Rifle Compensator Testing and Reviews

Something else to consider is overpressure smacking the shooter in the face. I know I'm more sensitive (bring it) to the blast than the actual sound level.

I do have a gauge that is used to test the overpressure of distraction devices. It's packed away somewhere. I'll get it located and offer it up. If needed.
 
You joke, but this does factor for me.

I do have a Surefire comp that I'll offer up for testing.


Are you trying to tell me that you give s crap about my previous ears at a match or are you concerned about sound levels during clearing a house with other team members possibly in front of you?
 
The best way to measure muzzle flip - My camera can do up to 240 frames per second (30fps is normal tv shows). The best way is to put the rifle on a bench or something with a yard stick behind it - and just use the video to see how high the muzzle moves at the highest point.
 
Are you trying to tell me that you give s crap about my previous ears at a match or are you concerned about sound levels during clearing a house with other team members possibly in front of you?

Troy can maybe speak up here - my opinion on the "clearing a house" part - I would imagine if it came to an actual shootout that adrenaline would be so much that they probably wouldn't even notice the sound of the rifle. I know when hunting the few big bucks I have killed - I never even heard my 300 mag go off. I think realistically we should measure it as how it affects the SHOOTER primarily.
 
Nodoubt! Wall has that little ATAS 3" barreled AR with the Dave Neth comp and it flat out makes my teeth rattle if you are within the 245 degree blast arc on the sides. Yikes!
 
I think we need to hold it like you would in a match. You could have the gun and shooter in front of a backdrop like a sheet if plywood with measurement marks on it. Trick is just to start in the same spot every time.

If you shot Off a bench or cart like kelley did You'd have to strap it down. Mr. Kelley does a lot of professional photography so I'm sure he's thought a bunch about it. Maybe I'll contact him.
 
Thats why I was thinking a bench just to start at the same spot. I would almost say you dont want to even hold the front like in a match - this could cause variance. Your best bet may be to use a bipod and to hold a mag well grip so you are not effecting muzzle flip by how tight or loose you hold the front.
 
Nodoubt! Wall has that little ATAS 3" barreled AR with the Dave Neth comp and it flat out makes my teeth rattle if you are within the 245 degree blast arc on the sides. Yikes!
It's 11" and yeah it's freakin' loud. It's maybe not the best comp for 3-gun but it's the only comp with threads for my Phantom. It works pretty good & if you look at P. Kelly's article, it had one on the smallest muzzle rises, but also one of smallest reductions in rearward recoil. I'd gladly offer it & the rifle to test. I agree with Brandon, the only way to get true results is to take the shooter variances out of the equation. Shoot it from a bipod strapped to a sled or something. I've also shot a Bushmaster Y-Comp that was pretty good at eliminating recoil, but again very loud & the gas forced back at the shooter was pretty noticable.

BTW: That whole high speed in front of a yard stick is very Mythbusters, I like it. Who says you can't learn anything good from TV?
 
The problem with going 240 FPS is the video size is 320x240 - if we go 120 FPS the video is 640x480. I took a few examples - they are indoors thats why the 240 fps is so dark - much better in the sun.

See we could have some fun with this.

120 FPS



240 FPS

 
Troy can maybe speak up here - my opinion on the "clearing a house" part - I would imagine if it came to an actual shootout that adrenaline would be so much that they probably wouldn't even notice the sound of the rifle. I know when hunting the few big bucks I have killed - I never even heard my 300 mag go off. I think realistically we should measure it as how it affects the SHOOTER primarily.

In my experience, when the metal is hitting meat, the shooter does not hear the report of the weapon. Although I have heard casings bouncing off of the wall and striking the floor. Curious, huh?

