My first experience with a Muzzle break was a BOSS on a 30-06 that my wife borrowed to shoot a Zebra. I was videotaping beside her at the time. The gases literally blew my glasses off my face, and all I could hear for quite awhile was ringing. This was from a 30-06; I cannot imagine the damage a 460 WBY or the like would cause.

I like the OPS Inc. brake on my .338. I used to take it off while hunting and now I leave it on. I used in Africa and I had no complaints. The brake I have directs the gasses 90 degrees to port and starboard. You can stand nearly beside the shooter and not get blasted. There are no gases exiting the bottom so no problems with dirt. The top baffle is solid but a bit thinner than the bottom, just to keep the muzzle from jumping so much, but it does not allow gases to go directly up either. This type of brake is very effective. The way it directs gases and sound even works kind of like a suppressor. What I mean to say is, many of my hunting partners have not heard me shoot when only 300-400 yards away in a blind depending on which way I ahve been shooting. On long shots game do not seem to spook at te shot. Buddy tips over and the rest go "WTF??" The military uses this design now I think on some rifles as it does not reveal your position as easily as shooting one of the typical brakes where the gasses and sound go back, hit the spotter in the face, and then bounce of the hill (backstop) and go back out to the target area. If a hill wraps around several hundred yards away, it can confuse the target to the point that they think the shot came from "way over there".

Vais brakes do not exit gases to the rear either. They go out straight sideways, at least this is the word from Vais. I plan to test them this fall.

I like brakes on my varmint rifles, and my .338 shoots tiny groups with one because I can hold it almost free recoil. I don't have them on any of my other big game rifles, but i like to experiement, so that's what i do. Will my .338 shoot well without it? I suppose so, but I'm used to it the way it is so i didn't want to change anything for my African hunt.

Later,

JD makes a good point, supersonic gas jets are very dangerous where you don't expect them. If that muzzle is near a rock, sand, or tree bark it gets blow away with the force to easily take an eye out.

Allen,
I assume the bet is only good if measured from the shooters position. The db level may be lower in front of the gun.
Hate to see you have to give away a scope.

WHO IS the more effective hunter,
the one who has shot hundreds of rounds through his rifle (regardless of caliber) becaue the "bite" has been taken out of it by the brake,
or
the hunter who bought his "MAGNUM" and shot it minimally before going hunting becasue of the bite and he has developed a flinch just about thinking of pulling the trigger?

Not ALL people can be the hairy chested nut scratchers who will hold the unbraked .378Weatherby to their chin and fire it just so they can show how tought they are.
I have put 200+ rounds of .458 Win mag though an unbraked Browning Safari in one afternoon. I was much younger and dumber at the time.
I also like shooting long and have spent hours shooting the .340 from the bench AT 1000YDS. In a long afternoon, 80-100 rounds are not uncommon. The rifle has a brake on it. Because of the amount of shooting I do, I am probably the better shot then the .340 owner who is scared of the gun bite.
I hunt with the same .340 and only ONCE in 8 years of hunting have I NOT had time to scrunch in the plugs that rest in the ears but not closing off the sound.

WIll admit that when I touch off my braked rifles without hearing protection, they are not fun.
got a news flash before they were braked, they they were still painfully loud being unbraked. You should ALWAYS wear hearing protection. With the electronic gear available today whether your rifle is braked or not you should not be shooting at the range or in the field without hearing protection.
WHen I hunt, whether the rifle is braked or not, I have plugs sitting in the entries to the ear, all they take is a quick little push and they are in. EVEN if I have to shoot before I can get them in, they still work at blocking some of the blast.


my $.02

Practice with the brake with muffs and plugs and no one else around.

Take brake off, put on thread cap.

Check zero.

Go hunting.

If you hunt alone, do what ever you want with the brake.

Destroying someone else's hearing is unconscionable.

JCN

Put the decibel meter in the same position as the guide's ear would be.

