Question for Professional Hunters or experienced hunters of Africa

[JimP]

On my hunt this last May I took my rifle that has a removable brake on it. The first day my PH rolled his eyes when I walked over to his truck and he saw it on the barrel. Later that day he asked me why I had it on and I just said "to see what you would say" I then took it off and left it off. I had actually forgotten to remove it after checking the zero of the rifle and didn't notice it until I took it out of the safe in my room that morning. Even on my shot on my black wildebeest off of my PH's shoulder I told him that I was going to tell him when I was going to take the shot and then count to 3 just so he could be prepared for the muzzle blast.

My opinion is that 99% of hunters out there do not need a brake on their rifle when they are hunting, now when you are shooting off of a bench that is a different story and I don't mind people having them while shooting. But then every one there should be wearing ear protection anyway.

 

[siml]

If a client arrives with a muzzle brake, I grin and bear it, it's their choice. But the client can be assured my hands will be over my ears and not on my binocs. You can be assured I am not going to be carry extra crap (ear muffs) around in the bush. Suppressors have become real popular, I enjoy it when a client has one on, reduces recoil and sound, it's a pleasure watching through binocs when a client shoots, zero flinching and you see the shot.

 

[WildRose]

Guns equipped with muzzle brakes are significantly louder than guns without them. Most PH's I've hunted with hate them for that reason - it really isn't reasonable to expect trackers and the PH to have to put up with the additional noise and muzzle blast. But there's another reason PH's don't like to see a muzzle break. If you have a muzzle break on your gun, it tends to indicate you can't handle the recoil of that gun. They'd rather you show up with something you can handle properly, and you've practiced with under field conditions.

I've heard that some PH's won't allow them to be used.

I suggest you use one for practice, if you must, and then remove it (most can be removed) for the hunt. Or get a gun you can handle.

More than anything it's about being able to keep your crosshairs on target throughout the full flight of the bullet, and secondarily keeping you from being beaten to death shooting long strings of shots at the range with one or multiple rifles.

When you're actually shooting game most people never notice the recoil anyway unless they make the mistake of failing to get a proper mount with the butt of the gun tucked firmly in the crease of the shoulder or get their eye too close to the scope.

 

[WildRose]

I put a gentry Quiet brake on my 300 win mag
When I got it and it really made the rifle more shoot able.
My PH never said a thing about using one and after we had three of my trophies he said it was a very quiet brake. I told him the name of it and he got on line and did some research on it.
Later we went out with a manager of one of the consignments we were hunting on he said to my PH how is the brake and my PH told him it was good because it doesn't throw all the air back and was the quietest on he had ever heard.
Check it out at

http://www.gentrycustom.com/products

Great product as long as you are not shooting from the prone. I have the Gentry on one of my 300 RUM's and it is very effective.

I prefer the Snowy Mountain Rifles or Northwest Precision Slotted brakes overall. They do an even better job at reducing muzzle flip and the report from the shooter's perspective if anything isn't any worse than shooting without one and to me actually reduce it.

 

[ack]

You can chuckle now for the information I read this from was from Wiki. But it brought up a point I would not have thought about, and I wonder if it is correct. I did a search on here for muzzal breaks, but no threads came up. So forgive me if this has already been covered.

Can you use a muzzal break or BOSS (Winchesters system) on a PG hunt? Wiki said most PH don't allow them due to the added report of the rifle. Is this true?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ack]

My wife and I each have breaks on our 30/06's..Have hunted Africa and going back next month..Never had a word said about out brakes .If we ever do we will hunt elswhere..You ever use one I doubt you will go back..Just use ear plugs at the range.

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

I am by no means a fan, but it's a clients right to have one, if it makes him shoot better I'll be the last to complain.

It does hurt especially when we all get caught up in the moment but I guess that's life.

It has certainly helped me allot in my marriage and has expedited my selective hearing skills by 20 years!


My best always

 

[paladin100]

Well I have had a brake on my 416 for years now and all the PH's I have been with have been perfectly happy - or alternatively have never complained. I've read a lot of stuff on this forum about muzzle brakes and frankly I think most of it is utter tosh. The PH knows you have a muzzle brake and can stand back a bit. All of them have fired my rifle and are impressed with the lack of recoil. Better that than some of the massive flinches I have seen from hunters with rifles they are frightened of.
To say they are banned is bunkum. With the state of the hunting industry today, most PH's are too glad to have a client!

 

[paladin100]

Further to the guff about hearing damage, as the shooter I don't believe its any worse than any other rifle, but, if you are to the side, yes it is pretty unpleasant.
I think this is a silly thread!

 

[lcq]

http://wittmachine.co/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=203

These are not supposed to increase or decrease the noise. Just have a look at how it is made, looks very similar to something we can't import into Canuckistan. I would love to be able to use something like that on my T3 300wsm

 

[sestoppelman]

Only a freaking idiot, moron, a-hole goes to the range without hearing protection!!! That's not the point. Point is, I don't care who makes the brake, its going to create more noise and blast for OTHER shooters on the range or trackers and PH's in the field, period! How much may vary. Lets not get silly and throw red herrings out there to better an argument. And no, its not a silly thread. The OP had legitimate questions due to something he was told, we took care of that right off, that's not silly, its informative.

 

[slad68]

Well so far it's been good. Some very good answers.

 

[UKHunter]

I have never shot with a brake, or being near a rifle shot with one fitted so i cannot comment on the noise factor etc. However, as a question for the PH's, I imagine you would rather have a client shoot with a brake and feel commutable in the shot, rather than ask them to take it off and they end up being nervous, flinching and then you have a badly shot animal to track?

 

[Nyati]

bhfs300 raises a good point. Not all Brakes are the same. Early brakes were ridiculous. Newer brakes are much better. The brakes on my mountain rifles have only an 8 decibel increase over the standard barrel and still reduce recoil substantially. I wish I had a decibel meter of my own. I would test my .300 with a brake, my .44 mag. and my 470 NE double side by side. I'm guessing we would hate them all without hearing protection.

Please keep in mind that decibels are on a logarithmic scale, so that at an increase of 10 dB means you are doubling the amount of noise.

 

[Gazi]

Thank you, it should have said 8 percent, not 8 decibel.

 

[lcq]

Only a freaking idiot, moron, a-hole goes to the range without hearing protection!!! That's not the point. Point is, I don't care who makes the brake, its going to create more noise and blast for OTHER shooters on the range or trackers and PH's in the field, period! How much may vary. Lets not get silly and throw red herrings out there to better an argument. And no, its not a silly thread. The OP had legitimate questions due to something he was told, we took care of that right off, that's not silly, its informative.

hell I don't even like to be shooting 2 benches over from someone with a brake

 

[sestoppelman]

I don't like being in the same zip code!!

 

[lcq]

I don't like being in the same zip code!!

kind of gives you a different type of flinch

 

[CAustin]

I have one on my 416 and the last hunt my PH had no problem with it.

 

[paladin100]

sestoppelman, my apologies. It has become a silly thread. Indeed it did not start off as such. I shall be more precise in future.