Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Greg Chabot
In the shooting community hearing loss is a major concern. As someone who has lost most of his hearing, I look for products that will help me keep what little I have left. Muzzle blast, especially at indoor ranges or shooting with friends, can be an unpleasant experience. I like AR style pistols and shoot them quite a bit. And they can make quite a fireball with plenty of felt muzzle blast. Which can cause monster headaches in people like myself, who sustained a TBI from life or military service.
Blast cans have been out for many years, and they work well with the one caveat being, you will have to change out your muzzle device. For people who own multiple weapon systems this can be cost prohibitive. Strike Industries have come out with a clever solution, the Strike Blast Shield for A2 flash hiders. The A2 birdcage flash suppressor is found on most milspec AR style weapons. It is the most common muzzle device out there and is battle proven.
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The Strike Blast can is all steel and installs within seconds without tools and no permanent alterations. All end users have to do is unscrew the end of the can until it stops, lift the fork, and put it over your A2 device. Then push the fork down to lock it in place and screw the can down to tighten it. If you forget to tighten it down, don’t panic, the fork will hold it in place. It will work with both 5.56mm and 9mm birdcages. Do not try to use this with 7.62 weapons – the results could be catastrophic.
How’d it work?
I tried it on multiple weapon systems, and it worked great. I noticed less felt muzzle blast shooting indoors and from my truck. It also fits the BCM A2 style comp on one of my setups. The only weapon the blast can didn’t attach to was my 10.5” pistol due to the handguards coming up just behind the muzzle. It installed without issue on an 11.5 piston upper I am testing.
Keep that in mind before buying this product. Allow at a minimum 1” of space behind the flash hider. Being steel construction, it does add 9.15 ounces to your weapon; factor that in before shooting. It didn’t affect accuracy, and it reduced muzzle climb during rapid fire. If you are going to switch between weapons, let it cool or wear gloves for your safety.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was happy with my purchase. It worked as advertised and made indoor shooting a much better experience, and other folks on the line appreciated not getting hit with concussion from shorter pistol barrels. The MSRP is $99.95 USD, which is a bargain in my opinion, and I recommend this product especially if you own multiple weapon systems with A2 flash hiders.
I especially like the easy on and off. This gives shooters the option of using the blast can when needed, instead of permanently altering your weapon or risking damaging your weapon while trying to remove the factory muzzle device. The Strike Industries blast can is available directly from Strike industries or other online retailers.
Greg Chabot served in Iraq 2004-2005. He is a freelance writer living in New Hampshire. He frequently contributes to Soldier of Fortune.
