The Curse of the Muzzle Brake

[mark-hunter]

Reputable Sponsor on forum,
First time he sees 50bmg. Interesting (i was expecting something like barret)

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I continue trying to tell these guys that muzzle brakes are the spawn of Satan - particularly on heavier than .375 calibers.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/w9e1u1

Russian journalist discovering the abrupt joy of overpressure.

@Red Leg
Some one forgot to tell him don't sit there. I wonder how his hearing is.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I will give you a big AMEN from the chior. I hate muzzle brakes!!!!!!!!!!

@AZDAVE
If find them a necessary evil on my Whelen but that is due to shoulder surgery that didn't work properly. It allows me to keep using it. Does it work yes, is it noisy yes but I don't notice it, does it allow me to use my rifle yes. Would I be without it on my whelen no.
Sometimes we have to put up with things we don't like to enjoy our hunting.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Damndest thing ever brainfarted. If you can't handle the recoil get a different caliber or grow a set so you can. I have rifles with threaded muzzles but would never dream of polluting a good gun by even getting a brake or suppressor close to it.

@Newboomer
Some of us have to for reasons beyond our control. I don't need to grow a set or get a smaller caliber but I do need a brake on my Whelen nowdays so I can still enjoy using it.
A better surgeon ordering younger when I suffer my shoulder but alas it is what it is

 

[Bonk]

It's your rifle. Shoot it equipped how you want. I don't use muzzle brakes but it doesn't bother me if someone else does. Frankly, it's none of my business. I didn't buy the rifle nor the ammo so I don't get a vote.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Another option is the R.A.D. or other similar system. I installed one on a rifle that had a little more bite than I wanted to deal with on the bench. The butt plate is adjustable for length of pull, up, down and can be canted.

Standard R.A.D.

Hart Systems, L.L.C. manufacturer of Recoil absorbtion Devices for shooters around the world.

www.hartshooting.com

 

[BryceM]

I kind of see all the viewpoints. I have classic rifles that I don't want to mess up by threading the barrels. I also have severe hearing loss in my left ear that happened in a single episode of shooting over the open bed of a pickup when I was 16. It's made it difficult to follow conversations in a crowd and everyone is annoyed that I turn the TV up way too loud. At dinner I my wife knows to sit on my right. This was a problem through most of my life but got even worse in my 40s.

To help, I had a guy make me a custom .300 WM with a relatively short barrel and I run an Ultra 5 on it. Carry and balance aren't too bad. For target shooting, protection is obviously still required, but for a handful of shots while hunting it's been a game-changer. I also love that recoil is moderated and I can often see the bullet impact the animal. Beyond that, the other critters around don't usually run. It's the most amazing thing. I just got back from the Caprivi and used my CZ .416 Rigby. For a handful of shots, lower-velocity rifles don't seem to bother me. High-speed magnums, especially devilish speedsters like the .257 WBY seem to be incredibly loud.

One thing I'll never understand is using a brake. Just do the paperwork, wait the time, and get a suppressor. Best of both worlds, and no knocking things off the other guy's bench.

 

[Newboomer]

@Newboomer
Some of us have to for reasons beyond our control. I don't need to grow a set or get a smaller caliber but I do need a brake on my Whelen nowdays so I can still enjoy using it.
A better surgeon ordering younger when I suffer my shoulder but alas it is what it is

Bob, I hear you on the shoulder problem. I have a rotator cuff tear and severe arthritis in my right (shooting) shoulder and it talks to me if I go above 6.5CR. I use a Past pad for anything bigger and can handle my 06 and 308 pretty well. Don't have anything bigger at the moment.

 

[BeeMaa]

Bob, I hear you on the shoulder problem. I have a rotator cuff tear and severe arthritis in my right (shooting) shoulder and it talks to me if I go above 6.5CR. I use a Past pad for anything bigger and can handle my 06 and 308 pretty well. Don't have anything bigger at the moment.

Whatever happened to that MRC 404J you were planning on?

 

[Hogpatrol]

I kind of see all the viewpoints. I have classic rifles that I don't want to mess up by threading the barrels. I also have severe hearing loss in my left ear that happened in a single episode of shooting over the open bed of a pickup when I was 16. It's made it difficult to follow conversations in a crowd and everyone is annoyed that I turn the TV up way too loud. At dinner I my wife knows to sit on my right. This was a problem through most of my life but got even worse in my 40s.