JCN

Unless the guide is in front of or directly beside my muzzle, he is fine,mand standing where he should be, to the side and behind the muzzle, which means beside me, or behind me. I agree with conventional brakes, directly beside me might be a bad thing, but with mine it's fine. Now here I am talking about pains game hunting, which if I had to guess, far exceeds the number of hunts for DG when you consider the ratios of hunters who book for Africa.

DG may be a different scenario, but I don't see the big deal for plains game. This is a picture of a *typical* group from my rifle:



I'm sorry, but I'm not changing ANYTHING!! I spined my gemsbok at well over 300 yards in fading light off the sticks and in a big hurry on the second last day of my safari. I'm lucky the rifle shoots so well, or I probably would have missed, and based on the last day's hunt, I know I would have gone home without one, and ended up getting stuck with only a springbok and a zebra. I'll give this one to the rifle. It shoots better than I do and when I rub her just right she tells me how much she *loves* that brake!

I have gotten old and arthritic and have bad shoulders and a bad neck. Shooting big bores is both painful and injurious. I was at the range when a fellow showed up with a 30-338 exactly like mine except for a brake. I asked to shoot it, to compare it to mine. I was amazed.

I had Walt Sherman retrofit one to a 375 he'd built for me. I could not believe the difference it has made. I was shooting the 375 with full house loads along with a 8mm Mauser. The recoil on the 375 was less than the 8mm!

I am taking a 9.3 along with the 375 on a Tanzanian hunt next year. I have shot the 9.3 in preference to the 375, and after the brake, the 375 is lighter than the 9.3 by a considerable margin. Not only is it less recoil, the accuracy is at least as good as it was prior to the brake.

I shoot with ear plugs and muffs and I don't notice any difference from behind the rifle. Off to the side, it must be more noticeable; however, I have never been afield in Africa where my ph was anywhere but along side me when we were shooting. The same with the trackers.

I have changed my mind about the utility of brakes. If I was certain that it would not change the incredible accuracy of my 9.3, I'd have one put on it. They are not for everyone, but do not piously say "No one should use them" until you are old, broken and the choice is not brake or no brake, but hunt or no hunt! Ku-dude

I'm going to to throw my two cents in on muzzle brakes.

In 1992 I ruptured 3 discs in my back, lost 25% use of my right foot. Thats a hard lick for 6'2" 230# guy that ran a 4.8 40 yrd dash. I made it through it without surgery. 1997 I ruptured another disc on a moose hunt in Alaska and laid in a tent cold and without full use of my legs for three days, did a lot of sole searching in those three days hoping a float plane would fly us and then didn't. On the fourth day I had my buddy cut me a crutch from a forked tree branch and prop me up agains a tree to moose hunt, thats all I hav to say other than I had my back operated on the day after I got off the plane.

After that I couldnt shoot a heavy recoiling rifle, I had to put a brake on my 300 wby. Didn't bother me at all and I hate brakes. After a few yrs I can now shoot my 416 Rigby and my 375 H&H without to much of a problem without a brake, and I cuss that ole 300 wby everytime I shoot if casue of the noise, but was trying to hit a lick thats all I have to say.

