Walker Defense

NERO 9 Review

Walker Defense makes some of the best muzzle brakes around. At least in my opinion. I have had the Walker Defense NERO 9 muzzle brake for over a year now. Is it the best muzzle brake I have used? Yes, at least in 9mm. The NERO was also used on a 357 magnum lever gun, which is not a typical use for this muzzle brake. It also performed great on the 357. So why is it so good? You will have to read the rest and find out.

The NERO muzzle brake is Walker Defense’s flagship product. It is 3D sintered (printed) out of inconel. Inconel is super resistant to just about everything, including wear from being hit with a rocket engine. All of the NERO line is made in the same way, including the NERO 9. The NERO line also has a distinct look about them. They look different due to the engineering behind their design. This makes them perform extremely well.

Since the NERO 9 is 3D sintered, it gives Walker Defense a lot of design freedom. Since it is designed for a 9mm pistol caliber carbine, different characteristics are needed over the 556 version. Even though they look alike, they are not, but they use the same technology. Walker Defense uses fluid dynamics to allow the gas to flow down the bottom ramp of the muzzle brake, while the bullet goes straight. The ramp inside the NERO also has golf ball style dimples to help disrupt gas flow, very much like a suppressor might. Then the gas hits the end of this ramp, helping to counter the recoil of the firearm. The top slots help to mitigate muzzle rise. Check out the original NERO 556 review for more info on this.

You might ask what the performance is like, don’t take my work for it, look at the data. I used my Mantis X to get some muzzle rise data. The other data it collects is the angle which the muzzle moves and the width it moves. Both of those can be skewed a bit by the user if you are shaking or holding the rifle differently. Muzzle rise data is more consistent since it is a quick measurement response. This data was taken on a Hi-Point carbine, with and without the NERO 9 attached. As you can see in the screenshots, there is a significant decrease in muzzle rise.

NERO 9 attached, muzzle rise is extremely reduced

Even though the NERO 9 is not marketed as a 357 Magnum muzzle brake, It works as one. I had discussed the 357 use with Walker Defense before trying it, they gave me the go ahead. So I installed it on a tactical lever gun with a 16 inch barrel. The design of the NERO also helped add to the “Tactical Lever Gun” look. As expected, the NERO 9 tamed even hot 357 magnum loads, I was actually surprised at how well it did since it was designed for 9mm, not 357. This was the one firearm that I could definitely tell a difference in felt recoil. It took the snap out of those 357’s and made it like shooting 38’s without the NERO.

As you can see, the NERO 9’s main home is the SBR’d Hi-Point carbine. If you have ever shot one of these with the 13.25 inch barrel, there is a lot of recoil due to the direct blowback action. So your shoulder gets pounded pretty good. The NERO does help with that a bit. I even ran the Hi-Point PCC in a local match and at the end, after around 250 rounds, my shoulder felt pretty decent. The NERO really shines in competition.

If you haven’t guessed, the NERO 9 is a highly functional muzzle brake. No, it is not super cheap, but in the NERO’s case, it is worth the barrier to entry. You get an engineered muzzle device that not only cuts felt recoil, it also eliminates muzzle rise. Do yourself a favor and head over to Walker Defense and check out the NERO line of muzzle brakes.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Super flat shooting compensator

Target Market:

Anyone wanting the best compensator for their firearms

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Compatibility: AR-9 or 9mm with ½-28 Threaded Barrels
Thread Pitch: ½-28
Caliber: 9mm
Material: Inconel
Overall length: Approx. 2.6 inches
Weight: 3.6 oz
Coating: Ionbond DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon)
Serialized for Quality Control
x1 Crush Washer Included
Direct metal laser sintering construction

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

5.56 and 308 versions

What others are saying?:

5 out 5 stars at Walkerdr.com

Nero 9

Found out about this through doing research on brakes for pccs and had to check it out after seeing it. Did quite a bit of research, read lots of reviews and videos and decided it was worth the hefty price tag considering it was only like 60 or so more than other similar braces that really weren't optimized for the application and weren't made out of INCONEL. Finally had a chance to take it out on my recent favorite gun, a 9mm Smith and Wesson FPC. Extremely tame, muzzle rise is almost unnoticeable. A bit of reduced felt recoil is nice too. (it's still only just 9mm though) Makes and already light gun handle even better. It is a bit loud but I'm not even worried about that. This thing to a 9mm PCC is what a Sutaev brake is to a Saiga 12. If you have a pcc in 9mm I can't recommend it enough. Purpose built product backed up by superior materials, craftsmanship, and design.

