I am haveing a brake put on my 338rum. I think when sighting in for a hunt on a bench a brake is needed for a 300 gr bullet going 2750 fps or a 250 gr bullet going 3150 fps. But when hunting I'll take it off. What do you think?

It's a good idea but you'll probably have to resight in w/o the brake. I've found that it does change your POI, sometimes quite a bit. I had a removable brake made for my .404 & found it changed the POI too much so just shot w/o it. After about 140rds off the bench now it doesn't really bother me so much.

Another way to go might be to add some weight via a merc. reducer &/or Magnaport.

A superior alternative to a brake is to just have a heavy stock and a light stock. In addition, commercial recoil protection that you wear and premium pads don't allow the rifle to travel enough to be optimally effective...they are avoiding "magnum eyebrow". If you just engineer the eye relief for an extra inch of clearance, you can make a one inch thick neoprene pad you can wear comfortably that will cut felt recoil by 50%. I use 1/4 of one of those kneeling pads they sell for gardening and Velcro it to the inside of a snug T-shirt so that the rifle butt centers on it when mounted.

Alternatively, is the only recoil problem is at the range, the "Lead Sled" sled sold by midway is good for 90% recoil protection and serves a a great rest. The advantage of this set up is that your point of aim will not change when you head out into the field.

Bad idea. One will most likely have to re-sight in you rifle after taking off the brake. Two if you don't take off the brake you are going to have to learn to hunt with ear plugs/protectors on. You are going to have to purchase more protectors for your friends so they stay your friends or learn to hunt alone for the rest of your life. Then comes the problem of finding a guide that will agree to guide you with you using a brake equipped rifle. Why not make sure the stock is of correct design and that it fits you and install a mercury recoil reducer(THEY WORK) instead? Lawdog

Well I got my rifle back with a brake. I talked to the gunsmith witch I've known for a long time and he said that the brake he put on my rifle will not change the zero on or off.So I will find out.

I once told a girl that I would pull out before I came.
JCN

Yes you should shoot your gun with/without the break, I have not ever had a poi shift with my guns though. Good luck and have fun!

I've put breaks on all but one of my elk & deer hunting rifles and I hunt with them on. For me I put them on to reduce recoil to take it off to hunt with "why put it on in the first place". I've never taken them off to see if anything changes so couldn't answer that question. I've got afew on some varmit rifles to see the hits. Just my .02

I think the brake is a GOOD idea.

I see no reason to take it off when hunting. At the range is the only place the additional noise is likely to bother anyone. So, if you plan to leave it on at the range, I'd suggest just leaving it on everywhere.

This month I read in one gun magazine or another that the .338 UltraMag has a worse "felt" recoil than the .378 WBY. The writer said lab tests show that although the total recoil force under the graphed "curve" is not as much as for the .378 Wby, that the pressure peak and recoil acceleration of the .338 RUM are both much "faster". I'm not sure I understand just how that is possible, but if it is correct, it really DOES justify a brake...everywhere.

Will also say, I doubt very much though if it approaches the old .475 A&M for recoil. I once had one of those suckers on a Mark V action without a brake. With 600-gr. bullets it made my Simson .470 double feel like a .22 Short gallery rifle.

Enjoy your new rifle...

AC

The Recoil isn't to bad on the RUM it's only about 50.99 ft lbs when pushing a 250gr bullet at 3150fps. But I would like the brake when sighting in a different bullet on the bench. Don't get me wrong I know if the rifle isn't held tightly 50 foot pounds could hurt.

Any one try a BOSS type brake that can be turned off? I have a standard brake on mine that really helps,it was installed before I bought the gun. If I were to do it again I might try a BOSS system.

I don't hunt with ear protection either, but I have only been hunting 60+ years, so perhaps I haven't done it enough for ear damage to accumulate to the point of inconvenience. <G>

I do have some ear damage which occured when I was a police officer....in the early 60's ('61-'62) when I carried a Sten gun. I used to practice with it full auto in the concrete basement range at the police station....we didn't know about hearing damage then the way we do now, and I don't believe muffs were even commercially for sale then....at least I never saw a pair.

Anyway, I haven't had a problem with gun noise bothering my ears in the field except one time...when I shot a Freedom Arms .454 Casull in a very small box canyon. One round was enough in rhere. Won't do that again.

Anyway, if worried about it, one could always wear a smallish pair of electronic ear muffs such as the Peltor Tac-6 or Rempro while hunting, both of which attentuate sudden loud noises and amplify ordinairy sounds.