Rifles are loud. If you use a rifle you are destroying the hearinf of those around you. That is a fact. They will all damage your hearing without protection. I used a shotgun a lot when I was young with no protection. I have significant hearing loss because of it. All brakes are not created equally. The Jim Brockman ON/OFF brake is a great compromise. It can be turned on or off with just a twist. In the field huniting you will never notice recoil except that the target disappears for a moment. You won't need the recoil suppression. That is a good option. The Vias quiet brake seems to work pretty well without much increase in noise. I have one on my 375 H&H and have used it a lot on deer. The people in my hunt club are amazed at how they can't tell if it is me shooting a 375 or a fellow on the next stand shooting a 30-06. Yeah I will give you that you really don't want to rest the barrel with a brake on your shoulder if you are the PH, but if you use a tiny bit of common sense you will be slightly behind the client at shooting time as much as possible. If you don't like brakes then don't use them. If I am your client and you don't want me to use one, say so up front and I will gladly give my money to someone else. Ganyana I aint interested in one of your hunts, thanks anyway. On the subject of hearing protection, I am simply amazed at the new hearing protectors/hearing enhancers. They work great. They enhance your own hearing and protect what hearing you have left. The thing that I like best about them is that they help me to hear myself as I move or breathe or anything else that makes noise. It helps me be aware of how much noise that just a little bit of fabric against fabric will make. This helps tremendously when you are stalking deer or kudu etc. Yes they are a pain in the drain when it is a hundred outside. On the other hand they are wonderful and a Godsend when it is thirty outside and windy in the back of the backie. I hope to never be hunting without them. While hunting dangerous game last year in the long grass do you figure that hearing the buffalo at a X4 volume shuffling and snorting through the same long grass we were in helped to make me relaxed and complacent about what was near me? I can assure you that hearing them as much closer than they really are will make your edrenaline flow like mad and you will not likely fall asleep at the switch. I will use muzzle brake and hearing enhancer/protector at every convenience. You do what you want. Maybe everyone should just take up bow hunting "D"

Hi Art (and Rich)

No, I will not spot for you even when I have good ear protection. I have a superb set of electronic ear muffs which I use all the time. My tracker has a good set of ear plugs. Noise is only a part of the muzzel brake story. When up close to dangerous game in thick bush I like to stand slightly behind and to one side of my client (If he is right handed I stand on his right and shoot left handed, other way arround if he is left handed). If anything goes wrong I can protect him, I can see where the bullet goes, and I can put a hand on his shoulder to re-ashure him if needed ( Like when the lioness puts in a full mock charge before the male stands up - Stay still and steady, ignore the bitch and wait for the male- If you haven't seen a lion charge with the bitch stopping at 6 paces and growling and throwing up dirt it can really put you off) In such a situation - like the one outlined two weeks ago, I can keep controll of the situation. If you have a muzzel brake and fire, even with ear muffs it is like getting a full slap in the face. You cannot see, you have gass in your eyes, you face hurts, and you have just lost control. If my client had had a brake on his rifle I would have fired a warning shot and pulled him back, rather than have let him face the lioness alone and wait for a chance at the male (which he got shooting over the bitches head)

In the story I used to introduce the topic, the client was one hell of a nice guy and I didn't have the heart to tell him to bugger off. Boy could he shoot that .416. Everything he shot including the first buff were one shot kills with bullets right on the mark at ranges out to 100m. Wat went wrong on the second buff, neither of us know. I was trying to watch another buff less than 20 paces away and the blast blew my hat off and left me with a weaping ear, even though I was standing several paces back!

The Magna Ports that are just two cuts either side of the sight are OK. Hearing protection can sort that out. If you have the extra ports lower round the barrel the problem is the same. Muzzel blast in the face.

In Zimbabwe, Supressors are illegal, as they are in Moz and Botswana.

I went a different route with my .375 H&H and since it worked so well, I am doing the same thing with my Savage .300WM. I don't care for brakes either nor do I care for shoulder punishment from a rifle or shotgun. I began looking for an alternative.

What I came up with works very well for me. I opted for a heavy laminated woodstock and a Decelerator pad. Wow, does this make a difference! A child could comfortably shoot this gun with no issues. I put a comfortable sling on it to help with the carry weight if I tired during the day while hunting. The gun now weighs 11 pounds scoped and loaded but is a total joy to shoot.

The Savage was a total mule kicker even with one of those adjustable muzzle brakes. I am eagarly waiting for it to return from my gunsmith and can't wait to see the difference.

If I move up into a .416 I will go the same route. I'd much rather carry a heavy gun than suffer the pounding or the extra loud noise.

I love reading the posts on this forum, it is clear that the people posting here are passionate about huntng and Africa. This is the first time I am posting something. I live in South Africa (Pretoria). I have not yet hunted DG but have been hunting all other smaller African Game for many years.

