HELP!!! Need help with muzzle brake on AR

Bottom Gun · April 4, 2002, 11:37 AM

I recently bought a 16" Colt Match Target Competition Hbar II in 99% condition.
It's a great little rifle except for the muzzle brake. The previous owner had it fitted with a muzzle brake by GG&G in Tucson. It looks like one of the closed birdcage flash hiders with a washer in the front. I've attached a photo of it.

The problem is, if you fire this gun without ear protection, the report is ear splitting. I've done it twice and each time my ears rang all afternoon.
I can fire a 20" plain barrel all day without any discomfort if I had to, but even one shot through this brake is too much to handle.

This is such a handy accurate little rifle, I bought it with the idea of hiking the hills with it and taking an occasional pot shot at coyotes or other varmints, but I cannot tolerate the noise level and I don't want to walk around wearing ear protection all the time.

I'd like to take this brake off the barrel but it appears to be permanently attached. Can anyone tell me how they attach these brakes and is there a way to remove them?

Thanks for your help.

P-35 · April 4, 2002, 12:15 PM

I would recommend you use hearing protection, even the foamies would help cut down the noise. As far as the muzzle break, take a wrench to it, if it has loctite, heat it a bit then turn CCW and remove.

Bottom Gun · April 6, 2002, 02:07 AM

I appreciate the response, P-35.
I've already put a wrench on it and it won't budge, even with heat.

This is a post ban gun and I'm not even sure if it's legal to have a threaded barrel any longer. Can anyone shed some light on this?

It appears to be pressed on or possibly silver soldered but I can't tell which. I can't see a weld anywhere so I suspect it's one of the former methods. The washer or spacer behind it spins freely and that also leads me to believe it's intended to be a permanent installation instead of a screw-on.

I guess I'll try calling GG&G next week. Maybe they'll tell me.

I always wear ear protection when I target shoot, but not when I hunt.

Coltdriver · April 6, 2002, 10:21 AM

Assuming you have a legal post ban gun then the brake must be permanently attached. It is probably silver soldered on.

Take it to your smith and have em remove it.

I recently put an ak type brake on my AR and just like yours, shooting it without hearing protection is not an option.

My smith silversoldered it on too.

JNewell · April 6, 2002, 12:05 PM

Brakes are legal on post-ban lowers but not flash suppressors. They must be pinned and/or silver-soldered, but no threads permitted on a post-ban lower even if the brake is permanently attached. So, assuming it wasn't pinned, you can probably get it off, but it will be pretty ugly. GGG should be able to tell you whether something else would fit on instead, like the Bushmaster AK brakes (which I think are actually worse than the one you've got). You may wind up deciding to have it rebarrelled, depending on the cost of changing the brake and what the cosmetics are.

Bottom Gun · April 11, 2002, 10:18 AM

I spoke with GG&G yesterday who told me this contraption was made by Evolution Gun Works, an outfit I'd never heard of.
GG&G went on to say that they may have installed it and if they did, it was silver soldered.

Armed with that knowledge, I put the torch to it and yanked it off.

It sure isn't pretty now, but the difference is amazing. The noise level is significantly reduced, you no longer feel the muzzle blast from it, and it's shooting much tighter groups than it did before.
I'm glad to have it off. I'll find a sleeve to silver solder on the stepped down portion of the barrel so it won't look so bad.

In fairness to some of the other brakes, I used to have one of the AK-74 type brakes on another rifle years ago and it was OK. Much better than this POS I just took off. It was way too delicate though for any serious use.
I also examined some of the other styles like the ones Armalite uses and their design seems to be much better. At least they look like they'll direct the blast away at an angle instead of bouncing it directly back at you like this one did.

Thanks for the help, Guys.

johnwill · April 11, 2002, 05:04 PM

The only thing I can add is, you must be fairly young, or almost deaf, if you shoot an AR regularly without hearing protection! Even if it doesn't seem to be affecting your hearing, it's doing long term damage EVERY TIME you fire. It might take awhile, but there are plenty of people around that can tell you what happens after enough time, including me! I didn't know about hearing protection when I was much younger, and the service never provided it back then either. I don't hear nearly as well as I could if I had used hearing protection for all my shooting.

