Muzzle Breaks?...

[2 Full Curls]

Hey guys,

 

I am doing work upgrades to my huntin' rig and would like some general input on the benefits/drawbacks to having a muzzle break. I have heard mixed opinions, but thus far it seems to be a personal preference sort of thing...?

 

Thanks for your comments

 

SW

[JLW]

to me more recoil = more flinch factor.

So I'd go with the muzzle break if I'm shooting a big caliber rifle 300win mag, 7mm and so on.

that's just me.

But the loud bang is almost unbearable though ear protection is a must although you should wear it anyway.

 

James

[.270]

try a simms pad before a muzzle brake. if it still punches too hard, then a brake may be what you need. i don't like the noise and make sure i have some ear plugs at least, even when hunting. brakes are really loud. but some of these cartridges kick so dern hard that a brake is the only way to handle it. i have a prosthetic joint in my right shoulder. it can get quite sore after a little shooting with a big rifle, so i have a brake on my .300. it has sporter contour barrel and the original wood stock and isn't real heavy. a simms helped it a bunch, but when i put the barrel on it i had em turn a brake right into it. it is real nice to shoot now. but real noisy. but if i could handle the recoil without a brake, i would rather it didn't have one. a friend of mine has a ar-15 style rifle in .223. spent a fortune on it and it is a coyote getter for sure. he put a muzzle brake on it because he wanted to have as close to zero recoil as he could get. he wishes he didn't because now he has to use ear plugs when he shoots coyotes because it rings his ears so bad. sometimes they are neccesary. but if you can by without one, that's the way to go. where brakes are nice is when you need to sight in a rifle or develop a load and have to shoot a lot. jut for hunting, i guess it depends on what you want. my son has a christensen in .300 ultra. you can't stand it for more than a shot or two without the brake. but it came with a deal where you can screw off the brake and screw on this thing that doesn't have any holes in it. when you're hunting and just need to shoot a couple times, it works real well. Lark.

[338EdgeMan]

If its going to be for hunting I would get a break that ports out of the sides. I have had trouble with the breaks that port 360 degrees following the shot especially if you have a long range weapon. The dust they kick up from the prone position is a nightmare. The defensive edge breaks are great for hunting applications.

[2 Full Curls]

Hey guys thanks for the input... thats some good information there.

 

Lark- I am actually putting a new pad on it already, as well as a new stock (that fits me better than my old one). I think I will go ahead and do these upgrades, and see how I shoot her before I do the break. I like the idea of taking away the kick of the 7mm but Im not too keen on the idea of the noise.

 

SW

[Redman]

once you get a brake installed, you will be sure to always have ear protection.... which is a good thing because before I put a muzzlebreak I would shoot without hearing protection (when hunting)....

 

the brake tamed my 300 WSM and I love shooing the gun....I even bought a .25-06 because I did not like to shoot the 300 WSM before the brake, now I am going to sell the .25-06 and build a new 300 WSM or 300 RUM with a brake

[billrquimby]

Another way to reduce felt recoil is to shoot a heavier rifle than those lightweight, skinny barrel things with Tupperware stocks that too many hunters are buying nowadays. Another is to shoot light-for-caliber bullets and have a stock that fits you.

 

My 7 mm Remington Magnum with scope and four rounds of ammo weighs a bit more than 9 1/2 pounds, and I shaped it to fit my long arms and big frame, with a 15-inch trigger-to-butt stock, a bit of cast-off and a fat forearm. I'm a wimp when it comes to recoil, but it's a pleasure to shoot, even with my 175-grain handloads that I use for everything.

 

Muzzle brakes do work, though. Just try shooting a .Weatherby .378, .416 or 460 with and without one if you doubt that!

 

Bill Quimby

 

.

[Snapshot]

You can also have a Break-O mercury recoil tube installed in the stock butt.

[muledeerarea33?]

If you can't handle the gun your shooting, get a smaller caliber. i despise being next to a guy with a break. Especially when he's shootin a 243-300 and has a break. Really?? If you can't handle that much gun 1. your a small woman 2. you have an old injury (like Lark) other than that, you dont need a break.

[Snapshot]

There are alot of African PH's that will not even allow the use of a muzzle break on their hunts.

[308Nut]

You have heard the term "the lesser of two evils" right? It really does apply here.

 

What is the lesser of the two evils here? That is for you to decide.

