Muzzle Brake?

[Timt]

I have used muzzle brakes while hunting and I will never do so again! For some reason that shot oppurtunity always comes when you are busy rearranging your hearing protection.

That said I do like to have a muzzle brake on the big bores while developing a load. Shooting 40-50rnds of anything over .458 from the bench is liable to make you flinch at the end no matter how well you normally shoot your big bore. But other than that I don't really use them or want to use them.

 

[johnnyblues]

Hi Calhoun

Responding to your message I think you might be interested in this product called the CMG Recoil Reaper. It is the best of both worlds, combining and effective silencer with the recoil-reduction of a muzzle brake.

If you are interested go to their website: http://www.cmgrecoilreaper.co.za also they have a you tube channel with videos comparing two shots, one with and one without the CMG Recoil Reaper and one can't believe the difference.

The one video is a 416 Weatherby Magnum in slow motion, a must see!!

Kind Regards

Do you know if this product just "slips over the barrel? I have a Ruger Guide gun in 375 ruger which comes from the factory with a threaded removable brake.

 

[johnnyblues]

I have a Ruger guide gun in 416 ruger that I'm hunting lion and buff with this summer. It came with a factory break installed. I enjoy shooting it with the break and will keep it that way. As far as "real men" are concerned I do not have the need to try and over compensate for coming up short in other areas. I was a boxer for several years and could take any punch that was thrown at me. That being said I wasn't going to stand there and just let someone hit me in the face just to show I could. It's much the same with rifles. Why take an a$$ kicking from a rifle just to show you can. To me the break makes it much more enjoyable to shoot and it still handles very quickly.

Completely agree with you Eric. I just bought the same gun in 375 Ruger and have enjoyed shooting it with the brake on and fully intend on using it with the brake on in the field this year. PH's have my undying respect for what they do and the harm they put themselves in, that being said as many day's as they are in the field they could and should be using ear protection. There are hearing protection products out there which I own and for the life of me can't remember the name right now that allow you to hear a conversation perfectly and reduce noise levels very effectively when you shoot. This is a very touchy subject for sure and as always people have opinions on everything in life. Like you I have no need to prove my manliness to anyone, growing up in the rough and tumble streets of Brooklyn NY is enough! My responsibility to myself, the game I hunt, and to everyone around me on a hunt is to shoot well, and if the brake helps me do that than so be it. And for those PH's here that put themselves in harms way with DG I understand your point, but would you not rather have a client who is comfortable with his weapon than not? I don't like recoil period.

 

[johnnyblues]

I have it on my Ruger Guide Gun in 416 ruger. Honestly the gun kicks less than my 45-70. Is it loud yes but not so that it hurts. When you are out in the open it's not bad at all. Now when under cover firing range work is being done you better wear protection.

I m with you Charlie, as I mentioned to you I just bought the same gun in 375 Ruger. I like the brake and I will remove it if my PH insists. I hope he does not as I don't like recoil. Final group with a pull on the bottom. I' ll take that with factory ammo any day.

 

[Ado]

Outside of load Development if you need a brake then the gun is too big for you...

Ado

 

[johnnyblues]

Outside of load Development if you need a brake then the gun is too big for you...

Ado

I don't believe that to be true. I just don't like recoil. Thank's to a friends father when I first started shooting who thought it would be a good lesson for me to get scoped on my first shot with a new rifle and said You'll never do that again.....So since then I have suffered with a slight flinch which has been difficult to overcome but 35 trophies later and owning everything from 270 thru 375..

 

[Ado]

A Weatherby eyebrow is just one of those rights of passage we all have to endure - painful as it is...

There are other ways to fix a flinch than a brake - everything from a lighter cal or load, using a set trigger, a heavy rifle, cleaner brake on the trigger (no pun intended) etc etc

Just seems the cure you use causes more pain than fixing the challenge...

Just my 2c worth.

Ado

 

[johnnyblues]

Guess as said here it's a personal preference. I like em. And if my PH ask's I don't use it I will certainly not use it.

 

[buffybr]

Guess as said here it's a personal preference. I like em. . .

I also like them. I like to shoot and shoot a lot, but I don't like to take a beating when I shoot. I'm also too old for the macho crap of "If you need a muzzle brake, you should be shooting a smaller cartridge." I have muzzle brakes on my .300 Weatherby and my .375 RUM, and I had my competition Trap and Skeet shotguns ported decades ago. My .300 Bee is a pleasure to shoot, and I've shot hundreds of rounds through it and my .375 RUM and I've never endured the "right of passage of a Weatherby eyebrow."

I practice with my .300 Weatherby almost weekly with about half of the shots taken from a prone position off a Harris bipod with the muzzle over the dirt ground, and a little dust and loose grass will fly up at each shot but I seriously doubt that there is enough muzzle blast from the brake to break the windshield of a truck.

The military has known of the advantage of muzzle brakes (they call them flash suppressors) for decades. We had them on our M-14's and on our M-16's. They still have them on most AR platform rifles. Many serious rifle competitors also have brakes on their rifles, regardless of caliber. I firmly believe that almost any shooter will shoot more accurately with a rifle (or any other gun) that has less recoil than they would with a heavy kicker, especially after multiple shots.