Our Rating:

Pros:

Fantastic recoil reduction
Tames muzzle rise
Faster follow up shots
Inconel construction

Cons:

Price

Score: 9.00 Amazing

Favorite Link: NERO 556 review

Walker Defense has come on the market with some truly innovative products. One of those is the NERO 556, a 3D printed hybrid muzzle brake/compensator manufactured from Inconel.. By using state of the art 3D manufacturing, Walker Defense was able to design the NERO without the constraints of normal machining. I had watched one of their videos on the NERO and needed to see if it was really that good, so I reached out to them for a review sample.

3D manufacturing brings a whole new level to muzzle brakes. Walker Defense uses an additive manufacturing process called DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering). Basically this process uses a laser to melt powdered metal together. By using this process, Walker Defense was able to design a muzzle brake that doesn’t have to use standard machining processes. Instead, they designed it using fluid dynamics for the best possible reduction in muzzle rise and recoil.

The NERO 556 is manufactured using inconel. Inconel is a superalloy known for its resistance to heat, pressure, and corrosion. You may have heard about inconel because some suppressor companies use it for the initial blast baffle. Inconel is not the easiest metal to machine and thus can add a huge cost. By laser sintering the inconel, costs can be kept down some.

Walker designed the NERO for zero muzzle rise. It is optimized for a 14.5” or 16” 5.56 (.223) barrel length. If you run it on a shorter barrel, it definitely pushes the muzzle down. I know this because I tried it on a 11.5” and a 7.5”. It does this because the pressure going through the NERO is much larger on the shorter barrels. Walker Defense actually sent me a cutaway diagram (see picture). The diagram helps to understand what is going on with the NERO, and why it looks the way it does. As Walker Defense mentioned:

“It (nero) was designed using fluid dynamics to force the gases to take a different trajectory than the bullet. Upon entering the muzzle device, the vectored flow nozzle (#1) acts as an inverted ramp, and along the dimpled compression ramp (#2), focuses a jet of gas into the curved blast surface (#3) directly below the bore. This focused gas striking the curved blast surface is intended to create a balanced counter-recoil force that directly counteracts the rearward and upward recoil with a downward and forward counter force.”

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Now that we know the technical description, here is my take. The NERO 556 works like nothing else I have ever used before! Like I mentioned earlier, I did try it on a 11.5” and 7.5”, but most of the use was on a 16” barrel. Running the NERO on the 16” did exactly as stated. Recoil was reduced extremely. Most importantly, muzzle rise was effectively eliminated. The recoil impulse almost felt as if it was slightly pulling away from my shoulder. When I tried it on the short barrels, results varied. On the 11.5”, recoil was reduced and the muzzle dipped a little during recoil. On the 7.5”, recoil was reduced also, but more importantly was the huge downward force pushing the muzzle down. I would recommend also running it on a 14.5” or 16”, as it was designed for that. With the shorter barrels, there was also more concussion from the blast. With the 16”, I didn’t really notice it, as it is less than other muzzle brakes I own. While shooting a standard USPSA target, at ranges from 5-25 yards, A-zone hits were really easy. Even when I shot really fast, the muzzle stayed on target and the hits were all on the target. FYI, the AR15 that the NERO resides on weighs in at 6 pounds empty.

Walker Defense also noted about handling the rifle differently. When shooters use the NERO for the first time, some have a tendency to pull the muzzle down during recoil. With the NERO, this is definitely not needed. Since I was warned about this, I literally shot the rifle with the handguard resting on a flat hand, after first installing the NERO. Yes, it shot very flat with no support. However, I did go back to my standard grip without any problems.

I was trying to measure recoil and give a comparison, but the data wasn’t there. I did get a few decent readings on muzzle rise (see attached screenshots). The last one in the group is always off because I moved the rifle after the last round was fired. All of the ones I have are in the standing, off hand, position. The average muzzle rise is near zero. This is consistent with what Walker Defense say about the NERO.

The NERO 556 may not be for everyone, but it should be. If you are a competitive shooter, you need this. If you just want reduced muzzle climb, you need this. If you want faster follow up shots, this will definitely help. The NERO may seem pricey at first, but after shooting with it, you will probably change your mind. The videos put out by Walker Defense really are how the NERO shoots.

The NERO is definitely innovative. Just by looking at it, the NERO 556 doesn’t look like your normal compensator/muzzle brake. Well, it isn’t, thanks to the 3D design and sintering. If you want an awesome, recoil and muzzle rise reducing, muzzle brake, look no further than the NERO from Walker Defense Research.