Echo40
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Yesterday I finally got a chance to squeeze in a brief shooting session with my Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield 1.0. My Shield has been tricked out with a Match Grade LWD Alpha Wolf Threaded Fluted Barrel as well as a Kaw Valley Precision Linear Compensator.
Initially I was skeptical of a Linear Compensators ability to reduce the report of a gun shot for the shooter as well as those in adjacent lanes by redirecting the sound downrange, and mostly bought one for the sake of having something to thread onto the end of the barrel.
However, having actually tried it, I must admit that it not only most certainly does reduce the noise, but considerably so. I decided to give it a proper test by shooting one full magazine through the KVP Linear Comp without Ear Protection, which I fully expected to leave me with ringing ears and a temporarily diminished sense of hearing, because such have been the results of shooting my SW40VE without Ear Protection. Much to my surprise, the Linear Compensator actually reduced the noise quite substantially from the characteristic BANG of .40 S&W to more of a loud POP, not unlike some of the larger fireworks going off in the distance. My ears weren't ringing and my hearing wasn't fuzzy afterwards either. In fact I was able to carry on a brief conversation with my brother regarding my surprise at how much the noise had been reduced by the Linear Compensator in a completely ordinary tone of voice, which would have been completely impossible otherwise.
Would I recommend shooting a pistol fitted with a Linear Compensator without Ear Protection? Certainly not, as it was still obviously quite loud, and most likely would result in hearing loss if done frequently. Still, the degree to which it reduces the sound for the shooter as well as other shooters in adjacent lanes is quite remarkable, especially considering that it only cost me $40 online.
Also quite surprising was that in spite of the Linear Compensator weighing in at a good 2oz, it really didn't do much to reduce muzzle rise. Granted that Linear Compensators are designed for noise reduction rather than reduced muzzle flip since they don't have ports angled in a downward position, but rather directly forward. However, I expected the added weight of the Compensator to keep the muzzle down at least a bit, but if it did, then it wasn't enough for me to notice.
Initially I was concerned in regards to reliability, as the Alpha Wolf Barrel had some hangups when attempting to chamber a round back when I first got it, but I had since been working the slide in hopes that it just needed breaking in, which seems to have done the trick, since I had no such trouble with reliability once I actually took it out shooting. All the rounds that I shot cycled without issue, which is reassuring since I intended to use the Alpha Wolf Barrel as a replacement for the factory ported barrel if I could get it to function reliably.
Accuracy was great, but I really wasn't expecting there to be any difference there, as obviously there shouldn't be. The smoothness and light weight of the trigger makes it easy to get hits on target, although being accustomed to long, heavy DA triggers, it definitely takes some getting used to and took me by surprise on the first shot. I used some spent fireworks tubes as targets, and the bullets all landed on target, punching surprisingly clean holes through the thick cardboard of the tubes. The ammo I used was CCI Blazer Brass 165gr FMJ, which like most .40 S&W FMJ has a flat-point bullet, so it does tend to cut slightly cleaner holes in general than round-nosed ammo, but this ammo isn't by any means like a Semiwadcutter with a sharp shoulder, so the fact that it cut such clean holes through thick cardboard firework tubes surprised me.
One thing of note was that after a single magazine of ammo, the Compensator had loosened up slightly, despite me firmly tightening it down by hand prior to shooting. Fortunately, it wasn't hot enough to burn my hands when I checked it, but I imagine that it would had I continued shooting without checking it. So in the future, I'll have to keep an eye on that, maybe keep a wrench handy or even use some sort of moderate thread-locker to prevent it from walking off under recoil.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with both the performance of my Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield 1.0 as well as the Alpha Wolf Barrel and KVP Linear Compensator. I was worried that the combination of a firearm, aftermarket barrel, and muzzle device which were each produced by different manufacturers would at the very least require a break-in period, but it all functioned perfectly together, at least for the limited amount of shooting that I did. In the future once I have more time and ammunition, I'll really put it through its paces and see how well it performs once it gets good and dirty, but for the time being I'm satisfied that it will function reliably in a self-defense situation.
Not that I really intend to carry it with the Compensator, but I am considering trying it out, maybe in colder weather, as it really doesn't make it impossible to carry that way. Besides, given how much it helps to reduce the noise, it could have some utility in Home Defense as a means to help preserve hearing or mitigate damage in an enclosed space.
