An extremely popular accessory born from competition is the “tactical compensator”. As mentioned in my previous blog post on the BattleComp, in the past I had shied away from compensators for anything but competition because of the excessive side blast and flash that goes along with them. I remember a recent class where I was shooting next to a student with a rifle equipped with a SureFire MB556. While an efficient comp, I felt like I was being punched in the face every time he pressed the trigger.
The BattleComp made me take another look at compensators; they have come a long way from the traditional comps that would knock everything off the table every time the gun was fired. Recently, Bravo Company USA announced their new BCM Gunfighter Comp. Available in the Mod 0 and slightly extended Mod 1 (to bring 14.5-inch barrels to a non-NFA 16-inch once mounted per ATF specs), this compensator was designed to be the best compromise between enhancing muzzle stability without excessive side blast or muzzle flash.
With that in mind, I decided to compare and contrast three different muzzle devices: the BattleComp 2.0, the BCM Gunfighter Compensator Mod 0, and compare it to the standard A2 flash hider. I would evaluate three characteristics: muzzle stability, side blast and muzzle flash. Note that these characteristics are extremely subjective. I’ll do some more testing with shot timers and scored targets at a later date. To help with my evaluation, I brought along a couple of fellow firearms instructors from my day job to give their subjective opinion. Here were the findings:
Muzzle Stability
Obviously the A2 flash hider lost here. While recoil and muzzle rise from the 5.56 cartridge is not exactly punishing, the A2 flash hider really doesn’t do anything to mitigate muzzle rise or felt recoil. As for the the BattleComp and the BCM, our opinions were split. The BattleComp 2.0 works almost too well and slightly pushes the muzzle downward causing negative muzzle flip. It is not much, but is odd for me. The BCM compensator stabilizes the muzzle but has very slight muzzle rise, which is what I am accustomed to. My two buddies preferred the BattleComp over the BCM in this area, and I gave the nudge to the BCM. Both the BattleComp and BCM minimized muzzle movement from recoil and significantly aided the shooter in keeping the Aimpoint dot on target for faster followup shots.
It is important to note that all three of us agreed that both the BattleComp and BCM were extremely efficient and found that, ultimately, the difference in performance was quite minimal. Probably less than 10%.
Side Blast
This was not particularly fun to test. The three of us took turns standing alongside each muzzle device while it was fired to simulate a CQB environment, and subjectively evaluated the side blast. All three were unpleasant. The hands down winner, though, was the A2 flash hider. It had the least amount of side to side concussion. As for the BCM and BattleComp, the side to side blast was fairly comparable. The increased blast over the A2 was readily apparent, but not so bad that you couldn’t fight should someone light one off next to you.
Flash
As you can see above, the A2 is also the clear winner here, since it is a true flash hider. The BattleComp and BCM both performed better than most other compensators on the market, which typically produce a huge fireball. Between the two, a very slight edge goes to the BCM as its resultant flash was ever so slightly less than the BattleComp. But as you can see in the photos above and below, for all intents and purposes, their ability to suppress flash is about the same.
So there you have it. If you want that edge in speed for follow-up shots, you will experience increased side blast and flash. Muzzle stability and side blast/flash are somewhat mutually exclusive features in a muzzle device, but both the BCM and BattleComp do an admirable job of finding that compromise.
In the future, we will put several shooters through timed drills with the various devices and evaluate them with hard numbers. We’re looking at evaluating other devices such as the Knight’s Triple Tap as well. Like us on Facebook and subscribe to our feed here to stay updated.
The difference in price (BC2.0 being $165 and the BCM Comp at $90) seems to make the BCM Comp the winner IMO.
The BattleComp 1.0 offers the same performance as the 2.0 for $139 retail. For those who prefer the way the BattleComp feels, the price difference of $50 is not a deal breaker. It really comes down to personal preference in terms of how the two comps stabilize the muzzle. We will look into this further in the future when we put them all on timed drills to compare.
Your absolutely right, it not a deal breaker by any means. I am a big believer in getting behind something that “feels right”. I wasn’t trying to hijack your review (which was great by the way) by pointing out the difference in price, I was just trying to add another metric to the review. If the shooter feels that the Battlecomp was more controllable, then by all means it should be the one that they go for.
Oh my goodness, finally an actual REAL, truly objective test from folks without an “agenda.” A well written, informative piece Tim, well done. Thank you. Very refreshing in this industry as it is today.
Cant wait for the updates been looking at the battlecomp for my upcoming build and this seems to support my pick.
