What brakes are not super obnoxious??? Honestly I just don't like how an AR looks with a bare muzzle/target crown/thread protector.
Sounds like you may want a compensator.
Basically it boils down to this:
Brake: diverts blast to the side and back, reducing felt recoil. Obnoxious
Comp: diverts blast to the side and up, reducing muzzle rise and very slightly felt recoil. Much less obnoxious
Linear comp: directs blast forward. Does pretty much nothing for felt recoil or muzzle rise. Least obnoxious.
I personally like comps for post-94 builds. Some options here, although people will have varying opinions on whether Massachusetts would call it a flash hider or not.
Safest: BattleComp. The ATF formally declared it not-a-flash-hider back during the federal AWB. Pricey, but I used to have one and it worked well at controlling the muzzle and wasn’t too obnoxious.
Probably fine: BCM Gunfighter Mod 0/1. probably less muzzle control than the BattleComp, but less chance of driving the muzzle too far down, like the BattleComp can do.
I think it’s fine, but some disagree: Black River Tactical Covert Comp. It’s a linear comp. It does have a baffle, but they advertise it as reducing flash. But independent testing shows it doesn’t reduce flash beyond some devices that the ATF has classified as comps and not flash-hiders though. Make you own decision here.
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There are some others out too, that I’ll update with later.
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What do people typically use on a 5.56 AR in free states? Is it common to have nothing or a flash hider? Suppressor?
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Most people run flash hiders, but many do still run comps.
Silencers are becoming very common in many states. And in those cases, people frequently use brakes that include a quick disconnect feature for the silencer. The brake can act as a sacrificial baffle to reduce wear on the silencer baffles.