Ruger Guide Gun Muzzle Brakes

[Vanguard2279]

I have two Ruger Guide guns in .338 WM and .416 Ruger. I have noticed that I remove a fair amount of copper fouling from the muzzle brake, as I remove it prior to cleaning the barrel and clean that separately. I have noticed the same issue when cleaning the brake of the .416.
I eventually dropped am unfired component bullet through each brake and noticed that they clearly make contact throughout the length of the brakes. Accuracy with both firearms are adequate. However, I can't see this being conducive to good accuracy.
Is this common with muzzle brakes? Anybody removed a small amount of metal from the interior of the brake?

 

[jduckhunter]

I never removed metal from the interior of the brake, I simply removed the brake and never put it back on. Much better for my hearing that way.

 

[ChrisG]

I sold my brake and turned the threads off the end of the barrel and recrowned.... but, the bullet should have minimal clearance around it. This is what makes a brake effective. The gas behind the bullet needs to be prevented from moving past the bullet and instead, deflected off the rear of the bullet and forced through the baffles. As such, most good brakes only have a couple thousandths of clearance up to maybe 1/100th of an inch on each side. Much more than that and you might as well not have a brake on there. When I had reamed them for customers when I worked with the gunsmith, they were reamed just to the point that the bullet dropped through them. For instance, if I were reaming the .416 brake I wouldn't want to go any bigger than probably .425-.435 ID. Does the bullet still drop through freely? If it is hitting the brake that would be another concern. Is it a smudge of copper on one side but not the other? or is it evenly coating the inside of the brake?

Ruger, as of late, has taken to hiring unskilled 22 year old kids and giving them 1 hour of training on how to run a CNC and away they go. It may be that the threads were cut crooked on the barrel.

 

[Vanguard2279]

It looks to be a pretty even distribution on the inside of the brake.
Thank you, gentlemen, for the opinions. I have talked to a friend who is a machinist about very slightly reaming the internal diameter.

 

[CTDolan]

I’d seriously consider getting used to shooting without the brake. I took it off my 416 and covered the threads with the short protector provided and couldn’t be happier. Yeah, it kicks a bit more but the blast is quite a lot less (for bystanders, in particular).

 

[johnnyblues]

I like my break on my 375 Ruger guide rifle. Accuracy is just fine for that caliber and it keeps the Ph on his toes while hunting..lol

 

[Hogpatrol]

WTF? Something wrong there. I have them on 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm. I use Harrel's. Standard clearance is .020. I wouldn't go any smaller.

 

[CAustin]

I don’t have any issues with my brake!

 

[Vanguard2279]

UPDATE: I spoke to one of the Ruger engineers at SHOT. He advised me that copper fouling in the brake is normal and is caused by spray. My friend/machinist measured the interior dimensions of the muzzle brakes and found more than adequate clearance for a bullet passing through. I stand corrected and will no longer worry about it.
Gentlemen, thank you for your opinions.

 

[Hogpatrol]

UPDATE: I spoke to one of the Ruger engineers at SHOT. He advised me that copper fouling in the brake is normal and is caused by spray. My friend/machinist measured the interior dimensions of the muzzle brakes and found more than adequate clearance for a bullet passing through. I stand corrected and will no longer worry about it.
Gentlemen, thank you for your opinions.

That is interesting. Out of curiosity, what is the measurement? I have a dozen braked rifles and have installed them on my friends rifles and have had powder residue but never any copper.

 

[Vanguard2279]

HogPatrol: The .338 was .357" and the .416 is .427". I also was surprised that copper fouling could spray. I thought it required actual contact. Not my brightest moment.

 

[ActionBob]

I have sone permanent damage in my left ear from that damned brake on my 375 Ruger guide gun. And the blast directed back at the shooter from a bench makes it feel to me like more recoil not less. To me it is not a good option from the bench nor in the field.

 

[jduckhunter]

I don't even know where my brake is, I took it off when I bought the gun and never put it back on.