Why do you need a brake on a 5.56? Is it for suppressor integration?
An A2 (or in the case of a SF mount, a -212A, or if you can find one, a closed-tine flash hider which is my white whale) is very effective, but a brake keeps the gun even flatter. That particular gun in my picture is a competition/class gun. I shoot my MK18 with a -212A all the time, and it's fine, but the timer doesn't lie, and the brake makes you able to run it faster. On top of all that, yes, suppressor integration is a key use and that particular rifle runs a SF SOCOM Mini at night (which is why the light is also on there).
With the exception of a 5.45 gun I have, all of my centerfire ARs have SF muzzle devices so they can all mount suppressors. Several years ago when I decided to take the plunge into the suppressor world, I decided to stick to the Surefire system (which of course, they then immediately updated and changed), so I just invested in that capability. Not all of my 5.56 ARs have a brake (actually, many don't), but all of them can take either a 5.56 or 7.62 can. And since you can mount a SOCOM can on a legacy mount (although now SF is back-pedaling saying they don't recommend it because JoeBob on the farm does retarded things to his guns), I can put a can on everything, if I want.
Interestingly enough, I got to shoot a few rounds for the first time through a Warcomp-equipped gun on a select-fire lower yesterday. I'm sad to say I wasn't all that impressed. It wasn't very many rounds, but it didn't feel much different than a SF -212A flash hider, but with more concussion and with their biased right-side porting, possibly less-better handling if shooting weak side. This affirmed why I want a closed-tine SOCOM flash hider...should one ever make the commercial market.
