One of the most useful accessories you can attach to a firearm is a muzzle brake. The purpose of a muzzle brake, also known as a compensator, is to control a firearm’s recoil and muzzle rise.
Many competition shooters use brakes on their firearms, allowing them to re-acquire their sights quickly and make faster follow-up shots. Still, you do not need to be a competition shooter to appreciate the benefits of a brake.
Best .300 Blackout Muzzle Brakes
1. VG6 Precision Gamma 300BLK Muzzle Device
VG6 Precision is an AR-15 parts manufacturer specializing in muzzle brakes. VG6 brakes and compensators feature innovative designs and are available for many popular platforms and calibers, from .223 AR-15s to 7.62x39mm AK-47 rifles.
The Gamma 300BLK Muzzle Device is a .30-caliber muzzle brake rated to support up to .308 Winchester but specifically tuned to control the recoil of a .300 Blackout firearm. It is 100% CNC machined out of 17-4 PH stainless steel, heat-treated, and protected by a durable black nitride finish.
At only 1.72” long, the VG6 Gamma 300BLK enables you to enhance the performance of your .300 Blackout firearm without adding too much length to your barrel. The half-gloss satin finish is sober and pleasing to the eye, matching any black or dark-colored barrel.
With a surface hardness of 68 on the Rockwell C scale, the Gamma 300BLK has excellent wear and tear resistance. Even if you shoot hundreds of rounds through this muzzle brake every day, it will not fail, and its performance does not degrade.
You can install the Gamma 300BLK on any barrel fitted with a 5/8×24 right-handed thread pitch, the industry standard for most .30-caliber firearms in the United States.
2. Guntec USA AR .308/.300 Gen 2 Multiport Compensator
If you prefer big-bore AR-15 platforms, you may be familiar with Guntec USA muzzle devices such as the Multiport Compensator for AR-15s chambered in .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, and .50 Beowulf.
The Guntec USA AR .308 Gen 2 Multiport Compensator is the .30-caliber version of its famous big-bore brakes. This Guntec compensator is rated for use with any .30-caliber firearm, from .300 Blackout to .300 Remington Ultra Magnum (.300 RUM).
It is 2.5” long, weighs 4.7 oz., and features a 100% steel construction for maximum durability. It is compatible with 5/8×24 RH threading, found on most .30-caliber AR-15 barrels. The black nitride finish provides adequate resistance against wear and tear and the heat of propellant gases.
The Multiport Compensator features eight vents: three on each side and two on top, redirecting propellant gases up and to the sides, providing highly efficient recoil reduction and allowing you to keep your sights on target with ease.
As long as the shooter does their part, the muzzle of a .300 Blackout AR-15 barely rises with this muzzle brake mounted on the barrel, even with sustained fire. It is an excellent option for competition shooting disciplines such as 2-Gun or 3-Gun.
3. Dark Storm Industries Firestorm Compensator .308/.300/7.62mm
The Dark Storm Industries Firestorm Compensator is a no-frills muzzle brake that provides effective recoil reduction without breaking the bank.
This model is the .30-caliber version of the Firestorm, suitable for use with any firearm chambered in .300 Blackout, .308 Winchester, 7.62x51mm NATO, or any other 0.308” caliber.
The Firestorm is 2.125” long and is made of 4140 chrome-moly-manganese steel, the same robust and long-lasting material used in many commercial-grade AR-15 gun barrels.
This muzzle brake features two large ports on each side and four guiding spots on top for drilling, pinning, and welding the muzzle brake onto a barrel, making it ideal for extending your barrel’s legal length.
For example, if you possess a 14.5” M4-length AR-15 barrel, installing it on a firearm fitted with a shoulder stock would constitute manufacturing a short-barreled rifle (SBR), which is illegal without proper paperwork. A rifle must have a barrel length of at least 16” to not be considered an SBR.
However, installing, pinning, and welding the Firestorm into place will permanently attach it to the barrel. This process allows the barrel to become legal for use in a rifle (it would be approximately 16.6” long), without the need to register it with the ATF.
4. Strike Industries Cookie Cutter Compensator .308/.300
The Cookie Cutter Compensator by Strike Industries is a visually-striking muzzle brake with a unique and highly-effective design.
Instead of a traditional, elongated tube shape, the Cookie Cutter is a short, squat, wide circular brake featuring two large side ports, providing exceptional recoil mitigation. Experts recommend this brake for use on short-barreled platforms, such as AR pistols or SBRs.
The .308/.300 model is rated for use with .30-caliber firearms up to .308 Winchester and is an excellent choice for maximum recoil management on a .300 Blackout firearm. It also possesses eight frontal teeth, which you can use as glass breakers in a pinch.
