AR compensator/flash hider question

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Earlier this summer at the range, a fellow had an unusual compensator on his .223 AR. The guy said he had bought it at a recent gun show.

This thing was maybe 3 or 4 inches long, but it did not have any gas holes on the side. The sides of the compensator were solid metal.

This compensator had several gas holes on the front. A ring of forward-facing gas exit holes surrounding the bullet exit hole.

16" barrel .223 rifles can be pretty loud to the side with ordinary flash hiders / compensators. I think some side-exit compensators deliver an extra helping of sound to the side. So a tulip compensator or Yankee Hill compensator isn't "incredibly loud" from the shooter position, but can be pretty awesome loud to people on each side.

This feller's compensator with the gas holes in the front, was maybe the quietest short-barrel AR I've been near, as judged by the sound level from the side. It was amazingly quiet. About the same level as a 9mm pistol, or perhaps quieter.

The guy said it is not a suppressor, just a no-stamp-required compensator or flash hider. Am guessing that maybe it directs most of the sound forward (being that the gas holes are on the front).

The gadget perhaps is extra loud downrange, but the gadget almost has the same effect as a suppressor on the sound level behind and to the side of the rifle.

Does anyone know the brand name of what I'm describing?

Thanks

[Guest buttonhook]

yeah, but I cant remember the name of it either

[RWF]

a flaming pig from noveskie not spelled right i think its the KX3

[Smith]

Noveske KX3 or the cheaper version the Levang Comp. I had a Levang on my STG556 and they are pretty neat, but they are really loud out front! They do change the recoil a little. Gives it more of a push than a tilt.

Levang: $30

Noveske KX3: $125

Edited December 8, 2010 by Smith

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yeh, you kinda describe the Levang, but I'll bet the Noveske does the same thing.

They both direct the gas and flash forward. Good for your ears. I have a few Flaming

Pigs and they are neat. My 6.8 pistol would be noisy without one.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks very much for the answers.

That Levang looks like the one I saw.

Perhaps the operating principle has to do with allowing a slight contained pressure drop before the gas exits?

Using a possibly flawed electrical analogy-- Without a compensator, the 'impedance' of the system would go from high-impedance when the bullet is in the barrel, to almost-nil impedance as soon as the bullet exits. With that little can on the end, there would be an intermediate impedance step.

On high frequency audio horns, there is often an exponential increase of surface area on the horn exit geometry, which directs the audio driver's sound in a controlled pattern. Maybe a compensator could be designed along the same principles which would direct most of the sound straight forward? Such a compensator might make a rifle resemble old science fiction 1950's ray guns with the parabolic dish on the business end.

Noveske KX3 or the cheaper version the Levang Comp. I had a Levang on my STG556 and they are pretty neat, but they are really loud out front! They do change the recoil a little. Gives it more of a push than a tilt.

I would prefer a push rather than tilt on STG556. I shoot STG556 left-handed, and the recoil isn't severe at all, but it wants to move the barrel a little to the left and up. Straight-back, or straight-up would be more convenient for getting back on target. Am not expert with rifles, so possibly it is my technique or stance that causes the STG556 to recoil left and up. Might not be the gun's fault.

[Smith]

I would prefer a push rather than tilt on STG556. I shoot STG556 left-handed, and the recoil isn't severe at all, but it wants to move the barrel a little to the left and up. Straight-back, or straight-up would be more convenient for getting back on target. Am not expert with rifles, so possibly it is my technique or stance that causes the STG556 to recoil left and up. Might not be the gun's fault.

Every rifle will recoil in that manner due to the spin of the bullet as it is coing out. That is why basic compensators (think AK slant brake) are angled in the opposite direction. It is to help balance the sideways push into a more straight line.

BTW - a lot of the STG guys have been using the Levang so there is not as much gas in the face. Being so close to the end of the barrel if there is a head wind you can get a lot of blowback.

[NashvilleStage]

Using a possibly flawed electrical analogy-- Without a compensator, the 'impedance' of the system would go from high-impedance when the bullet is in the barrel, to almost-nil impedance as soon as the bullet exits. With that little can on the end, there would be an intermediate impedance step.

On high frequency audio horns, there is often an exponential increase of surface area on the horn exit geometry, which directs the audio driver's sound in a controlled pattern.

I was thinking the same thing. I don't know what the inside of the Levang looks like, but the Noveske has a funnel-shaped "horn" inside. The minute details of audio horn design are a bit outside my mathematical ability, but I've heard them referred to as "acoustic transformers", changing the acoustic impedance from the HF driver to match the impedance of the outside air. Granted, with firearms you're only dealing with 1/2 of a wave instead of a repeating wave, but I don't think that would change things very much.

[Smith]

Maybe this will help on the Levang. Basically there is a large chamber towards the front end and then the blast is sent through the holes in the front. The Noveske is designed for SBR rifles and helps with the back pressue issues they sometimes have. Similar to the Krink compensator that helps add back pressure.

Back end:

Front end: