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Topic 6 - Muzzle Attachments (Recoil Reducers (Muzzle Brakes: external…
Topic 6 - Muzzle Attachments
Muzzle Crown Deflection
Crown = end of the barrel, where the bullet leaves.
The crown shape is a factor in long range accuracy. Thus any damage or imperfection will tend to deflect the bullet path and anomalous (unexpected) markings on the bullet.
Different crown profiles have different firearm applications.
Sound
Then noise heard when a gun goes off is made up of different sources:
Pressure Wave
- rapidly expanding gases going supersonic.
Loudest
Supersonic Crack
- the bullet if it breaks the sound barrier.
Mechanical Action Noise
- from the firearm itself.
Flight Related Noise
- e.g. air friction.
Quietest
Pressure Wave
Caused by rapidly expanding gases produced from the ignition of the
propellant
in the cartridge case becoming
supersonic
as they leave the end of the muzzle.
Sound Suppressors
Relatively ineffective when used with supersonic ammo. Supersonic bullets create their own
sonic boom
.
Can make establishing directionality difficult as sound is suppressed but
not silenced
, the bullets supersonic sound make echo.
How do they work?
slow gases leaving the muzzle
this is achieved by allowing expansion of the gases and applying turbulence (instability) to the gas flow within a chamber. This slows down the gases to below the speed of sound when released to the external environment.
Types:
Can
: hollow chamber, can-shaped extension at end of muzzle, not very effective.
Baffle
: a can with partitions.
Reflex
: a can with more complex baffles, allowing an expansion of chamber area.
Active
: a reflex suppressor with springs on baffles which absorb energy from muzzle blast.
Suppressor Deflection
Must be mounted concentric (centre) to the bore axis. If mounted sufficiently off the axis, the bullet will hit the suppressor when exiting the barrel. This will result in poor accuracy or can shatter the suppressor (possible fatal effects). This can also happen if the wrong caliber suppressor is used.
Suppressors, like firearms, must go through
proofing
. It must be able to cope with pressures that are exerted by certain muzzles.
Recoil Reducers
Muzzle Brakes
: external accessories and most effective.
Recoil Compensators
: integral to the firearm and less effective.
Short length tube attached at 90 degrees to the end of the barrel. High pressure systems therefore are dangerous.
Recoil is proportional to energy of projectile going down barrel because of equal and opposite reaction coming from the opposite way.
The slots in the recoil reducers
redirect propellant gas to counter the recoil
of the firearm. Muzzle brake force pulls the weapon forwards balancing out the recoil force.
Combustion gases will typically leave the brake rearward direction, pulling the weapon in the opposite direction to the recoil forces.
They increase the noise of the firearm and the gas blast is directed back towards the firer.
Recoil Boosters
increase rate of fire
of short-recoiling automatic weapons.
:warning: Energy is never destroyed, it is redistributed into different forms. :warning:
Flash Hiders
Propellant gas-particle mixture leaves the muzzle before and after the projectile.
The v hot mixture of (white) gases and partially burnt propellants ignites it contact with oxygen in the air causing an intense "muzzle flash".
Disadvantage to shooter in night conditions, gives away location and interferes with night vision devices.
How they work:
physically hide the flash with a cone shape device at the end of the barrel.
Or
disperse the flash upwards or sideways via fingers or longitudinal cuts. This is often a
dual purpose suppressor with a recoil reducer
.
Seen on RIFLES as opposed to pistols and handguns.
Shotguns
Wad Seperation
Wad - plastic cup pushed down the barrel.
After firing, the wad compacts in the air and separates from the projectiles, becoming a projectile itself which can cause samage.
Shot Patterns
Small round shot delivered with no spin is ballistically insufficient. As shot leaves barrel it begins to
disperse
in the air creating a cloud of pellets, known as
shot pattern/spread
.
Chokes
This is a
constriction in the end of the barrel
, used to change the shot pattern for different purposes. A cone shaped section that smoothly tapers from bore diameter to choke diameter. Elongates length of barrel. Degree of choke depends on shotgun caliber.
Can be made as part of the barrel in manufacture or by screwing in an interchangeable choke tuber (latter most common).
Results in the outer layers of the shot being given inward acceleration, delaying the spread of shot after leaving the barrel and reducing dispersion.
Types:
Cylinder bore (no choke)
least restriction
Improved cylinder choke
Modified choke
Full choke.
most restriction
Too much choke = increases difficulty of hitting target due to small pattern created by the pellets.
Too little choke = produces large patterns with insufficient pellet density to reliably break targets or kill game.
Caliber
Bore
(UK) and
Gauge
(USA).
The number is determined by the weight of a solid sphere of lead (in fractions of a pound) that has the same diameter of the shotguns barrel.
10 bore = inside diameter equal to lead sphere made from one tenth of a pound of lead, 20 bore = one twentieth of a pound of lead etc.