The most challenging hunt for me every year is our Kalahari hunt where we hunt Springbok and Gemsbuck. In order to achieve this we have to take long shots. For Gemsbuck I use a 7mm Rem Mag (Sako Hunter). I am certain people who shoot the Sako magnums will support me when I say they become uncomfortable on the bench when practising. I had a break fitted years ago and it is unbelievable how this reduces the recoil. I believe this sport is like any other and practise makes you better especially on tough game like Gemsbuck, the margin for error on them is very small, especially at long range.
I have friends who shoot 300 H&H, etc. and you can see them getting gun shy after a number of rounds and their groupings go for a ball of $^%t. I can stay with my rifle and follow trough without ever being consciuos of recoil.

I accept that for DG this is not a requirement.

I would like to advocate that there is merit in these devices for certain applications. And yes these things do make a noise. When I shoot at our range (indoor 100m) the smoke and gasses fly in the faces of all next to me, sometimes very funny after the first shot!

I know this will not be appreciated by many people but it was very funny. During a hunt in the bushveld my tracker spotted a nice Kudu bull. We knew I would not have a lot of time to make the shot and he insisted I shoot over his shoulder since the bull was some distance away and there was no natural rest near us. I squeezed off the shot and both the Kudu and my guide fell like thunder hit them at the shot. He was totally confused and explained that he had never heard such a loud bark from a rifle. He asked if we could rather make some shooting sticks for the rest of the hunt, since he was afraid of offering his services again.

Keep up the good work and we will always welcome you folk in our country and our neighbours, Africa is definitely a very special place, although I would love to hunt in Alsaka at some stage.

I can see if a hunter needs a break because of maybe age, health issues or whatever. What I can't understnad is why any able bodied hunter would want one? When I had my .300wthby made, I would get a little jittery on the bench, but the more I shot it the more comfortable I got with it. Now years later, shooting a .300 to me is like shooting a .22-250. Lot's think that shooting quite often with a magnum will give you a flinch, I have found just the opposite, the more I've shot the more I realize that there is no reason to flinch. After thousands of rounds my arm has never been ripped out of the socket, has never been broke etc... Plain and simple, being abot to handle recoil is all a mind game.

I hate to say it, but this is a typically American response I have been reading: "I want to hunt with a muzzle brake, and I am paying good money, so I have the right to harm your hearing, and make the hunt more dangerous than it needs to be."
If one of the big crushers is too much, just get a 376 Steyr, or a 9.3x62.
JCN

Ganyana





I am not sure what kind of cannon it is that ends the world at the addition of a break and is perfectly tame as a mouse without one but if standing a few paces back the blast is like getting slapped in the face and the shear concussion of the round disorients you I might assume your shooting some sort of anti aircraft round and that may just be to much gun for the field. I have a .50BMG with a big chevron break and though it spits the gas its no wear near as bad as your description.



I am no PH by a long stretch and if you refuse to hunt with people who use items you don't approve of that is certainly your right. But unless I have simply lived a sheltered life I think things are being blow a bit out of proportion.



I hunt with a .458 lott with a break actually I hunt with many rifles the lott is the one I have breaked. I dont have to have the break I am a pretty young guy and pretty recoil tolerant. Its not that the recoil is unbearable or event that bad its the fact that with a break I can make a second shot much quicker and much more accurate and as you know at times a well placed second shot is quite important. Quick recovery from recoil is the #1 reason I shoot the break. I have seen guys that have to take a step back shooting an they hunt Africa and I always think WOW that is dangerous how long would a follow up shot take. I shot my PHs .500 jeffrey and to be honest didn't think it was to bad at all so needing a break is not the only reason for one. BTW I am also having a .600OK built with a break that one my in fact be needed.