 

As much as I hate them, I have one on my 338 Edge. It weighs a little over 10 pounds which is extremely light for the caliber espescially running top loads with 300 grain pills. Even with the brake it is a beast to be reckoned with on the butt end. I shot it once accidentally without it and that was the last time. It is truely unbearable. I wont even hunt without the brake. I will suffer through the dust and grass kick up etc...Since it is also very light for the loads and recoils so violently, it tends to shoot bigger groups unless I REALLY pay attention to my form, even with the brake. I cant imagine how horrible the groups would be without it. Even if I could handle the recoil, the gun would be too unforgiving to shoot consistent groups and POI.

 

FWIW, my brake has the ports angled forward which extremely cuts down on the blast to your ears for the occasions that a shot is taken in the field where in the heat of the moment you forgot to put your ear plugs in. I have done that and I am glad they are angled forward. It actually isnt that bad unless the barrel is near the ground when it goes off. It also doesnt piss they guy off next to you at the range. To me, for this rifle at least, the brake is hands down the lesser of two evils.

 

I for one hate brakes, hence the reason I do most of my shooting and hunting with a 308 and soon a 6.5x284. That said, I enjoy hunting larger than average game at times (IE moose, elk etc...) and I love doing at longer ranges, it requires the right tool for the job. A moose at a half mile is no job for a 308 or 6.5. Sometimes smaller isnt better.

 

If you can get through 10-12 rounds in a session at the range (not back to back days) and feel good about it, you shouldnt need a brake. If you leave the range thinking about the recoil, its time to get a brake. If you start thinking about the recoil before the shot goes off, its time to get a brake.

 

 

Regards,

 

M

[Snapshot]

I had a Muzzle Break on my trusty 30-06 for many years. It is a sweet shooting rifle. Do I really need a break? No. But it really made shooting sessions more enjoyable, and accurate. I could shoot it all day, and it wouldn't really bother me. Not much more recoil than a .243.

The recoil of a 30-06 is moderate compared to the bigger magnums. The downside is a muzzle break it will make your ears ring out in the field, without ear plugs. I have noticed downrange noise is much less, and it seems to spook the animals less if you miss a shot, or need a follow up.

[.270]

hey Bill, i shot a .460 twice. only reason i shot it the second time is because i couldn't believe it kicked me that hard the first time. no brake either. it was in an indoor range in LA. it made the flourscent lights flicker and sometimes go out everytime it was fired. knocked the cork ceiling tiles loose. after about 5 shots they shut the guy down and told him no more. you coulda set off dynamite in there and done less damage. i've been hit by linebackers that didn't hit that hard. that mighta been what screwed up my shoulder. reeedickleeous. Lark.

[Snapshot]

hey Bill, i shot a .460 twice. only reason i shot it the second time is because i couldn't believe it kicked me that hard the first time. no brake either. it was in an indoor range in LA. it made the flourscent lights flicker and sometimes go out everytime it was fired. knocked the cork ceiling tiles loose. after about 5 shots they shut the guy down and told him no more. you coulda set off dynamite in there and done less damage. i've been hit by linebackers that didn't hit that hard. that mighta been what screwed up my shoulder. reeedickleeous. Lark.

 

Thats funny! I have heard that the .460 Weatherby is quite a "BOOMSTICK"

I used to have a Taurus .44 mag with a ported barrel. The guys at the indoor range didn't like it much either. That thing would shoot flames straight up out of the ports.

[billrquimby]

hey Bill, i shot a .460 twice. only reason i shot it the second time is because i couldn't believe it kicked me that hard the first time. no brake either. it was in an indoor range in LA. it made the flourscent lights flicker and sometimes go out everytime it was fired. knocked the cork ceiling tiles loose. after about 5 shots they shut the guy down and told him no more. you coulda set off dynamite in there and done less damage. i've been hit by linebackers that didn't hit that hard. that mighta been what screwed up my shoulder. reeedickleeous. Lark.

 

Lark:

 

I shot a .460 eight or nine times at targets on a junket in Colorado that the Weatherby company sponsored, and never at game. Only the first shot was without a brake, and I quickly screwed it back on. It was not the worst-recoiling rifle I've fired, though.

 

That honor goes to a single shot .577 Nitro Express rifle with a short stock a friend in South Africa owns. I got whacked in the nose by my thumb when its recoil lifted the barrel and almost tore it out of my hands. It was a half hour before I stopped bleeding.

 

Incidentally, It's been my observation that big guys such as you and I get banged around by recoil more than smaller people. Many 100-pound women and 150-pound men have no problem with a .458 Winchester Magnum because they rock with the recoil. I don't rock when I fire mine and it slams me half way to Sunday.

 

Bill Quimby