The "newest" thing will be compensators on almost all pistols.

Howland937 said:

I run a comp on a couple of pistols I use for competition. For normal use such as self defense, I have no use for them. The added length and weight affects ability to conceal. May as well just pick a bigger, heavier gun and forego the added cleaning. (Yes, comped guns get dirtier quicker...and some comps SUCK to get clean). Is it a bandaid for some dummy who picked a gun they're not able to manage? Possibly.

Ever shot a ported or comped pistol in low light? Inside a room? Managing muzzle flip isn't that important when you're waiting for your eyes to adjust back from the flash that just occured.

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MachIVshooter said:

Lol.

5x as many cans registered in the last 20 years as the first 70 years of NFA, orders of magnitude more companies manufacturing them, and infinitely more pistols and "traditional" rifles with threaded muzzles, only a tiny handful of which come with anything but a thread protector. Meanwhile a relative dearth of pistol compensators on the market, virtually all of them geared toward a select few models popular with competitors in IPSC, IDPA, 3-gun, bullseye, etc. Yet you believe compensators are the "new" rage and popular with new shooters? It's just not reflected in sales of factory comp'd guns or aftermarket comp availability.

I thread a lot of pistol barrels, and I don't even recall the last time it was for the purpose of adding a compensator.

Take a minute to look at all the factory threaded barrel pistols for sale. Make note of how many come with tall sights or are advertised as "suppressor ready". Then look at how many come with compensators, or specific language about using them, rather than something universal like "threaded barrel to accept a suppressor, compensator, muzzle brake or other muzzle device".

Also look at how many of the aftermarket threaded barrels have distance between slide face and shoulder; that is designed to provide guide rod clearance for a can. It is not needed with compensators.

People wanting recoil mitigation in a compact carry gun are overwhelmingly going to buy ported models or have them ported, not increase the size of something meant for concealment with an obtrusive muzzle attachment. And at that, the subset is pretty small, since a majority would rather simply learn to shoot the gun well or downsize caliber than make an alteration which increases noise and blinds you with flash in low light conditions.

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Valkman said:

Yes the Sig P365 XMacro has a compensator but I went with the Tacops (bought it last Friday) version with no comp and a longer barrel. Don't see a need for a comp really.

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herrwalther said:

I don't get the purpose of comps on a 9mm of all things. And I just got my holster maker to make an extended protector for a threaded barrel, not going to bother them to mold around a compensator.

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a2x4bbl said:

I don’t think any pistol really really needs them ( competition maybe ? ) , especially with the low recoil of 9mm , I just like to make them . So I tend to put them on everything. No gadget will ever take the place of training and shooting . Heat gun has always made short work of any holster issue .

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MachIVshooter said:

Maybe. But external comps or ported barrels can be done away with simply by installing a standard barrel; an integrated comp cannot be removed if one decides the juice ain't worth the squeeze with the added noise and flash.

My years in the industry have shown me that people with little experience are easily talked into trying something like a compensated pistol or braked rifle, and that most will end up deciding it's not for them, usually because of the concussion of things that vent high pressure gas on a perpendicular or even rearward-angled plane. A muzzle brake or ported barrel on a hard-kicking sporter seems like a great idea......right up until you touch one off in the field without ear pro. Not so different with handguns, where it seems like it makes shooting a little easier when you're on a range with good ear pro and daylight or good interior lighting, but the benefits are quickly forgotten when the noise and flash in a real-world situation massively increase discomfort and recovery time.

The younger crowd are more easily pushed into these things, and less affected by the downsides. I know I was. But we see a big decrease in the tolerance for noise, flash and recoil as age and years of shooting experience go up and we become more aware of the damage done to our eyes, ears and bodies from being dumb when we were younger. I'm 41 now, and I still have a very high tolerance for recoil, but don't like muzzle flash and really hate the noise. Hence suppressors on just about everything that can be suppressed, and a lot less revolver shooting than I used to do.

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.308 Norma said:

"The "newest" thing will be compensators on almost all pistols."

Wanna bet?

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12Bravo20 said:

In my personal experience, the only time a compensator or ported barrel makes much of a difference is with long slide pistols or long barreled revolvers. Comps and ported barrels won't make much difference in shorter barrels found in most pistols designed of conceal carry.

And I have seen plenty of people have issues and needed to play the spring weight game when adding barrel mounted comps to Glocks and Glock clones. They install a comp with the OEM recoil spring and then wonder why the pistol starts malfunctioning.


The one time that a compensator surprised me and it did make a difference was when I added a Tandemkross Game Changer Pro on my 22lr Kel-Tec CP33. It definitely helped with muzzles rise and allows for faster follow up shots. The CP33 is designed as a target/competition pistol though.

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RevolvingGarbage said:

I have one compensated pistol. I wouldn’t want a bare muzzle on this gun, and the compensator actually does it’s job on this one. I suppose I would take it off if I had a supressor to take it’s place, but aside from that, this is definitely an example of how a compensated barrel on a pistol is a legitimate benefit.

Yeah, it’s not exactly what the OP was about, but I guess my point was that I can’t see realizing any benefit to compensating a pistol outside of a niche case like this. I suspect carry pistols will continue to come standard with bare muzzles for quite some time to come. If anything, I think moving the other direction is more likely. If we nuked the NFA and we had the option to use integrated suppressed handguns for ccw, or even captured piston silent ammunition I think that would see a much larger adoption than any form of muzzle brake or compensator.

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a2x4bbl said:

More pistols are being offered compensated from the factory than ever before in every size . Would hardly consider it a fad . I’ve made quite a few and never had a problem getting them to cycle reliably with NATO spec ammo in 9mm with the factory recoil spring.View attachment 1143895View attachment 1143896View attachment 1143897View attachment 1143898View attachment 1143900

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12Bravo20 said:

Yes they will function with NATO spec ammo without changing the spring weight. But too many people go out and buy the cheapest range/training ammo they can find which is usually under powered, especially if marketed as lower recoil ammo. It is the cheap 115 grain fodder that causes issues.

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