My break is the X brake design from AHR it diverts the gas up and down in the shape of a X not to the side so you can stand right beside my break and get no gas blast. If your shooting with the barrel against the ground it dose have blast and would kick up dirt to a point. I know what rifle I shot and would avoid getting that close to the ground. On a bench rest longer then the barrel I as the shooter have never felt the blast.



For noise on the X break yes it is louder then not breaked. I have shot it without protection and its quite loud but its also quite loud without the break and no protection, I have no questions that both ways cause damage with no protection. With simple foam plugs I have never though the rifle loud at all and not had any ringing etc after range sessions of 30 rounds or more. I would never shoot off a shoulder with or without the break so that is a non issue for me and I dont need someone to hold the sticks I hold the sticks with one hand wraped arouns the top were all three intersect then rifle with the other.



I like my PH if he asked or mentioned the break hurt his ears I would remove it and put the cap on. My feelings are not that fragile but I would feel I had lost a advantage without it on my DGR. To be honest I never knew it was a issue if the gas wasnt in the picture untill this thread. That said my next hunt I will carry my .470 double rifle so I guess it will be a moot point.



James F. Nixon III

I don't recall ever reading such a bunch of BS in my life!! guess I am having a cranky day, or been reading too many of Wills posts!

Here is my take on this thread:

1.If a person can shoot better with a brake then use it. I would rather stick my fingers in my ears, than follow up a wounded Buffalo or Impala..

2.Big bores will damage your hearing with or without a brake and to judge otherwise goes against what every ear specialist has ever told me..They just laugh and say "noise" not brakes make one deaf..A shot from a 22 wil damage hearing btw..

3.Have you ever tried hunting with hearing aids, that is a joke, especially when riding in the back of a truck, the wind will make you nuts, and apparantly it has some of you..I have tried hunting with my hearing aids and it does not work for me..in fact I cannot even sit in a resturant with them on..

4. I have lost enough hearing in both ears that I have regular hearing aids for both ears and I lost that hearing shooting and guess what? I have never owned a braked rifle until a few years ago after I got my hearing aids btw. Hearing damage, and all of you will find out, goes with shooting and hunting. The last thing I want is a PH going around with a set of electornic hearing aids on his head, I have tried that route..all that does is make the whole world louder and you still can't hear. Thats hard to explain unless your hearing impaired like I am, but those that are understand what I am saying. BTW I took the brake off that gun, simply because I don't need a brake, I have shot enough that recoil up to but not beyond a 470 does not bother me.

5. I hear all this stuff about the "evil brake" and my impression is some of you need to "cowboy up", get a little tougher, quit whining or send all those clients with brakes to me and Shakari!

6. I get by without my hearing aids in my everyday work, but you may have to tell me something a couple of times, like at Dallas SCI if I am not wearing one or both of them and you get a lot of "whats" from me, but its not all that bad...I still hunt without hearing protection, and with confidence, but I guess I will never get to hunt with Will, he probably won't hunt with a old worn out deaf crack shot like myself..

Shooting a heavy recoiling rifle (or shotgun) over time can result in a detached retina (hey, I am not a doctor, but I know of two well known writers who have had the problem). I can hunt with hearing loss, but not with a vision problem. I will take the brake, thank you very much.



My other problem is I like to shoot sitting with a bipod with the buttstock on my knee. The rifle is then on my bicep, which whacks my head pretty good if I use a heavy recoiling rifle. I suppose I could stop doing that, but it is an absolutely deadly position (not used much in Africa obviously). A break means I can use it on .300 Magnum rifles without getting whacked.



However, on my DGR rifle, I load it down shooting cast bullets, and since I don't use a bipod sitting position with that rifle, I don't have a brake on it.



You can argue all you want about noise of brakes, but taking a lot of recoil is not healthy either.

The issue is not what the break does for the shooter, but what it does to the people around the shooter. If you're getting paid to have your hearing damaged, then that's a career decision. Anybody else is a victim.

The PH should have a brake on his rifle as an inducement for the client to make his shots count. The client would not want his ears exposed to the PH's brake.



