A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted muzzle rise. Barrels with an integral muzzle brake are often said to be ported.
The muzzle brake of the 105mm main gun on an AMX 10 RC armoured fighting vehicle
The muzzle brake of an M198 155mm howitzer venting propellant gases sideways as the howitzer is fired
Muzzle brake on M47 Patton tank
The AKM rifle's slant-cut compensator
A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure gas(es) is used to propel a projectile out of the front end (muzzle) at a high velocity. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, and the diameter of the bore is called its caliber, usually measured in inches or millimetres.
The Tsar Cannon of 1586 with its huge bore and a barrel exterior which is perceived like a stack of storage barrels
A female worker boring out the barrel of a Lee-Enfield rifle during WWI
The barrel of a 240 mm howitzer in use in 1944
A German Army G22 with fluted barrel