Here's a 4 shot target that I shot the other day. The hole on the left was the first or fouling shot from a cold barrel. I couldn't have shot this without the brake.

 

[gordon kings langley]

Hi I have a break on my .375 and if it helps with recoil then that fine as to other people around then that not my problem

 

[Big5]

Hi I have a break on my .375 and if it helps with recoil then that fine as to other people around then that not my problem

It sounds like you're saying as long as that unnecessary ear shattering device attached to the end of your barrel makes things comfy-cushy for you why show any concern or regard for the comfort of the people around you. I hope that's not what you're saying.

 

[lcq]

Hi I have a break on my .375 and if it helps with recoil then that fine as to other people around then that not my problem

Well two PH's I just hunted with are nearly deaf because of two clients with muzzle brakes. I left mine with a set of plugs for the next inconsiderate clients.

 

[gordon kings langley]

If a breaks helps with recoil leading to better accuracy and less chance of a wounded animal then I am all in favour
If you have a problem then get you self a good set of ear plugs.

 

[lcq]

If a breaks helps with recoil leading to better accuracy and less chance of a wounded animal then I am all in favour
If you have a problem then get you self a good set of ear plugs.

I thought of the PH instead of myself. I shot the biggest gun I could get acceptable accuracy from without using a brake. A PH has to endure enough muzzle blast during his or her career without being blasted into the next country by a braked magnum

 

[Big5]

If a breaks helps with recoil leading to better accuracy and less chance of a wounded animal then I am all in favour
If you have a problem then get you self a good set of ear plugs.

The recoil effect occurs ‘after’ you’ve steadied your aim and squeezed off the shot. Not before. If a muzzle brake helps with your accuracy you are quite likely anticipating the shot and flinching due to being intimidated by the recoil effect of the firearm or caliber you’re using.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Big5]

Outside of load Development if you need a brake then the gun is too big for you...

I agree with 'Ado'.

Personally, I do not have a firearm with a muzzle brake nor would I ever consider having one installed on anything I own. However, I do see where one may be of benefit to some people when shooting off the bench during load development.

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Perhaps the conversation should be: If you stand next to someone shooting for a living, why don't you have hearing protection? Plenty of electronic options for people in the Boom business. I like the plugs that are on a ridgid frame around my neck. Started using them after seeing my friend and NM outfitter use them. I may graduate to SportEar for mentoring my daughter to help with communication.

I don't need a smaller, heavier rifle. I have a muzzlebrake.

All that said, I won't put a brake on a big bore (especially a pretty one)because it is just unsightly and out of place. But, I don't expect to spend half a day shooting a .458 prone. If you don't like brakes, don't use one. But if your shooting anything without protection you're gonna have damage.

 

[bruce moulds]

people talk of working up loads and practising with a brake and then removing it for certain applications.
well a brake is also a tuner.
a load that groups well with one on might be completely out of tune with it off.
also might well require a different sight setting.
flinching is a reaction to violence in our subconscious.
some of the violence is physical recoil, and some (more than you think) is noise.
the brake won't help the noise part, even with muffs.
bruce.

 

[ack]

You either like or dislike muzzlebrakes. I guess I like them...but I'm mostly a solo hunter and realize they do help with accuracy and precision on my part. I have shot some of the big calibers...and find them fitting for very short periods of time...everyone make a big deal about the noise...but I have to go to a ear protection program every year for my job and can tell loud is loud. I for one use hearing protection out in the field. And if you don't have a brake on your guns and aren't using hearing protection...you aren't doing yourself any favors...you hear me right...or should I say it again (lol). I do like brakes that vent to the front...they are on my gun...not venting back towards the shooter like Brownings. That said...I only have a brake on two guns...two other guns have vents on top of the barrel...the rest like my 338 Win none. It gives me variety and a choose. A lot of people like the 300 win ,338 win and 7mm Mag....and so do I.

I see zero reason to have a brake on anything less than a 300 win mag.

Nobody's business if you use one or not....Real men don't have to prove how tough they are...We have breaks on our 30/06s and my .300.....Others should have sense enough not to stand near another's barrel,,if you do you should have your ears blown out...Gunsmiths have proven some rifles can be more accurate with one....I don't have to carry a heavy rifle so I enjoy it more...Sorry ,but ear plugs do stop most noise....

 

[ack]

I have a joke I tell in camp

Firstime African hunters arrive with brand new shiny big magnum rifle with a muzzle break and a lot of unnecesary goodies!:nonono:

He cannot take it off so the hunt continues.

The next year he arrives with a more moderate speed rifle (with no muzzle break because his Ph told him to never bring one again :talktothehand - packed light and no unnecesary goodies - and - a pocket full of pebbles !



Why the pebbles???

To throw at the Ph to get his attention because he cannot hear you!! :sorry:

Sorry ,but we have been twice and yet to hear one complaint from any guide..Most have sense enough to plug their ears..