If you play the board game Taboo and “Dragon” is your word, Lantac should be your first answer or vice versa. The word Dragon and Lantac are synonymous in the shooting world. So when Lantac announced they were releasing the Dragon Dead Air KEYMO Muzzle Brake, I was all ears. In my early years of hunting, I knew ZERO about almost anything and everything in the gun world (and this is still debatable). But I do remember hearing about the Lantac Dragon muzzle brake. The only thing that I recall from that initial conversation was that the Dragon brake spits out a fireball like, well, a dragon.
What little I remembered from this conversation was filed away in my memory but not forgotten.
Getting to know Lantac
Let me tell you about my next conversation regarding Lantac. While perusing the thousands of booths at SHOT Show a couple of months ago, I stumbled across the Lantac booth. After looking at the products on the table, Steve Lockwood finished a conversation with someone else and turns his attention to me. It went something like this:
Me: “Can you tell what new products you have this year?”
Steve: “What do you know about Lantac?”
Me: “Not much.”
Steve: “It sounds like everything we have is new to you then.”
Sometimes it feels good to get verbally punched in the face. That wasn’t the answer I was expecting, but because of this response, my admiration for Steve and Lantac went up exponentially. Maybe it’s because I appreciate someone who excels at thinking on their feet. Our conversation continues as he kindly educates me about Lantac and I have an epiphany. I have a Lantac product. If you read about my 300 Blackout build, you will see that I used a Lantac E-BCG. Since it took me so long to realize this fact, it might be a sign that I need to shoot that pistol more. Our conversation comes to an end but it is just the beginning of this journey.
When Jonathan reached out to me a couple of months later to inquire about working with Lantac on the Dragon Dead Air KEYMO Muzzle Brake, I was all in. Truth be told, I have been drooling over some of their Facebook pics, specifically the Onyx AR15. I wondered if my social media stalking led to this inquiry. Regardless, the timing could not be better. My tax stamps for my Dead Air Sandman K and S just came in. On top of that, the week before Jonathan reached out to me, I was at Texas Gun Experience looking for a Dead Air mount for my 5.56. Like most places across the country, they did not have one in stock due to Dead Air changing some of their manufacturing processes. Lantac came to the rescue with the release of this new and improved Dragon.
Dragon Dead Air KEYMO Muzzle Brake Design Changes
The new Dragon Dead Air Keymount Muzzle Brake looks very similar to the original Dragon. The most noticeable difference facilitates mounting Dead Air silencers. The diameter of the Dragon Dead Air mount is slightly smaller at .824 inches compared to .866 of its predecessor. As you move down to the mount, the .824 inches diameter increases to 1.080 inches. The new Dragon is 2.760 inches long, which is .190 inches longer than the original. With the added length and girth, the weight also increased from 3.2oz to 4.0oz. All of these changes are worth the minor weight gain. Not only do you get all of the benefits of the original Lantac Dragon but now you can throw a can on one of the best, if not the best, muzzle brake currently on the market.
Lantac KEYMO Muzzle Brake Use
After getting the timing on the Dragon Dead Air Muzzle Brake perfect, it is time to zero my 5.56. Adding my Sandman S to the rifle is a piece of cake. It works just like my .30 cal mount from Dead Air.
- Find the little triangle on the mount of the Sandman S
- Line up the triangle with the channel that is on top of the muzzle brake
- Slide the suppressor over the brake
- Twist the suppressor clockwise until it does not move
After a half a dozen shots, the rifle is ready to go. Before I leave, the conversation about the original Dragon pops in my head. FIREBALL! I was in the range by myself so why not? After removing the suppressor, I prop up my iPhone 11 Pro and am ready to shoot. Glancing down to make sure I have the angle I need, I proceed to pull the trigger. Hopefully, the 240 frames a second in 1080p will capture the fireball that birthed the name of this muzzle brake. And what do you know? The iPhone was able to capture the evidence of this mythical creature who lends its name to the Dragon Dead Air KEYMO Muzzle Brake. Now, the only thing left to do is to see how this mythical creature plays with the four-legged creatures out at the farm!
