My original plan was to get a BCM 14.5" Mid Length upper and have a Vortex flash hider pinned and welded. Unfortunately none of the 5 gunsmiths in my area in central IL will do it for me even though the fished product will be totally legal. One said that even having a 14.5" upper is a gray area of the law, and in he didn’t want one in his shop. I don’t want to attempt it myself.
Anyway…I’ve decided to order the upper from BCM with the muzzle device already permed. My choices are the extended A2 for $45 or the PWS FSC556 for $109. This is my first build and it will be for general target shooting and HD. I understand that the PSW is pretty loud, but to the benefits out-weigh the noise? Thanks again for everyone’s advice.
I was deciding the same thing as you, A2X or PWS. I went with PWS due to the videos on youtube of how smooth that thing shoots.
Remember, it is not fully permanent. You can always have it grinded off and get a new on on there.
I was going to wait for the BC 1.5 but with no reviews or test results from the 1.5 yet, I just pulled the trigger on the PWS. You know that anyone on here has little to no patience at all.
Will be posting my review of it on Monday once I get everything back
I think you may have answered a question that you didn’t ask, but maybe need to consider. Since it is your first and I assume only rifle, and you can’t make up your mind which one you want, why not go with a 16" so you can decide for yourself? Then you can change to whatever one you like until you find the best balance of noise/flash supression/recoil control FOR YOU. You can always send it off and get the barrel changed or buy a different upper after YOU know what works best for YOU.
To the OP. I don’t like the PWS. FOR ME the reduced recoil is not worth the increased muzzle blast/flash.
I pinned on a PWS I bought here in the Equipment Exchange. It was used but in great shape. This one came off a SCAR Rifle. I used the Blind pin method, welded over with a MIG, ground it down and painted. I don’t think its bad for doing it myself.
After reading the 2-3 threads about the 14.5 middy w/PWS556 brake I have absolutely decided to purchase it. I’m porobably going to put it on top of either an LMT Lower or a DD Lower. Trying to decide that part.
The PWS rocks, no doubt. But lets not pretend that the AR15 isn’t absolutely controlable with an A2. The PWS makes prone firing and indoor shooting interesting and people next to you may not like you
I have been extremely happy with the FSC556 on a 16" mid-length. The rifle is extremely controllable but the concussion bothered others around me at the range a little.
Recently I swapped the FSC556 for a BattleComp and I have to say as a compensator to me they are both extremely effective.
If I was to buy a 14.5 and had the choice to pin either one I would take either one without hesitation.
I have 3 LMT lowers and 1 DD Lower, I would definitely get the DD, the flared mag well is worth it. If I couldn’t get a DD I would get a BCM. I got my DD from Grant at G&R Tactical, best price around and fast shipping.
In terms of their function as a compensator they are both equal to me.
The PWS FSC556 feels like a dull thud against my shoulder and muzzle rise almost non-existent to me. The BattleComp does not exhibit muzzle rise either but I feel like it pushes the rifle a little more in one direction but this is not a problem and is extremely easy to control.
They are both excellent at controlling muzzle rise. Extremely effective for what I want them to do.
The benefit of the BattleComp to me is there is the concussion/sound is not as bad to those around me while shooting.
In terms of hiding flash I personally have not had the opportunity to shoot either one in low light conditions.
One observation with the BattleComp is that when shooting hammer pairs I have noticed a good amount of muzzle flash. I assume this has something to do with the inner chamber of the BattleComp but I have no idea really.
I have only noticed this when doing rapid hammer pairs and it freaked out one of my buddies who was watching me shoot. When firing more slowly you don’t see any more muzzle flash than with an A2 but I only observed this during rapid fire with the BattleComp.
I observed this while shooting Hornady training ammo, Brown Bear, and also with Federal XM193 out of my Noveske N4 mid-length with the BattleComp.
Just wanted to edit to add that the reason it freaked out my buddy is because he thought the bullets were striking something inside the BattleComp. he described it as a plume of fire emanating from the gas ports of the BattleComp almost engulfing the top of the comp during the drills. I visually inspected the inside of the comp and it appears to be ok. The issue has not been observed or reproduced while firing normally at a slower rate of fire or controlled pairs.
