Flash Suppressor Assistance for Distance Rifle

[nightchief]

Fairly new here and looking for some assistance...

I'm building a .223/5.56 rifle for shooting distances to 500 yards. Need a recommendation for a flash suppressor that won't impact the accuracy of the rifle. I currently have a Smith Vortex on a 16" barrel and haven't noticed any affect on accuracy, however, the distance has been limited to 200 yards.

Build will use an 18" LaRue Stealth barrel...

Thank you,

Night Chief

[sinister]

A1 or A2 works.

[nightchief]

Okay, I would have to acquire one of those actually...

Do you know if the Vortex would impact the accuracy?

Thanks,
NC

[C-grunt]

Noveske was using them for a long time on their rifles. Might still do I'm not sure. It's also made by a company who builds precision rifles. If it negatively impacted accuracy I doubt those two companies would use it.

I had one on my Noveske N4. That was a very accurate rifle.

[Stickman]

Okay, I would have to acquire one of those actually...

Do you know if the Vortex would impact the accuracy?

Thanks,
NC



Vortex is GTG.

[MegademiC]

Molon uses the vortex on many of his. See the permed 14.5" thread he made. You'd be hard pressed to prove any accuracy impact from the flash hider, and it actually hides the flash very well from what I've seen here.

[samuse]

I've used A2s and Vortex on precision type ARs and haven't noticed any difference. The few LaRue uppers I shot had A2s on 'em and they didn't hurt 'em a bit.

I think there is a theory that a Vortex, or any hider with equilateral spacing of the tines could be more accurate than something like an A2 that doesn't vent concentrically. Or something like that.

Me? From what I've seen, I'd spend $10 on an A2 and go shoot.

[Barack H. Obama]

Fairly new here and looking for some assistance...

I'm building a .223/5.56 rifle for shooting distances to 500 yards. Need a recommendation for a flash suppressor that won't impact the accuracy of the rifle. I currently have a Smith Vortex on a 16" barrel and haven't noticed any affect on accuracy, however, the distance has been limited to 200 yards.

Build will use an 18" LaRue Stealth barrel...

Thank you,

Night Chief

I haven't seen enough data to suggest that running a flash hider will significantly degrade accuracy. For accuracy I'd be more concerned with a properly crowned barrel. Adding a properly installed muzzle device shouldn't hurt it at all.

[farmhard]

in my experience the a2 is the way to go. they are cheap, effective, accurate, and don't have the annoing tuning fork noise that the vortex produces.

[nightchief]

The first time I installed a Vortex on a barrel I noticed the peculiar "hum" it made afterward...I guess it doesn't bother me anymore, since I no longer notice the tuning fork hum ;)

NC

[CoryCop25]

I have an AAC Blackout on my 18.5" Lilja.
As long as it is an open type muzzle device (A2, Vortex, Blackout), basically where you can see the crown through the device, it is more about the torque on the threads than anything else. I used rockset and 20 ft lbs of torque.

[SniperOverwatch]

BE Meyers?

[markm]

Need a recommendation for a flash suppressor that won't impact the accuracy of the rifle.

I've not tried any flash hider that has had any noticeable impact on accuracy. We shoot an impractical and absurd amount of 500 yard plus distances with 223.

[Ned Christiansen]

I'm not the Galactic Champion of AR15 Benchrest but I have done some fairly analytical testing over the years on several occasions, focusing on muzzle device effects on groups, and have just not seen any one device that is detrimental-- to my surprise. POI change, yes. Due to size / weight and in some cases, I think, a "pre-comp" factor where the column of air coming out ahead of the bullet is activating the comp before the bullet leaves the bore. Just my theory.

These days I'm a big fan of the A1 as it is a great flash hider and when I'm the armorer for a class where I need to get a student's compensator off the line for safety reasons, and put something else on, the A1 is the easiest and fastest way to go as orientation doesn't matter.

[556BlackRifle]

I have a couple rifles running the Smith Vortex. No change in accuracy. One thing that I noticed when switching from the A2 to the Vortex is that the A2 actually does (to some degree) mitigate muzzle rise under sustained fire where as the Vortex does not. Also, the Vortex kicks up a little more dust when firing proned. That said, I currently have two rifles set up with the Vortex and one with the A2. In my experience (night fire) the Vortex is much better at flash suppression and that's the main reason to get one. That is unless you like the tuning fork ping sound it makes. ;) (Seriously I noticed the ping at first but now my mind blocks it out. YMMV.)

[CrazyIrishman]

I'm not the Galactic Champion of AR15 Benchrest but I have done some fairly analytical testing over the years on several occasions, focusing on muzzle device effects on groups, and have just not seen any one device that is detrimental-- to my surprise. POI change, yes. Due to size / weight and in some cases, I think, a "pre-comp" factor where the column of air coming out ahead of the bullet is activating the comp before the bullet leaves the bore. Just my theory.

These days I'm a big fan of the A1 as it is a great flash hider and when I'm the armorer for a class where I need to get a student's compensator off the line for safety reasons, and put something else on, the A1 is the easiest and fastest way to go as orientation doesn't matter.

Bold and underlined. I to noticed this long ago especially with calibers like the 338 lapua and 50 bmg, and as you said I'm not a guru of long range or any other thing of the sorts. Finally some one explained it to me almost exactly as you stated above. At a service rifle match a few weeks ago,and the gentleman was kind enough to email me some info on the subject where the military had noticed from non-standard shooting positions or when poor form was used that while shooting large caliber braked weapons, the column of air in front of the bullet gets pushed down the bore by the bullet where some gets redirected from the muzzle through the baffles in the brake and actually pulls the weapon ever so slightly forward off the shooters shoulder which in turn changes his poa/poi. I guess some call it muzzle brake pull off? But as I said I'm no expert, so there is probably a more proper and technical name for the phenomena. I'm searching for the email with the link now but can't seem to find it. I'm hoping I didn't delete it.

[SLewis]

The only way a flash hider would negative effect accuracy is if it wasn't attached correctly.

Many national match guns have standard A2s and they shoot just as well as guns with no muzzle devices.