Removing the muzzle brake

[jziggy101]

I have a friend that bought a 10.5" ar upper with the intentions of building a AR pistol. He hasn't bought the lower for it but he called cause he couldn't get the existing muzzle brake to budge so he could remove it. He doesn't have a vise setup for "smithing" so I told him that the muzzle brake might be hard to remove without first clamping the upper in a vise. My second thought was since the brake came installed on this 10.5" AR upper that the brake might be pinned and a weld is over the pin hole.

Any suggestions I can give him on removing this muzzle brake from the AR upper?

[Fuel Fire Desire]

It’s unlikely it’s been P+W on a 10.5”. You would see a spot of weld on the bottom of it where the pin hole was, but unlikely since it does nothing for legal purposes and takes extra labor to do.

To really put torque on it, get ahold of a reaction rod. That way the load isn’t transferred into the receiver. I think brownells sells a house brand model now.

[jziggy101]

Thanks that makes allot of sense once I watched a couple videos on using the reaction rod.

[MCPO_SOCM_RET]

If it's a PSA upper, you're going to need gorilla strength or some heat. They like to put them on stupid tight.

+1 for a reaction rod over a vice block.

[Fuel Fire Desire]

A real reaction rod is pricey. The one I have came from Botach years ago right before the drama with them started (I don’t even remember why people decided to dislike them anymore). But it was like $60 for the off brand. There’s a few copycat reaction rods out there for less than the original. Even if you do wind up spending $60-$100 on it, it’s something you’ll use more than you think if you continue to tinker with AR’s. I’m not even really into AR’s, and I’ve used mine many times over the years. Not just for muzzle devices, but also for barrel nuts when doing new assemblies or changing hand guards.

[jziggy101]

A real reaction rod is pricey. The one I have came from Botach years ago right before the drama with them started (I don’t even remember why people decided to dislike them anymore). But it was like $60 for the off brand. There’s a few copycat reaction rods out there for less than the original. Even if you do wind up spending $60-$100 on it, it’s something you’ll use more than you think if you continue to tinker with AR’s. I’m not even really into AR’s, and I’ve used mine many times over the years. Not just for muzzle devices, but also for barrel nuts when doing new assemblies or changing hand guards.

Thanks I just looked that one up and its on sale right now for $49.98 from $69.99.

[Moleman-]

The Midwest industries upper receiver rod is probably the nicest one out there, but isn't cheap. I have the 223 and 308 versions and can't say anything bad about them other than cost. They're made out of steel and will stand up to years of heavy use. The aluminum ones will likely be fine for most users.

[MTK]

If you work with ARs you won't regret having a reaction rod. They're worth their cost because they make it relatively easy to work with muzzle devices, etc. You also can sell them later if you don't need it anymore.

[december1979]

I second the Midwest industries upper receiver rod. I also Magpul BEV blocks are nice too.