by being allowed to expand somewhat before exiting, but every action creates an equal and opposite reaction – muzzle blast goes forward, the gun moves to the rear. In order for the brake to work, the gas coming out of it must leave the gun entirely while being directed up and/or to the rear. Only the direction of the gas as it leaves the gun matters. The gas being directed into the shroud by the muzzle brake has not left the gun, because it is still contained by the shroud, which is part of the gun.
I hear what your saying BUT having shot this it does continue to mitigate muzzle rise (not sure about reward-recoil, I was not focussed on that).
I’m not sure if this is an answer but wonder if as a regular un-braked muzzle (plain old crowned barrel) has the majority of gas pressure released ONLY behind the bullet’s exit into clear air it develops most recoil while bullet is impeding forward gas flow and thus develops reward pressure (recoil). Verses in this arrangement some/more of the gases leave the muzzle’s profile (east west into the shroud) BEFORE the bullet exits the device, in effect bleeding off some gases and applying gas pressure inside the shroud VERY shortly before the bullet leaves the muzzle device. I’m asking could the gas be working like it was blowing off into clear air because the bullet gets away before backward pressure develops inside the shroud (not the barrel). If XM193 cronos ~3k fps at muzzle, that means the bullet’s dwell time inside the ~2″ muzzle device is only ~0.000055 of a second (if my calc is correct) before it leaves the muzzle device into open/clear air. What I don’t know is if the expansion rate for the gases vented by the brake would develop a significant pressure on the shroud (filling it and then developing a positive/higher atmosphere) before the bullet exits and allows a pressure drop since the forward gas direction is no longer impeded by the bullet in the barrel.
Not that I put much into this next part but I spoke to Keniti-Tech before ordering my first and asked if they would make a longer shroud or shroud with ports as I had similar concerns about brake effectiveness with the shroud. They told me they had experimented with various lengths of shrouds and brakes, they had little to no effect on muzzle climb or audible report.
Although I’m not sure this explains it, it does seem to mitigate muzzle rise with or w/o the shroud in real world use.
The other parameters you have to take into account are timing and gas velocity. Do an analysis that is more
towards boundary condition. Use a coffee can size container, no exit holes. The gas has expanded and now
has to exit at lower velocity, over a longer period of time (lower pressure, lower exit vel.). ‘Silencers’ work
this way.
I understand everything you’re saying and it seems it should push back against your shoulder. But the thing is having one installed on my Lewis Gun 10.5 SBR it has not exerted any felt recoil and my double taps are now sub MOA at 100yds. Sometims things are counter-intuitive. Like when driving in snow and go into a spin. you steer the same direction instead of opposite and it works. Why? Who knows. It works so I keep on keeping on. Great piece of kit.
So really, is there no difference in loss in effect of recoil reduction with the tube shroud on vs. having it off and just using the brake?
Just might have to try this out! I’ll be RO’s would love this
I bought one after reading this review. Thanks