To help, I had a guy make me a custom .300 WM with a relatively short barrel and I run an Ultra 5 on it. Carry and balance aren't too bad. For target shooting, protection is obviously still required, but for a handful of shots while hunting it's been a game-changer. I also love that recoil is moderated and I can often see the bullet impact the animal. Beyond that, the other critters around don't usually run. It's the most amazing thing. I just got back from the Caprivi and used my CZ .416 Rigby. For a handful of shots, lower-velocity rifles don't seem to bother me. High-speed magnums, especially devilish speedsters like the .257 WBY seem to be incredibly loud.

One thing I'll never understand is using a brake. Just do the paperwork, wait the time, and get a suppressor. Best of both worlds, and no knocking things off the other guy's bench.

I would relish a suppressor on all my rifles but unfortunately, it would make me a felon and consequently a person prohibited from owning a firearm. They are not legal in my state along with a seven others.

 

[Safari Dave]

I don't understand the folks who subject others to muzzle brakes, especially if their situation (PH's) does not lend itself to others using ear protection.


I have had to shoot next to people with muzzle breaks on .22 centerfires at public rifle ranges and have to deal with ridiculous concussion and having things, literally, blown off my table because of them.


If physical limitations make them necessary to shoot a high-energy rifle, then decency dictates that the the user needs to warn everyone in the surrounding area before he pulls the trigger.


A serious-competition .22 shooter, who needs one to gain a fraction of a second, should be a serious enough shooter not to show up at a public rifle range when it is busy and make everyone else's experience miserable.

 

[Newboomer]

Whatever happened to that MRC 404J you were planning on?

They went out of business before it was made and had no one to carry on.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

I would relish a suppressor on all my rifles but unfortunately, it would make me a felon and consequently a person prohibited from owning a firearm. They are not legal in my state along with a seven others.

View attachment 480902

I’m in that grey state in the middle. I would love a suppressor. Other than that our gun laws are pretty relaxed.

 

[fourfive8]

A good friend and licensed manufacturer of suppressors retired a couple of years ago. Got tired of constant hassle by Uncle Adolph. I was about ready to add the "can" to a couple of rifles. Oh well. Shot some belonging to PHs/outfitters in Africa. They are a little ugly, may slightly unbalance a rifle, are not perfect but the good designs do reduce both sharp recoil and sharp crack of muzzle blast. The positives more than outweigh the negatives, most especially compared to obnoxious, ear damaging brakes.

 

[BRICKBURN]

....... If nothing else, he should fully understand tinnitus for some little while.

The rest of his days!

 

[BryceM]

Yeah, sorry to you poor souls living in the wrong states. Regulating suppressors is so idiotic in my mind that the thought of not being able to own one is so ridiculous I often forget about it. I'd love to fly to overseas with them, but the though of getting re-routed through New York, New Jersey, or Kalifornia makes me think twice about it.

 

[Smitty]

@Red Leg
This is your expertise.
After long time in service for personnel serving in artillery, has there been recorded cases of hearing loss?
(i know today they use protection, but in history? )

Well, since you asked...... I was in an artillery unit in the 70s. One Monday, after a long weekend and little sleep, my buddy and I climbed up on top of a deuce and a half with a plywood box and fell asleep. The truck was parked about 20 yards directly to the side of the nearest gun, much as the photographer in your video. They called a charge 9 (highest charge, capable of sending a 250 lb shell over 25 miles). When the blast went off, the side blast blew my buddies eardrum out. He was bleeding from his right ear. It was reported to me that I groaned, rolled over, and kept on sleeping. The VA has provided my hearing aids for some time now. And to answer the question, it is pretty much a given, if you were in the artillery. The VA will give you hearing aids free.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I would relish a suppressor on all my rifles but unfortunately, it would make me a felon and consequently a person prohibited from owning a firearm. They are not legal in my state along with a seven others.

View attachment 480902

@Hog Patrol
Just move to a state where they are legal.
In Australia they are banned. PERIOD.

 

[mark-hunter]

Well, since you asked......

Reading these stories, I wonder what is then on receiving end of modern artillery!
Thanks for reply!

 

[AjFourie]

Damndest thing ever brainfarted. If you can't handle the recoil get a different caliber or grow a set so you can. I have rifles with threaded muzzles but would never dream of polluting a good gun by even getting a brake or suppressor close to it.

Well said sir....

I'm not a fan either, trying to go for a bigger caliber but not being able to put it to good work does put the shooter at a disposition. In that case it's better to get a smaller caliber and shoot it well.

That being said, suppressors has their time and place in my opinion. Younger novice hunters doesn't get gun shy and as mentioned above by someone else, maybe someone with a bad neck or shoulder. A suppressor makes it a bit more bulky to carry though...

So brakes, I just don't get it, but that in turn brings us back to how it's possible to have brakes but not suppressors and that whole side of the conversation.