Review: Demon Tactical Comp Brake
Muzzle Brakes and Flash Hiders are one of the most commonly changed out accessories to rifles. They serve a specific purpose to the function of the rifle–whether it is to compensate for the muzzle lift and recoil by directing gas in a counter balancing direction, or for reducing the visual signature while firing the weapon by eliminating the flash. Some muzzle brakes/flash hiders do a small combination of both. Well, Demon Tactical sent us their Demon Tactical Comp Brake to try out on my AR-15—we’ve shot a boat load of ammo out it, and we’re ready to tell you guys all about it.
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Construction and Installation
The Demon Tactical Comp Brake is constructed from 4140 heat treated steel and has a Mil-Spec Type M Coating applied to it. When first taking it out of the package, it seemed solid and rugged, with a little beef to it. It weighs a total of 4.5 oz, .950 inches in diameter, its 2.4” long and attaches to rifles that are threaded to ½-28 threads (your typical AR-15).
Aesthetically, I really like the Demon Tactical Comp Brake. It has a look that is similar to other brakes/hiders out there, but has its own unique appeal.
The Demon Tactical Comp Brake has a noticeable crown that immediately stood out to me as soon as I handled it. The rough raised edges could facilitate the comp brake to be used as a blunt force weapon in a worst case scenario, or be used to break glass in a car or house window to aid an escape or clear a line of sight to a target.
Another unique feature of the Demon Tactical Comp Brake is the gas port pattern. One gas port is located at the 12 o’clock position and is angled about 45 degrees towards the rear. There are a gas ports at 9 and 3 o’clock also angled 45 degrees back and a straight through gas port located under the top gas port which goes from 9-3 o’clock. There are no gas ports on the bottom of the Demon Tactical Comp Brake, so that no dust is kicked up when firing from the prone position.
Installation of the Demon Tactical Comp Brake is similar to any other muzzle brake or flash hider on the market. It attaches to the standard ½-28 threaded barrel. It’s important for the Demon Tactical logo is located at the 6 o’clock position to ensure the proper intended function of the comp brake.
When we installed the Demon Tactical Comp Brake to our Stag Arms barrel the logo was about 1mm off when tightened down hard, even with the supplied washers. We aligned the logo to be perfectly at 6 o’clock and it was still tight, but I worried that it may be more likely to loosen after a few thousand rounds—so we applied a couple drops of loctite red and it did the trick to keep me confident that it wouldn’t move.
Performance
I find the recoil on a .223/5.56 to be completely manageable with just a standard A2 flash hider; however, swapping it out for an aftermarket brake can assist in specific functions especially when precision matters such as in competitive matches. Even though the stock .223/5.56 flash hiders are manageable for me, the Demon Tactical Comp Brake proves to provide some significant advantages over the typical factory AR-15 muzzle brake.
After my first full magazine with the Demon Tactical Comp Brake, I visually inspected the end of the muzzle brake to see if there was any burring or marks at the exit point to see if the rounds were actually touching the brake upon exit. The muzzle was clean, and looked as it was when we took it out of the packaging (minus some residue due to firing). This tells me that Demon Tactical did a good job at the precision milling of the Comp Brake.
The felt recoil was noticeably less with the Demon Tactical Comp Brake—follow up shots were placed a little tighter than what the norm would be for me. Even through a full magazine dump, my Ar-15 with the Demon Tactical Comp Brake kicked back less than what I would feel with the standard A2 Flash Hider.
The muzzle rise was also less with the Demon Tactical Comp Brake when compared to the standard A2 flash hider. Again, this assisted with follow up or rapid shooting. The muzzle always stayed pretty much in the original position–so for me, the unique gas port design seemed to do its job.
One thing that was evident when testing out the Demon Tactical Comp Brake was the felt gas pressure when firing. My off hand side would sometimes feel slight gas pressure when firing, especially when rapid firing. The felt gas pressure is due to the angled gas ports sending the gas towards the rear some bit. It was noticeable, but it was not distracting. The people standing behind/beside me felt the gas pressure significantly more.
There always seems to be a give and take relationship on muzzle brakes/flash hiders regarding performance for recoil reduction/muzzle climb and flash suppression—this comp brake is no exception. It should be noted that the Demon Tactical Comp Brake sole purpose of design is to eliminate muzzle climb and felt recoil (which it does quite successfully); however, flash suppression is completely nonexistent. I asked Jason at Demon Tactical about this, and this is what he had to say about it:
Both our comp brake and 2 piece muzzle brake are designed strictly for recoil and muzzle climb reduction. In order to get the best results we have to slow the gas down so it can finish burning to increase the effectiveness of the recoil reduction. In doing that you will actually get a larger flash than normal due to the external combustion of un-burned powder.
Conclusion
If you need/want to keep the muzzle down when rapid firing your AR-15, then I would say the Demon Tactical Comp Brake would be a great option to look at since it’s affordably priced at $55. I found its construction to be of top notch quality and the brake to possess a unique look to it. I personally like the crown and its multiple (although unlikely) uses. It performed as advertised and kept my muzzle down and I noticed less recoil. It does nothing for flash suppression but that’s consistent with its intended design.
I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing Demon Tactical’s Comp Brake, and I was impressed with its performance and function. We have a few more of Demon Tactical’s products to review this month, and I’m looking forward to seeing if they match up with the Demon Tactical Comp Brake which has set the bar pretty high.