And again....I think it wise to measure pressure (blast pressure) in the vicinity of the shooter's face. I would rather shoot a "louder rifle with more muzzle climb" than one that is busting me in the chops (possibly causing a pre-ignition flinch, jerk, blink, etc). I would think the latter would affect performance more than sound levels or recoil. I speak on this because my Surefire brake is brutal. During extended firing sessions, I have walked away with migraines from the blast. This can be mitigated some by use of "muffs" as they partially cover the nerve bundles that lie under the conrner of the jaw. Impacts to these nuerotransmitters cause the nerves to fire at the same time. This essentially overloads the nervous system sending it into a state of temporary paralysis (hence a knockout). Now I'm not saying that extended firing of a brutaly brake will cause one to lose consciousness, but at the least will cause some discomfort.
 
Just got an email back from a vendor saying they would be willing to provide us with a few of their models to test after the Shot Show. Waiting to hear back from some more as we speak.
 
This can be mitigated some by use of "muffs" as they partially cover the nerve bundles that lie under the conrner of the jaw. Impacts to these nuerotransmitters cause the nerves to fire at the same time. This essentially overloads the nervous system sending it into a state of temporary paralysis (hence a knockout). Now I'm not saying that extended firing of a brutaly brake will cause one to lose consciousness, but at the least will cause some discomfort.

Sounds like somebody stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
 
What if the shooter is called up to join the local SWAT team during the Zombie Apocalypse? If he is working in a 6 man team clearing houses of zombies he is going to want to know how the comp affects his team mates!Seriously though you are correct. There is concern for the side volume since we shoot around spectators at matches. The relation ship should be close enough at the shooter though. How do you plan to measure muzzle flip and perceived recoil?


You joke, but this does factor for me.I do have a Surefire comp that I'll offer up for testing.
I gotta say that if I were on such a team, elephant dung would have already hit the fan and we would be in full-on apocalypse. But if we all had comps on our rifles, I wouldn't want to be on the team.

I can't even imagine just a couple going off in a room at the same time. One thing is for sure, some measure of permanent hearing loss is an absolute in this scenario. Also, I would have to think that the pressure wave would be very noticeable and distracting to the others at the very worst possible time.
 
Those el-cheapo sound meters don't sample quickly enough to pick up the peak sound pressure level. Plus that one has an accuracy rating of +/- 3.5 dB, not too bueno. Over on Enos, Kurt said he tested a bunch of comps in a small room and they were all within about 3 dB.

The suppressor guys use much more expensive equipment. I want to say $1k and up.

Sorry to drop a turd in the punch bowl.
 
Well golly gee - guess I'll just find a more expensive - read BETTER - one :-)

If we bought a more expensive - less variance in measurement one - would it be effective in measuring sound at say a few feet behind the shooter on a constant level?
 
Once you got one that could sample quickly enough and with enough precision, you ought to be able to put it wherever you want, within reason. We did a chrono/sound measurement project when I was at OSU, I'll bust out the report and see how much variance we ended up with shot to shot. The same gun with the same ammo should produce the same amount of sound every time, but since the meter takes readings at finite intervals I think we ended up with something like +/- 3 dB. It was also not a very expensive meter. We knew the results weren't going to be very good going into it, but we did it just for grins and to see what we could actually come up with.

You guys could ask Kurt what they used when he did his thing. I might be able to find out what they use for suppressor ratings.

All it'll tell you though is how much the total amount of sound is pushing on it...humans are naturally more attuned to some frequencies than others, so there's not a perfectly direct correlation between how loud something is, and how uncomfortable it is.
 
I just fell asleep reading this thread. I think we take turns shooting the gun and the other guy stands next to the gun and switch places once for each comp. Then we rate the double tap we just felt. The shooter and bystandard both uses a rating scale from 1-5. Easy does it;)
 
I just fell asleep reading this thread. I think we take turns shooting the gun and the other guy stands next to the gun and switch places once for each comp. Then we rate the double tap we just felt. The shooter uses a scale from 1-5.

That's scientific enough for me as long as we have enough judges. So much about comps is subjective. The point is to reach a general consensus and pick an overall winner.

I volunteer my Rolling Thunder and I'm also ordering a SJC Titan.
 
Hell yeah. We'll add the Battlecomp to the mix as well. Any more big ones we're missing?

I'm thinking about buying a Nordic Corvette for kicks, too. I can put it on my 7.5" gun afterward. Talk about loud...
 
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