Will a less than tight muzzle brake effect accuracy?

[TexPatriot]

The Tapco AK74 muzzle brake on my AKM is loose, not sloppy loose enough to cause bullet strikes, but loose.

I've shaved it so it bottoms out at the exact point where the spring loaded locking pin on the barrel pops in it's notch but when I shoot it, it's loose again.

Does this inevitable harmonic vibration at the muzzle effect accuracy? If so, would Teflon tape be the answer? I don't want to J-B Weld it on in case I need to remove it and not sure it would hold up anyway. Would some type of crush washer cure it?

I hate loose, even on my AR's I can't stand the normal slop between the upper and lower and shim them.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Nyet, rifle is fine!
Blue loctite it just to take up the slop, but mostly don't worry about anything on AK's
Ever.

 

[TexPatriot]

Ok, thanks. The rifle is accurate for an AK and I was trying to use any trick/advantage to improve it and thought it may help.

Some even remove the cleaning rod, saying helps.

Blue loctite it is.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

All of your accuracy in an AK comes from a decent sighting system, ammo it doesn't hate and then an OK trigger, in that order. Maybe adjusting the gas down if it's really violent. After that you just shoot it and whatever accuracy you get is what you're gonna get, fine tuning things doesn't usually net any measurable gains.

 

[hlee]

Shoot a group with the MB clocked “correctly” (10 shots?). Shoot a group with it removed. Over-clock it snug and shoot a 3rd group. We can give you opinions, but you have the tools to generate data...

 

[bfoosh006]

Anything that doesn't allow the barrel to consistently return to a repeatable "identical" position... will affect precision.

That said.... how much does it matter on an AK , is a bigger question. ( No offense intended at all )

I also attempted to "improve" precision on a MAK 90... the biggest aid / improvement was Hornady 123gr SST ammo.

The tight fitting hand guard was certainly not helping either.... so just like on a Match M1A, I "fitted" the hand guards to lessen binding and made sure to grease the "barrel band" contact points with the hand guards. Did all that make the AK a match rifle.. hardly.

But it did seem to tighten up groups generally.... but again, the Hornady ammo made the biggest difference.

 

[TexPatriot]

Anything that doesn't allow the barrel to consistently return to a repeatable "identical" position... will affect precision.

That said.... how much does it matter on an AK , is a bigger question. ( No offense intended at all )

I also attempted to "improve" precision on a MAK 90... the biggest aid / improvement was Hornady 123gr SST ammo.

The tight fitting hand guard was certainly not helping either.... so just like on a Match M1A, I "fitted" the hand guards to lessen binding and made sure to grease the "barrel band" contact points with the hand guards. Did all that make the AK a match rifle.. hardly.

But it did seem to tighten up groups generally.... but again, the Hornady ammo made the biggest difference.

I'm a firm believer in good ammo. I shoot Golden Tiger now and it's supposed to be accurate stuff but I'm not overly impressed.

My standard ammo in my ARs is M193 but when I want to shoot tiny groups I break out the Hornady V-Max.

I'm going to get serious with the AK and put a RD on it and shoot it with MB on / off. I'd like to be able to shoot minute-of-face at 300 yds.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

I'm going to get serious with the AK and put a RD on it and shoot it with MB on / off. I'd like to be able to shoot minute-of-face at 300 yds.

AK's are a ton of fun once you accept them for what they are. I don't know about minute of face but any AK should easily smack silhouettes at 350yds with no problem.
An AK match popped up in my area so I got motivated to tune mine up. A red dot, decent brake and ALG trigger turned it into a different animal. It's ridiculous fast up close, .13 second splits are common and pairs are closer together than you would think.

 

[bfoosh006]

Minute of face is a fairly tall order for any AK with a RD. If you have a steady hand and a young set of eyes that sure will help.

I will be interested in your results.