With an overall length of 0.34” and an overall diameter of 2.14”, this is a short but wide brake. The Cookie Cutter Compensator may interfere with certain handguards, mainly if installed on a short barrel. Make sure your handguard is of the correct length before mounting on your barrel.
Strike Industries recommends users of the Cookie Cutter Compensator keep onlookers and fellow shooters a reasonable distance away from them; this muzzle brake is very efficient but sends a significant amount of muzzle blast to the sides. Always ensure
you are wearing hearing protection.
5. SilencerCo ASR Muzzle Brake
If you enjoy shooting .300 Blackout, you probably know how versatile this cartridge is. Switching between subsonic and supersonic ammunition is a simple matter of changing magazines (don’t forget to clear the chambered round), but switching muzzle devices isn’t always practical in the field.
The SilencerCo ASR Muzzle Brake is one of the most convenient and practical muzzle devices available on the market today.
By itself, the ASR Muzzle Brake is an efficient 3-port muzzle brake, capable of taming the recoil of any .30-caliber firearm up to .300 Remington Ultra Magnum (.300 RUM).
However, this brake can be used as a mounting platform for several SilencerCo quick-detachable suppressors. You can install and remove the suppressor with one hand, allowing you to switch between the muzzle brake and suppressor in a matter of seconds.
ASR mount compatibility:
- Alpha: Harvester 300, Omega 9K, Omega 45K
- Bravo: Hybrid 46, Harvester 338, Omega 300
- Charlie: Saker ASR 556, Saker ASR 556K, Saker ASR 762, Chimera 300
How Muzzle Brakes Work
A muzzle brake has one purpose: to reduce the recoil velocity generated by a firearm.
The operating principle of a muzzle brake is simple; it redirects part of the gases generated by a fired cartridge using precision machined and angled holes, ports, or vents.
Although all brakes possess the same purpose and work on the same basic principles, many designs redirect gases in different directions to achieve varying effects.
- Side ports: Ports redirecting gases to the sides are the most common. When gases are vented on both sides perpendicular to the barrel, the momentum they carry is diverted away from the barrel, reducing the rearward recoil.
- Vertical ports: Ports installed on the top side of a brake or a compensator redirect part of the gases upward, generating a certain amount of downward force that combats muzzle rise. Specific gun barrels called ported barrels feature special holes drilled into the top end, creating a comparable effect without the need for threading and installing a compensator.
- Radial brakes: Instead of using ports intended to be on specific sides, radial brakes employ rows of ports of equal sizes drilled all around the brake, redirecting gases in every direction. This brake type is the easiest to install (no need to worry about orientation) but is also less effective than the others.
- Rear-angled ports: For maximum recoil reduction, brakes featuring rear-angled ports are second to none. By redirecting the gases to the sides and rearwards, they generate counteracting forces, pulling the gun slightly forward, reducing recoil. The more powerful the cartridge fired, the more effective this brake design becomes.
.300 Blackout, especially if subsonic, does not generate a significant amount of recoil relative to other rifle calibers. For this reason, a muzzle brake with rear-angled ports is not a cost-effective solution. Standard side-port or vertical-port designs are sufficient.
Extra Considerations
In part, muzzle brakes act as flash hiders, although it is perhaps more accurate to describe them as flash redirectors.
The amount of muzzle flash generated depends entirely on the muzzle brake’s design; a typical side-port brake eliminates most of it from the shooter’s point of view, allowing them to remain on target. From an observer’s point of view, the muzzle flash may appear to exit out the sides of the muzzle visibly.
Certain muzzle brakes function as flash hider/brake combos, featuring extra venting ports for the muzzle blast to escape through. However, their effectiveness may be limited compared to a dedicated flash hider.
Another consideration for using a muzzle brake is that they add length and weight to the firearm, aiding in combating recoil and shifting the weight distribution forwards. If your gun is a rear-heavy design (e.g., a bullpup rifle), a muzzle brake may be extra useful.
Some brake models are compatible with specific quick-detachable suppressors. This allows the user to switch between suppressed and unsuppressed but braked in a matter of seconds.
The Last Word
Always be mindful of other shooters if you bring a firearm equipped with a muzzle brake to your local shooting range. While they have many advantages, the report they generate will also be redirected, which may inconvenience or annoy other shooters and onlookers.
Don’t forget to bring proper hearing protection because loud guns get louder with a muzzle brake installed, and even so with short-barreled firearms.
Combining high-quality earplugs with noise reduction earmuffs offers the best protection for your hearing. You should use hearing protection with an NRR rating of 30 or higher to protect you from the high noise intensity of unsuppressed and braked gunfire.
