I have read a lot of comments about how it's bad for others around the shooter, like the PH, because it hurts their hearing. I'm sorry, but this makes no sense. It hurts regardless, break or no break, if you don't cover your ears.
On my first few deer and pronghorn hunts I did not think to bring hearing protection. In those cases where I had animals in my sights, it hurt like hell when I fired; my ears rang for several minutes, and we're talking 7mm Rem Mag, .30-06, and in the last case, .250 Savage. The latter wasn't bad, but still caused ringing.
Rule of thumb, if you hear ringing in your ears after a loud noise, you just lost a little of your hearing. That ringing indicates damage.
A few years ago, while at a shooting school going through a tactical pistol course, they had a company presenting their products, which were hearing aids, which incorporated sound protection when shooting. They offered free hearing test. I knew I had lost a little bit of hearing over the years, but the report they printed out for me specified the actual losses, in detail. Turns out certain levels were effected, especially in my left ear, and the most notable was precisely in the range of women's voices. (I thought, no wonder sometimes can't understand what my wife is saying!)
I took to bringing ear plugs on hunting, and I'm glad I did. While still loud, the ringing doesn't occur when I have solid plugs in my ears for the shot.
Now, we come to my point.
My hunter safety instructor from Colorado, who I've been best friends with for decades, said he never believed this claim was true. Neither did another hunter safety instructor buddy of ours out there. However, they finally decided to put this to the test. Some years ago they both had custom rifles built in .458 2-inch American. This is a wildcat derived from the .458 Winchester Magnum African DG cartridge. It is cut down from 2 1/2 inches to 2 inches, which reduces recoil and makes it perfect for grizzly/brown bear hunting. My friend had a muzzle break incorporated into the design while our mutual friend had exactly the same rifle built but without a muzzle break. Then they hit the range with a decibel meter.
They shot the same ammo, from rifles with the same barrel length, etc., from the same positions, varying from ahead, abreast, and behind the muzzle. Results? NO DIFFERENCE. This is just as they predicted. Both put out the same level of noise when comparing shots from the same positions.
I've seen slow motion video of shots. Once a bullet leaves the muzzle, a shock wave follows with visible blast heading in all directions at a 90 degree angle from the path of the around. This means sound is directed outward, perpendicular to the flight path of the bullet. The same happens with rifles with muzzle breaks. Of course, this is the case with breaks not designed to vent the gases to the rear. (Never saw one that was, as it would put the same right back into the face of the shooter -- not something you want to have happen.)
And here's the point. Everyone anywhere near the shooter should be covering their ears at the moment the shot is taken or have hearing protection on anyways. So, even if the PH is scoping the game at the time, they should be protected. In the overwhelming majority of cases, one is going to have the time to 'set up,' preparing to take the shot. I know I do so when I hunt. So, I don't understand the argument about muzzle breaks being a problem.
I have one rifle so equipped. It's my Browning A-bolt hunter in 7mm Remington Magnum. I learned real fast that gun was brutal on my shoulder. I'll admit it. I'm recoil sensitive. I guess I'm your average person because the pros consistently write that the .30-06 produces about as much recoil as the average person can take without serious flinching I'm okay with my .30-06, but could not bear the pain of sighting in my 7 mag. I bought a pin on shoulder pad for use at the range, but found it to be useless. Finally, my friend told me about a product called a KDF recoil reducer. It was a muzzle break, which gives the appears of a flash suppressor on a military rifle. While not good for the appearance of the gun, it worked miracles in reducing the mean kick that rifle had. Since then, it has subjected me to significantly less recoil than my .30-06. Turned it into a pussy cat.
That said, it is the loudest of any gun I've ever fired. But I haven't noticed any difference in the level of noise. And again, I no longer subject myself to shots without some kind of hearing protection on. I've always managed to have enough opportunity on hunts to reach down and put on my earplugs; I usually have around my neck (connected to a cord).
If there is something I'm missing the mark on, I'd like to hear from you. Tell me how this isn't the case, nor a practical solution.