I hope everyone had a happy Independence Day, I know that I sure did.
Initially I was skeptical of a Linear Compensators ability to reduce the report of a gun shot for the shooter as well as those in adjacent lanes by redirecting the sound downrange, and mostly bought one for the sake of having something to thread onto the end of the barrel.
However, having actually tried it, I must admit that it not only most certainly does reduce the noise, but considerably so. I decided to give it a proper test by shooting one full magazine through the KVP Linear Comp without Ear Protection, which I fully expected to leave me with ringing ears and a temporarily diminished sense of hearing, because such have been the results of shooting my SW40VE without Ear Protection. Much to my surprise, the Linear Compensator actually reduced the noise quite substantially from the characteristic BANG of .40 S&W to more of a loud POP, not unlike some of the larger fireworks going off in the distance. My ears weren't ringing and my hearing wasn't fuzzy afterwards either. In fact I was able to carry on a brief conversation with my brother regarding my surprise at how much the noise had been reduced by the Linear Compensator in a completely ordinary tone of voice, which would have been completely impossible otherwise.
Would I recommend shooting a pistol fitted with a Linear Compensator without Ear Protection? Certainly not, as it was still obviously quite loud, and most likely would result in hearing loss if done frequently. Still, the degree to which it reduces the sound for the shooter as well as other shooters in adjacent lanes is quite remarkable, especially considering that it only cost me $40 online.
Also quite surprising was that in spite of the Linear Compensator weighing in at a good 2oz, it really didn't do much to reduce muzzle rise. Granted that Linear Compensators are designed for noise reduction rather than reduced muzzle flip since they don't have ports angled in a downward position, but rather directly forward. However, I expected the added weight of the Compensator to keep the muzzle down at least a bit, but if it did, then it wasn't enough for me to notice.
Initially I was concerned in regards to reliability, as the Alpha Wolf Barrel had some hangups when attempting to chamber a round back when I first got it, but I had since been working the slide in hopes that it just needed breaking in, which seems to have done the trick, since I had no such trouble with reliability once I actually took it out shooting. All the rounds that I shot cycled without issue, which is reassuring since I intended to use the Alpha Wolf Barrel as a replacement for the factory ported barrel if I could get it to function reliably.
Accuracy was great, but I really wasn't expecting there to be any difference there, as obviously there shouldn't be. The smoothness and light weight of the trigger makes it easy to get hits on target, although being accustomed to long, heavy DA triggers, it definitely takes some getting used to and took me by surprise on the first shot. I used some spent fireworks tubes as targets, and the bullets all landed on target, punching surprisingly clean holes through the thick cardboard of the tubes. The ammo I used was CCI Blazer Brass 165gr FMJ, which like most .40 S&W FMJ has a flat-point bullet, so it does tend to cut slightly cleaner holes in general than round-nosed ammo, but this ammo isn't by any means like a Semiwadcutter with a sharp shoulder, so the fact that it cut such clean holes through thick cardboard firework tubes surprised me.
One thing of note was that after a single magazine of ammo, the Compensator had loosened up slightly, despite me firmly tightening it down by hand prior to shooting. Fortunately, it wasn't hot enough to burn my hands when I checked it, but I imagine that it would had I continued shooting without checking it. So in the future, I'll have to keep an eye on that, maybe keep a wrench handy or even use some sort of moderate thread-locker to prevent it from walking off under recoil.
Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with both the performance of my Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield 1.0 as well as the Alpha Wolf Barrel and KVP Linear Compensator. I was worried that the combination of a firearm, aftermarket barrel, and muzzle device which were each produced by different manufacturers would at the very least require a break-in period, but it all functioned perfectly together, at least for the limited amount of shooting that I did. In the future once I have more time and ammunition, I'll really put it through its paces and see how well it performs once it gets good and dirty, but for the time being I'm satisfied that it will function reliably in a self-defense situation.
Not that I really intend to carry it with the Compensator, but I am considering trying it out, maybe in colder weather, as it really doesn't make it impossible to carry that way. Besides, given how much it helps to reduce the noise, it could have some utility in Home Defense as a means to help preserve hearing or mitigate damage in an enclosed space.
I hope everyone had a happy Independence Day, I know that I sure did.
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