The brake would also make the PH fire as a last resort, so as not to pull a Mark Sullivan. The brake would aid in fast followup shots by the PH in a life or death situation, yet put the brakes on getting involved for no good reason.



We could then call it a "PH brake" rather than a "muzzle brake."



Really, as some have already said, anyone who hunts with a brake is a weenie. Recoil tolerance is mostly mental and learned technique. Anything up to .458 Lott/.470 NE does not require a brake, and anything over 11 pounds of field ready rifle is not required. The 50 bores and up are chest thumpers, as well as shoulder thumpers. Not necessary, but acceptable for the PH, and he alone should have the "PH Brake."

If a PH does not want to hunt with a client using a break, I have no objection. The PH can make all of the terms of the hunt clear in his brochure, and the client can either agree to those terms or hunt elsewhere. It does not occur to many clients that their muzzle brake will damage the hearing of their PH and the trackers. However, once this is pointed out, most clients understand the problem and will try to be accomodating.



If an honest poll were conducted, I think we would find that Ganyana's dislike of muzzle brakes represents the view of the vast majority of PH's, particularly those who hunt in bushveldt and jungle areas where the PH and client are often crowded close together for the shot.

I have never shot, nor shot with somone using, a gun with a muzzle brake. I have been exposed to the muzzle blast from a 12 ga. shotgun at ear level, my ears rang for days. I would never expose anyone to that much noise.
Ann has the simple answer. Put a better, heavier stock with a good recoil pad on the rifle. If it still has too much recoil, switch to a caliber with less recoil. There are loads of options out there, not all kick like a mule. Anyone can shoot a 375 H&H or a 30-06 and you can take any animal on earth with that combo.
As far as carrying the rifle, if it's too heavy maybe you need to hit the gym instead of getting a lighter rifle. Weight lifting isn't just for the 20 year old hard bodies, it works for those of us who are AARP eligable too. In fact my 83 yearold mother lifts weights three times a week. It does wonders for keeping osteoporoses (sic?) at bay.

GeorgeS

Your experience in Africa dwarfs mine (one trip) but I do feel myself qualified to comment about muzzle brakes.

I am of the old school in hunting (long before I ever saw Africa) Shoot as big a caliber as you wish - providing that you are totally comfortable with the caliber and can shoot straight with it. Bullet placement is always the name of the game. I was a small arms instructor once in a long ago life (back when dinosaurs walked the earth) and we always concentrated on flinching. A flinch is subtle and sometimes is no more than the fluttering of an eye right before the rifle fires. As far as I'm concerned, a flinch is a deadly handicap to a rifle shooter. We spent a lot of time educating people on how to tuck the rifle in and (with the MI) not to let your own thumb be what would hit you in the nose (if you were a stock crawler as we said then)Once guys understood that the rifle really wouldn't hurt them, they settled down and shot the M1 accurately and with confidence.

Muzzle brakes are intended to reduce the felt effects of recoil. That alone tells me the rifle is too much for the shooter. I'm sorry, I'm not looking for argument. I just think that a rifle shooter should feel totally confident with his rifle. I would trust my life to a rifle I knew I could drill nails with over any hand carried "cannon". (BTW, in my last few days in camp, a hunter showed up with one of the Weatherbys. I don't remember the caliber but I saw him in camp in late afternoon nursing a sore nose where he had gotten a bloody nose. My PH said to me privately, grinning:" He got a Weatherby kiss!". Muzzle brakes already signal that you are in water over your head.

I said:

Quote:

---

Fine and reasonable if that policy is laid out PRIOR to booking.

---

gerald,



I don't know how you read anything into my post beyond that Ganyana (and any outfitter/PH adamantly opposed to muzzle brakes) should inform prospective clients of their refusal to permit them while hunting prior to the client booking the hunt.



It would be a very disconcerting thing to have a policy like this dropped on you when you got to the safari camp (and had little choice other than to call off the hunt and demand a refund, plus expenses).



Please explain.



George