Precision Rifle Gear Aluminum muzzle brakes

[Rodney65]

You don't see many aluminum brakes so I was wondering what the general consensus is on them. Do they last? Are they just a dumb idea?

I have an aluminum Heathen brake that I have fired thousands of rounds through that I was thinking of using again to save a few ounces. I don't have another one of that discontinued model so I can't compare it and see if it's wearing out/being eroded and I am not perceptive enough to be able to tell if performance has deteriorated.

I know the difference between using a .30 versus a .264 break on a 6.5 are minimal so I thought if a brake did wear it might not matter?

 

[US MILITIA AOD]

I wondered the same thing for a compensator, I asked a neighbor and he said the weight of steel assists with keeping the muzzle from climbing.

 

[saddlerocker]

I mean steel ones erode. I imagine Aluminum wouldn't last too long, but maybe if you consider them disposable and pitch with the barrel...

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Except for Rimfire, they don't last.

 

[Rodney65]

Except for Rimfire, they don't last.

Is there a way to measure wear or determine how much they have deteriorated?

 

[Rodney65]

I mean steel ones erode. I imagine Aluminum wouldn't last too long, but maybe if you consider them disposable and pitch with the barrel...

Insite Arms and PVA said theirs were good for thousands of rounds but I wasn't sure how they defined good.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

There were a lot of all aluminum pistol / SMG suppressors twenty years ago. They just didn't last, they corroded and looked like hit by a sand blaster.

 

[brianf]

I’ve been around 3 aluminum brakes ..supposedly special aluminum that lost a baffle with a 300NM shooting factory ammo.

Yes they were “magnum” brakes.

Never using one again

 

[Old Man with Gun]

I’ve been around 3 aluminum brakes ..supposedly special aluminum that lost a baffle with a 300NM shooting factory ammo.

Yes they were “magnum” brakes.

Never using one again

I saw one exploded, but it was designed for a 10/22 and put on an AR-15, so operator error.

 

[Rodney65]

Here's one after a few thousand rounds:

Not really sure how to tell if it's worn out. Also not sure how to clean it well or take a decent picture.

*I soaked it and then scraped it with a screwdriver. Still seems to have most of its metal although the neck of a 6.5 case now fits through it.