Badger Arms · April 11, 2002, 09:05 PM

I enlisted a guy recently who is an avid shooter. He wanted to do law enforcement for the Air Force. He failed his hearing test... twice. He's still in his early 20's. How sad. He had to choose firefighting instead. As for me, I can only remember a single occasion where I did not wear hearing protection while shooting. That was an outing where I forgot my muffs. I was shooting a 16" SKS, shotguns, and a 25 auto. Nothing ear-splitting out in the open, but definitely hurt my ears.

Back to the subject, I've got a brake on my M-4gery and don't see the need to take it off. I will admit, others at the range look at me funny the first time I fire it, but they too have hearing protection. It's nothing to sneeze at, but doesn't come close to the pressure wave my Browning 300WM with a BOSS causes. Now that's LOUD.

Bottom Gun · April 12, 2002, 08:16 AM

Johnwill,

What? I didn't hear you. Will you please repeat that?

Actually I'm a borderline old fart and yes I am somewhat hard of hearing resulting from over 35 years of shooting and a couple of nagging ex-wives.

Not too many people thought much about hearing loss years ago.
Nowadays, I always use ear protection when I'm plinking or target shooting, but I want to carry this carbine with a blocked magazine when I'm roaming the hills and take occasional potshots at coyotes and other varmints. I don't want to walk around all day with muffs or ear plugs in order to take a shot or two.

I never wear ear protection when I'm hunting quail, deer or elk either.
I wonder how many guys do?

April 4, 2002, 11:37 AM	#1
Bottom Gun Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: Arizona Territory Posts: 1,092	HELP!!! Need help with muzzle brake on AR I recently bought a 16" Colt Match Target Competition Hbar II in 99% condition. It's a great little rifle except for the muzzle brake. The previous owner had it fitted with a muzzle brake by GG&G in Tucson. It looks like one of the closed birdcage flash hiders with a washer in the front. I've attached a photo of it. The problem is, if you fire this gun without ear protection, the report is ear splitting. I've done it twice and each time my ears rang all afternoon. I can fire a 20" plain barrel all day without any discomfort if I had to, but even one shot through this brake is too much to handle. This is such a handy accurate little rifle, I bought it with the idea of hiking the hills with it and taking an occasional pot shot at coyotes or other varmints, but I cannot tolerate the noise level and I don't want to walk around wearing ear protection all the time. I'd like to take this brake off the barrel but it appears to be permanently attached. Can anyone tell me how they attach these brakes and is there a way to remove them? Thanks for your help. Last edited by Bottom Gun; August 11, 2009 at 08:53 PM.

April 11, 2002, 05:04 PM	#7
johnwill Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2000 Location: PA Posts: 3,451	The only thing I can add is, you must be fairly young, or almost deaf, if you shoot an AR regularly without hearing protection! Even if it doesn't seem to be affecting your hearing, it's doing long term damage EVERY TIME you fire. It might take awhile, but there are plenty of people around that can tell you what happens after enough time, including me! I didn't know about hearing protection when I was much younger, and the service never provided it back then either. I don't hear nearly as well as I could if I had used hearing protection for all my shooting. __________________ I collect old pistols, got any?

April 11, 2002, 09:05 PM	#8
Badger Arms Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2000 Location: Harnett County, NC Posts: 1,700	I enlisted a guy recently who is an avid shooter. He wanted to do law enforcement for the Air Force. He failed his hearing test... twice. He's still in his early 20's. How sad. He had to choose firefighting instead. As for me, I can only remember a single occasion where I did not wear hearing protection while shooting. That was an outing where I forgot my muffs. I was shooting a 16" SKS, shotguns, and a 25 auto. Nothing ear-splitting out in the open, but definitely hurt my ears. Back to the subject, I've got a brake on my M-4gery and don't see the need to take it off. I will admit, others at the range look at me funny the first time I fire it, but they too have hearing protection. It's nothing to sneeze at, but doesn't come close to the pressure wave my Browning 300WM with a BOSS causes. Now that's LOUD. __________________ We may or may not worship God, but John Moses Browning made sure we can choose.

April 4, 2002, 12:15 PM	#2
P-35 Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 1999 Posts: 119	I would recommend you use hearing protection, even the foamies would help cut down the noise. As far as the muzzle break, take a wrench to it, if it has loctite, heat it a bit then turn CCW and remove.

April 6, 2002, 02:07 AM	#3
Bottom Gun Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: Arizona Territory Posts: 1,092	I appreciate the response, P-35. I've already put a wrench on it and it won't budge, even with heat. This is a post ban gun and I'm not even sure if it's legal to have a threaded barrel any longer. Can anyone shed some light on this? It appears to be pressed on or possibly silver soldered but I can't tell which. I can't see a weld anywhere so I suspect it's one of the former methods. The washer or spacer behind it spins freely and that also leads me to believe it's intended to be a permanent installation instead of a screw-on. I guess I'll try calling GG&G next week. Maybe they'll tell me. I always wear ear protection when I target shoot, but not when I hunt.

April 6, 2002, 10:21 AM	#4
Coltdriver Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2001 Posts: 683	Assuming you have a legal post ban gun then the brake must be permanently attached. It is probably silver soldered on. Take it to your smith and have em remove it. I recently put an ak type brake on my AR and just like yours, shooting it without hearing protection is not an option. My smith silversoldered it on too.

April 6, 2002, 12:05 PM	#5
JNewell Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2000 Posts: 1,092	Brakes are legal on post-ban lowers but not flash suppressors. They must be pinned and/or silver-soldered, but no threads permitted on a post-ban lower even if the brake is permanently attached. So, assuming it wasn't pinned, you can probably get it off, but it will be pretty ugly. GGG should be able to tell you whether something else would fit on instead, like the Bushmaster AK brakes (which I think are actually worse than the one you've got). You may wind up deciding to have it rebarrelled, depending on the cost of changing the brake and what the cosmetics are.

April 11, 2002, 10:18 AM	#6
Bottom Gun Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: Arizona Territory Posts: 1,092	I spoke with GG&G yesterday who told me this contraption was made by Evolution Gun Works, an outfit I'd never heard of. GG&G went on to say that they may have installed it and if they did, it was silver soldered. Armed with that knowledge, I put the torch to it and yanked it off. It sure isn't pretty now, but the difference is amazing. The noise level is significantly reduced, you no longer feel the muzzle blast from it, and it's shooting much tighter groups than it did before. I'm glad to have it off. I'll find a sleeve to silver solder on the stepped down portion of the barrel so it won't look so bad. In fairness to some of the other brakes, I used to have one of the AK-74 type brakes on another rifle years ago and it was OK. Much better than this POS I just took off. It was way too delicate though for any serious use. I also examined some of the other styles like the ones Armalite uses and their design seems to be much better. At least they look like they'll direct the blast away at an angle instead of bouncing it directly back at you like this one did. Thanks for the help, Guys.

April 12, 2002, 08:16 AM	#9
Bottom Gun Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: Arizona Territory Posts: 1,092	Johnwill, What? I didn't hear you. Will you please repeat that? Actually I'm a borderline old fart and yes I am somewhat hard of hearing resulting from over 35 years of shooting and a couple of nagging ex-wives. Not too many people thought much about hearing loss years ago. Nowadays, I always use ear protection when I'm plinking or target shooting, but I want to carry this carbine with a blocked magazine when I'm roaming the hills and take occasional potshots at coyotes and other varmints. I don't want to walk around all day with muffs or ear plugs in order to take a shot or two. I never wear ear protection when I'm hunting quail, deer or elk either. I wonder how many guys do?