That dang "confession of a 308" post got me thinking again.... I was just having fun and kidding around, and asked what would it be like to have muzzle brake on a 308. Well now its been on my mind to much. So I have to ask....what WOULD it be like to have a muzzle brake on a 308? Does anybody have one on their 308, or know of somebody that does? I just wonder what kind of recoil reduction would it amount to? Would it reduce recoil enough to see your hits through the scope?

Whiplash,



I have hunted with a Sako .308 (with a Monte Carlo stock)for aboout 10 years or so and this rifle is ported.



The reason i had it done was because every so often, I found that the eye piece of my scope would "touch" my glasses under recoil. This only happened in certain firing positions and caused no damage but it did start to give me a flinch.



I talked this over with a gunsmith and he suggested porting which I did. It cured the problem completely by reducing felt recoil and muzzle flip by quite a degree. And yes I can see the target more often than not after the shot..



Being more expirienced now, I think that I would not go that route again on a .308 but would rather start with a rifle with a better stock shape and decent recoil pad; a friends straight stocked CZ in 30-06 manages the recoil much better than my Sako for instance.



Talking of brakes, Paker Hale used to produce a neat little carbine in .308win with a laminated stock which came from the factory with a fitted muzzle brake. I would guess these would be 1970's vintage rifles, but I am not sure...



Another way of reducing recoil and muzzle flip in rifles of this class is a sound moderator. I have fired a moderated .308 which sounds and feels like shooting something like a .22Hornet if not quieter. If I had a SS/Synthetic rifle I would be very tempted to go down this route simply to remove the noise hassle to other folks when I zero ect...



Regards,



Pete

HAVE FIRED several .308s with brakes on them.

The recoil was almost nonexistent. One was a tricked up lightweight and it still didn't make .223 grade for recoil. They all had the same brake on them, Mc Arthur PGRS

5 of my rifles have muzzle brakes :6.5X55,7mmX57, 8MMx57,8mmX404x2.5 and 358X404 IMP. I'm half deaf from shooting anyway so I guess I can stand twice the sound but in my later years I enjoy heavy recoil less and less. To give you an Idea; the 6.5 feels like a .223, the 7mm feels more like a .257 bob and only that much cuss it's a lite weight scout, the 8x57 feels like a 6.5x55(also a scout), The 8mmx404x2.50 feels like a 30-40 Kragg and the 358x404 feels like a 30-06 maybe just a tad more. The only ones I really stay on target with are, almost always, the 6.5 and a good bit of the time with light bullets the 7X57. I hope this gives you some sort of gage. roger

I have lot's of .223 and .308's with brakes, they are AR-15's, and FAL's!