I want to see a comparison with a MB556K surefire brake
Kevin, I have run the MB556K and it does a good job stabilizing the muzzle but the side blast is significant enough for me to know that I would not want my partners running it inside a building with the muzzle next to my head.
Have you looked at doing this with a comp like the griffin armament m4sd II that is also a flash hider? Of course I have looked at their site and it looks like it does a good job of flash hiding but they are not exactly “without and agenda”.
Thanks!
I have not tried one of these. Looking at the design, it appears similar to the BattleComp and shares some of the same characteristics with it. As I mentioned, I am considering evaluating other devices as time and resources permit.
I tried the BC in an LAV Class and sure as Hades there was more flash with the BC than the A2s and Vortexes.
Every couple of shots there was a large ball of flame. I had to admit to LAV that he was correct and promptly replaced it with a Vortex the very next day.
Absolutely. Every compensator I have tried, including the BC or BCM, will have more flash than an A2 or a Vortex. As stated in the article, the characteristics of muzzle stabilization and side blast/flash, are somewhat mutually exclusive. If complete and total flash suppression is important to you, a compensator is not for you.
why not try them on the same uppers with ammo from the same lot. variations in brands, BCG’s, recoil buffers, etc can make an impact on the amount of gas exiting the muzzle.
Far from a valid test.
also you can keep the vortex crap, smith enterprises will get none of my money so long as they refuse to sell suppressors to civilians.
The ammunition was from the same lot of ammunition, unless you know different. I don’t remember seeing you there on the range with me. The uppers used to compare the two comps were Colt LE6920s, using the same bolt carrier setups and same weight recoil buffers. Maybe you can do your own more “valid” test.
So in 2 out of three the regular A2 is better (flash and side blast). How much was recoil reduction was there over the A2?
I mean to say if the recoil reduction was say 20% over the A2, on a weapons platform that does not have much recoil to begin with, you are trading muzzle flash and side blast for a bit of recoil reduction?
I would rather spend the $90-$160 on ammo or something like a better optic.
Great review Mr. Lau,
I’m just wondering if you have a ball park figure for the BCM comp’s service life? How does it hold up during harsh firing schedules?
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I know there are TONS of comps out there, but the king of the hill for me for awhile and because of the crap laws in my state, pinned and welded to MANY of my barrels is the FSC556…I know it’s basically a PWS TTO with some FH prongs halfway out…but can you comment on using it compared to the battlecomp and the BCM? I’m just trying to check the waters before I jump into trying a new comp. I’ve heard many people talking about the battle comp like it was Lourdes for rifles or something, thank you for the “valid” testing and….don’t poke the trolls!
I don’t have any personal experience with the FSC556 but it reportedly has more concussion to the sides and is a bit less efficient as far as reducing muzzle climb, but again, I have never shot one myself. If you like it, and it works for your, rock on.
I’ll take a standard A2 birdcage, YHM Phantom or KAC NT4 flash suppressor mount over a compensator or brake any day. Don’t need to compromise, because in a world of compromise real men don’t.
What’s compromising? The Phantom is a flash hider/suppressors and the BC and BCM are muzzlebrakes/compensators…two different beasts. Unless you think the hiders are good all round then you are wrong, unless something new came out its one or the other so you’ll have to pick what you’d rather have in les muzzle rule and recoil against less flash from the end of the muzzle. I own and have equipped a phantom 5c1 but am rethinking it.
Very thorough and logical review with support for all claims. Well done. Thanks for taking the time.
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So I’m torn on the whole comp, flash hider debate. If it’s night time why run a flash hider because more then likely you will be running a flash light with it (or at least I hope so, so you know who your shooting at.) So with that said why not just run a comp since you will already have a light on revealing position. Only benefit I see is the concussion felt when shooting next to someone, or noise issues. With that said I’m still torn between the two since I haven’t tested felt recoil to see if it “really matters that much”. If anyone could give me some insight that would be awesome!
The concussion and side blast can be significant on some comps, and even if you are thinking of home defense rather than LE/Mil teamwork, it can still be an issue. LE/Mil teams typically run hearing protection, which can mitigate issues with the comps to some degree. As a home owner, you likely won’t have such preparation on your side.
The flip side is that for harder shots and longer distances, the comp really increases shot to shot recovery speed. Only you can decide if they are right for you. It would be best to try before you buy. Keep in mind that ammo and training are always your best investments after the basics in quality hardware. Comps are luxury items, not basics.