 

[TexPatriot]

AK's are a ton of fun once you accept them for what they are. I don't know about minute of face but any AK should easily smack silhouettes at 350yds with no problem.
An AK match popped up in my area so I got motivated to tune mine up. A red dot, decent brake and ALG trigger turned it into a different animal. It's ridiculous fast up close, .13 second splits are common and pairs are closer together than you would think.

Mine has an ALG trigger, Kreb safety and with it's Magpul stock, it's a natural pointer. I even put a red fiber optic front sight on for my old eyes. I really want to have it shortened w/brake permanently pinned to bring it back to 16" and put a RD on it.

When you say 'decent' brake, what brake is that and why?

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Mine has an ALG trigger, Kreb safety and with it's Magpul stock, it's a natural pointer. I even put a red fiber optic front sight on for my old eyes. I really want to have it shortened w/brake permanently pinned to bring it back to 16" and put a RD on it.

When you say 'decent' brake, what brake is that and why?

Sounds like you're headed the direction I went.
The AK74 brake that you have and I used to have sucks because it really only has one baffle, and it's quite a ways from the muzzle and after an expansion chamber so the gases have lost some steam by the time they get there. And mine had a fairly large bore that lets gas escape and cuts down on baffle surface.
I cut mine to 14" and pinned on a JP 3 port brake. Its not the best brake ever but it's got a lot more baffle surface and more importantly it's roomy enough to allow access to the muzzle and easy cleaning on the occasion I use corrosive ammo.

You can see in this video that it shoots flat enough to easily keep all three pairs on the three different targets and also regularly shoots .15 or better splits.

 

[TexPatriot]

Sounds like you're headed the direction I went.
The AK74 brake that you have and I used to have sucks because it really only has one baffle, and it's quite a ways from the muzzle and after an expansion chamber so the gases have lost some steam by the time they get there. And mine had a fairly large bore that lets gas escape and cuts down on baffle surface.
I cut mine to 14" and pinned on a JP 3 port brake. Its not the best brake ever but it's got a lot more baffle surface and more importantly it's roomy enough to allow access to the muzzle and easy cleaning on the occasion I use corrosive ammo.View attachment 7516004
You can see in this video that it shoots flat enough to easily keep all three pairs on the three different targets and also regularly shoots .15 or better splits.

Man! What a crowd pleaser, if you know what I mean.

I used to shoot IPSC so I'm a bit of a speedwhore.

What sight mount are you using as the rear sight mount is the route I want to go.

If you don't mind me asking, where can have mine cut to 14 and pinned? There's a guy up in the Ft.Worth/Dallas area that supposedly does good work but I've heard mixed revues.

Thanks for the video!

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Its the Attero Arms mount. It's pretty darn solid, I'm happy with it.
I ended up cutting and threading it myself using the Carolina Shooters Supply kits because my regular gunsmith isn't an AK guy and had no desire to start. That seems to be the case with anyone that's not heavily invested into AK work already. The threading went great though despite it making me feel like a bubba with a hacksaw ruining a gun.

 

[TexPatriot]

Its the Attero Arms mount. It's pretty darn solid, I'm happy with it.
I ended up cutting and threading it myself using the Carolina Shooters Supply kits because my regular gunsmith isn't an AK guy and had no desire to start. That seems to be the case with anyone that's not heavily invested into AK work already. The threading went great though despite it making me feel like a bubba with a hacksaw ruining a gun.

Thanks, Attero is what I thought. I was on the fence between the Attero and Texas Weapons System dogleg rail but finally decided on the Attero.

I'm going to look into the Carolina kit as I'm now inspired. When I ask my usual gunsmith sources about doing it, they act like I'm asking them to perform an amputation.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

When I ask my usual gunsmith sources about doing it, they act like I'm asking them to perform an amputation.

Yup! They look at you like you have three heads!

 

[TRyanOC]

I have a Hellfire self timing brake on my bolt gun. It loosened up ever so slightly and threw my POI off by 6" at 100 yds.