Honestly, in the areas I hunt, which are mostly open high desert, noise from a muzzle brake has never been a problem for me.

Muzzle brake noise CAN be a problem on our hip-roofed 16-firing-point outdoor range, though.

AC

We take annual hearing tests at work so it is easy to know if our hearing has degraded at all.I fired one shot through a boss equipped rifle that made my ears for over an hour but I was lucky that my hearing was not permanently damaged.That was my first and last experience with muzzle brakes while hunting.However one fellow from our shooting club suffered permanent hearing damage after a single shot from a boss equipped 338win mag.This was verified by his annual hearing tests at work.

Eh? What's that? <G>

I'm sure under some shooting circumstances some ears are injured even with ear muffs and plugs both on, and by rifles both with and without muzzle brakes.

Still, the damage IS cumulative for the most part. Hunting in the open is probably one of the safer places to shoot, when it comes to hearing loss. At the range, if it is a covered range, especially one with a roof which extends beyond the muzzles of the guns, is not. Hunting is also probably one of the safer activities in which to shoot because of the relatively fewer rounds fired while doing it.

It is also worth noting that about half of one's hearing is through bone conduction by the bone mass surrounding the ear. So, really, just plugs can really not be enough protection with some rifles on some ranges. That's one of the big advantages of muffs...they cover much of that bone.

Anyway, I shoot thousands of rounds annually from my varmint rifles, using muzzle brakes so I can spot my own shots, Sometimes I wear muffs, sometimes not. Luckily I can still hear someone whisper "Whiskey" (or even a short word like "Beer") three stories away, or so my wife says.

If I had a .338 RUM, I would not shoot it for pleasure without a muzzle brake, but then that's a personal decision for just about everyone...at least until the government takes over that part of our lives too...

Best wishes,

AC

I had a brake put on my .300Ultra Mag before I ever picked it up and have never shot a round without it.My hunting partner also has one on his .300 Win Mag and swears that he has never shot as good of groups with any rifle before as he does now.Everyone at the range should be wearing hearing protection around the firing line, and if you go there enough only one shot should be required in the field. I think once you find out how much nicer your rifle is to shoot with the brake on taking it off again will no longer be an option.

I shoot around 3000 rounds per year, and have for several years, with rifles of all sorts, with and without brakes. I always use Plugs and Muffs when shooting on the bench, regardless of whether the rifle has brakes or not. If you shoot without hearing protection you damage your hearing regardless of brakes. My own rifles have brakes above .300 Win mag. The .340 Wby, .338 Lapua, .358 STA's, .416 Rem and Rigby all have brakes. I hunt with all of them and it is a very simple operation to throw on a Muff at the point of the shot for me, or ear flaps on a cap. Normaly one or two shots are max in the field. I also have a set of the Muffs that are hearing inhancing also, they are extremely handy however in high wind situations they are annoying, a small switch turns them on and off. In extreme cold the hearing inhancing muffs are very comfortable anyway. I have my hearing tested each year and have no damage at this point. My Audiologist says the ear plugs for one ear will not do the job. Just my .02 worth. Good shooting.

I beleave in wearing ear muffs at the range and in hunting I wear ear plugs the kind that go around your neck on a plastic holder so after the final shot I can take them off and not lose them.

Wake up American hunters, guns with or without brakes will all cause an equal amount of hearing loss, it goes with the territory...Trust me on this one, I lost a good deal before the brake became popular..The guns I have owned with brakes did not change POI with or without a brake, but they were custom guns with accurate high dollar barrels and that might make a difference..

I have one gun with a brake and I have had others like a 458 Lott and a 505 Gibbs Imp. and I shot the brakes while hunting...thats what the good Lord gave guides and PHs fingers for, to stick in there ears for the shot...

No serious hunter wears ear protection while hunting IMO...particularly for dangerous game or in elephant habitat....

I have noticed the hunters in our camps that use brakes seem to shoot better than most and that makes our PHs happy campers, they would rather listen to a bang than track a wounded animal several miles or sustain a charge from a Lion, Buffalo or elephant..

I have never heard an experienced PH whine about a break, he wants the business and certainly isn't about to pass up a booking over a muzzle break as I have heard of on these boards...If one ever does then remember Atkinson Hunting will take you and your brake in a heart beat...

Just do it and enjoy the lack of recoil......

"Just do it and enjoy the lack of recoil...... "

Ray, I think you just talked me into breaking my 375 RUM.

Thanks for the sound advice. NPI