The Accurate Reloading Forums
Muzzle brake suggestions?
29 February 2004, 16:03
RyanSmithMuzzle brake suggestions?
i'm planning on picking up a new weatherby fibermark in 340 weatherby mag and i'd like to get a muzzle brake installed. does anyone have any suggestions? i'm leaning toward the "quiet muzzle brake" by david gentry (
http://www.gentrycustom.com/muzzlebrake.html) but i'm open to suggestions as i've never had one installed on one of my guns....
29 February 2004, 16:41
Head TraumaI have had good luck with the Vais muzzle brakes. I have a .458 WM, .416 Rigby and a .338 WM with the Vais brake and they work very well, seem to be fairly quiet, don't get a lot of dirty looks at the range when I shoot them. The .338 is a M70 stainless synthetic , too light for a .338 and was a teeth rattling SOB until I put the brake on. The brakes turn the big thumpers into pussycats, my .458 is about like a .300 Win mag with 180's and is very manageable off the bench.Good luck with your choice, YMMV.
29 February 2004, 17:48
JustCI'll second the VAIS or next would be a KDF
01 March 2004, 03:33
jeffreysaw1Ryan,
I had weatherby install a brake on one of their rifles that I used to own and they did a great job. I believe that it was a KDF. It was removeable for hunting and worked great. Rifle was out of service for about 3 weeks total time which included shipping to and from Ca.
Good luck.
01 March 2004, 18:46
djpaintlesThe best possible advice on muzzle brakes:
Don't get one!
If you do have to have one, get one that can be replaced with a thread protector for field use. There is perhaps a place for them for bench shooting and/or tactical use (tactical users might have earphones etc) but muzzle brakes are a menace to hunt with. I know because I have and wish I hadn't. Hunting with earplugs is a stuffy and confining pain in the ears. Not using earplugs with muzzle brakes is just plain stupid - you will loose a portion of your hearing with every shot. There isn't such a thing as a "quiet" muzzle brake, only loud and louder.
I'm sure that a lot of people will ridicule and tell you how wrong I am, just remember however long from now that somebody did warn you.......
04 March 2004, 13:21
Lawdog_GaryI will second everything that 'djpaintles' had to say. There is no such thing as a "
QUIET< !--color-->" brake. They redirect the noise away from the shooter is all. Guess where the noise goes? In everyone else's ears. They are a hazard to the shooter and to anyone that hunts/shoots with him. There are other ways of handling the recoil other than adding something that
WILL ruin your hearing. I went with mercury inserts for all of my "
big kickers"(.340 Weatherby, 2 .375 H&H's, .375 Weatherby, .378 Weatherby, .416 Rigby, 2 .450 Marlins and a .450 Rigby). Mercury inserts work, just ask many of the pro trap and sporting clay shooters. And they are a heck of a lot cheaper than some ugly blob at the end of your barrel. Lawdog
04 March 2004, 17:56
AtkinsonThat same logic can be applied to any big game rifle, they will all make you deaf without hearing protection, goes with the territory and its not practicle to use hearing protection while hunting....
The brake is good if recoil is your problem and I don't mind one too much out in the open while hunting, but I do under a roof or in a enclosed firing range..a lot of our hunters in Africa have brakes on the big bores and one learns quickly why the good Lord gave us fingers!
04 March 2004, 18:03
AJ300MAGMy vote goes for the Vais. I've got a .300 Weatherby with the Accubrake. You'll see the difference between the two without queston.
05 March 2004, 10:47
KevinNYAnother brake danger is that supersonic gases are being directed in dangerous directions. If your muzzle is next to a branch or tree trunk and you touch one off bits of bark are going flying with enough energy to take out your eye. Same for prone shots and sand.
06 March 2004, 14:35
BobReedHi Ryan check this site out they do good work
www.muzzlebrake.com no they are not queit but they work well as i have one installed on my 338wm .Bob
07 March 2004, 02:54
Rich ElliottI've used Magna Port on several rifles. I believe it's a bit quieter (but then I can't hear anyway
). It probably doesn't cut recoil by as much as 50% but it does eliminate all muzzle rise and the subsequent blow to the chops that causes. Also, there's no thermos bottle looking thing on the end of your barrel.
Rich Elliott
07 March 2004, 03:09
tiggertateThe secondary problem is change in point of impact when hunting without one. The brake itself does not change POI but your reaction to recoil can. Not too big a deal at 100 yds but it can mean a clean miss at 250 or 300. It has also contributed to more than one scope-scarred eyebrow because the brake lulls you into a false sense of security and you forget in the excitement that it's off the gun. If you decide to use one for practice, hunt with it too. You would be best served practicing with the rifle with a mercury insert until you master the recoil as is. If after 2 or 3 months of trying you can't, then try a brake.
Some guides will not hunt with hunters using muzzle brakes.
07 March 2004, 21:07
boilerroomQuote:
The best possible advice on muzzle brakes:
Don't get one!
If you do have to have one, get one that can be replaced with a thread protector for field use. There is perhaps a place for them for bench shooting and/or tactical use (tactical users might have earphones etc) but muzzle brakes are a menace to hunt with. I know because I have and wish I hadn't. Hunting with earplugs is a stuffy and confining pain in the ears. Not using earplugs with muzzle brakes is just plain stupid - you will loose a portion of your hearing with every shot. There isn't such a thing as a "quiet" muzzle brake, only loud and louder.
I'm sure that a lot of people will ridicule and tell you how wrong I am, just remember however long from now that somebody did warn you.......
Maybe this is a solution to increased muzzle flash and blast.
Control Recoil with the "Jennings Muzzle Brake" $195.00
We manufacture and install the Very Popular Jennings Muzzle Brake it is a great addition to any rifle that is uncomfortable to shoot. The Angle port Brake, as ours is, keeps the muzzle report close to normal (that was the main reason we designed it this way).And of course reduces the recoil by approx. 45%
< !--color-->
[url=[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=113353&c=500&z=1"]
[/url]]jennings muzzle brake[/url]
I've talked to several people who back up the claims that this brake does not have intolerable flash and blast increase.
Good luck. 
13 March 2004, 05:23
Terry BlauwkampGive a call to Barnes bullets. Yes, Barnes.... they put on brakes also. Very nice workmanship and get turn around.
Look up
www.barnesbullets.com for numbers or e-mail address.
14 March 2004, 04:59
WyomingSwedeAnything that reduces recoil improves accuracy..If you can live with the trade-off then the brake is the best thing since sliced bread. If it makes you a better rifleman then use it.
As to the remark about guides not liking muzzle brakes...If they can't accept the rifle I am using then they obviously can't accept the money(fee) they will be receiving after the hunt either.
( hey Atkinson...you ever met any guides with such scruples???)
swede
14 March 2004, 16:37
djpaintlesQuote:
Anything that reduces recoil improves accuracy..
I'm sorry but that simply isn't true. Lower recoil may make a gun easier to shoot but does not necessarily improve it's intrinsic accuracy. A flexible stock may reduce felt recoil by absorbing some of it, but it has been conclusively proven by benchresters that stiff stocks are far more accurate. A brake may improve, decrease or not affect accuracy don't assume any to always be true.
[Quote] As to the remark about guides not liking muzzle brakes...If they can't accept the rifle I am using then they obviously can't accept the money(fee) they will be receiving after the hunt either.
No amount of money can replace permantly damaged hearing. Maybe some of these guides might actualy have enough experience in excess of yours to offer suggestions that are good for you whether you know it or not. I tend to respect people who don't comprimise their strongly held beleifs just because they are out for a buck.