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

Titanium bolt carrier groups (BCG) are one of the mysteries of the AR world. A few companies manufacture them, but what are they really for? I’ll try to answer that with the Walker Defense Research Titanium BCG.

If you are looking at a Titanium (Ti) BCG, like the Walker Defense one, it is probably because of weight. Meaning you are trying to get the lightest possible parts around. The Walker Ti BCG weighs 7.8 ounces complete. A standard BCG weighs 11.8 ounces on my scale. That’s an off the shelf weight saving of 4 ounces. I know, that doesn’t seem like a lot, but when every ounce counts, that's a bunch. An important note is that the bolt is not titanium, it is 9130 steel with a Nickel Boron coating. The bolt is also magnetic partical inspected (MPI). A Ti bolt just doesn’t have the correct metallurgy to work, but for the carrier, it’s great. The Ti carrier, without the bolt, only weighs 5.7 ounces.

The Walker Defense Ti BCG is of the standard M16 profile. This is done so that it will work in almost every scenario, except piston guns. It is for direct impingement AR’s only. The M16 profile also gives the BCG strength and reliability. Cutting away material can weaken a BCG or make it not function correctly. Walker makes the BCG out of 6AL-4V grade 5 titanium. This even goes above my material knowledge, but I bet that they know what they are doing, especially since this titanium seems to be the standard for Ti BCG’s. An Ionbond Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) is then put on the carrier. This DLC coating gives the BCG a longer lifespan and makes it super smooth. Of course you need excellent machining to have a smooth coating, and the Walker Defense BCG definitely is machined super smooth.

Another reason for choosing a titanium BCG is for reduced recoil. The Ti BCG reduces recoil because there is less moving mass. This does come at a price. One also needs an adjustable gas block. This is a must for any lightweight BCG, not just the Walker Ti one. Then you have to tune the adjustable gas block. Good ones come with instructions on how to do this. Some might say that you can “tune” the Ti BCG by using heavier buffers and stuff. But a heavier buffer just adds more weight and more recoil. Isn’t one reason you would choose a Ti bcg is for weight? I can attest to the lower recoil of the Ti BCG. I have a Superlative arms adjustable gas block, tuned to eject the brass at about 3:30. According to the Mantis x, it reduced muzzle rise by over 50% and recoil width by over 80%. You can see in the short video that even with an A2 flash hider, there is hardly any recoil or muzzle climb. I could definitely feel the difference.

I was a little hesitant to try the Walker titanium BCG out. I just didn’t understand why I needed it. After using it thoroughly for some time, I can say it definitely makes the AR shoot so much smoother. All the claims are correct. Reduced muzzle rise. Reduced felt recoil. Faster follow up shots, due to those previously mentioned reductions. Yes, the BCG price can make you gasp a little. But in the end, it’s not much more expensive, if any, than other low mass BCG’s. Even some enhanced BCG’s are in the $250 range. The Walker Ti BCG also has forward assist notches, something a lot of the other lightweight carriers don’t have. For me, I just can’t get over how smooth the recoil impulse is with the Walker Ti BCG.

Probably the last reason to choose Walker’s Ti BCG is durability. Titanium tends to be more resistant to heat and pressure. What do direct impingement guns have? Hot gasses being directly blown into the carrier. So anything that is more resistant to heat is a good thing. Walker also correctly stakes the gas key on, so it won’t be moving around causing problems. Just lube your Ti BCG as normal, and you should get a long life span from it.

The Walker Defense Titanium BCG does everything a BCG should do and more. The “more” is why I really like it. It’s lightweight, reduces recoil, is durable, and has a standard M16 profile. Hopefully you have a better understanding of why you would want the Walker Ti BCG. So if you want that “lightweight everything”, or just a super quality bolt carrier, head over to the Walker Defense Research website and give them a look. Everything I have from Walker is top notch and is always made in the USA.