Is anyone the owner of a .300 Win mag (Ruger M77 stainless/synthetic)or similar that has been magnaported ? Is the reduction in recoil a viable trade off for the increase in muzzle blast.
I have no experience with magnaporting, is the muzzle blast as bad as some people say ?

I had a 375 H&H that had been MagnaPorted. It was louder. I didn't notice a significant reduction in felt recoil. It did tame the muzzle rise quite well, I must admit. I ended up rebarreling that rifle (not a big investment because I had another 375 H&H take off barrel on hand).
For a muzzle break on a 300 Win Mag I would recomend the original Vais muzzle brake. Ron Bartlett makes them now. They tame recoil very well, and don't increase the bark as much as most of the other brakes on the market. The 300's tend to have a pretty "snappy" recoil. That bothers me more than my 416's. Go figure.
JCN

I had a 300 Weatherby that I put a KDF muzzle break on. It kicked like a 243, but was too loud.
I recently got a Blaser 300 win Mag bbl that was Magna Ported. I have only shot it a few times, but so far I do not find it painfully loud, and the recoil was reduced quite a bit. I need to shoot this Magna Port bbl more but so far I like it.

Thanks JCN,
I have not yet taken delivery of the 300 yet, our ridiculous gun laws here in Australia will prevent that for at least 6 weeks. It`s great to get honest feedback in the meantime, allowing me to become educated on the subject.
Cheers

I have several rifles Mag-Na-Ported and can recommend it without hesitation. I videoed the rifles being shot both before and after the porting. The difference is there to see. It works more noticably with the larger calibers. The muzzle blast / report is not as bad as one would think. It is MUCH less than a break.

The 'Vias' is possibly the best designed break, but still louder and ugly. In my opinion, ALL breaks are ugly but functional

My .416 Rigby would come off the the front rest about 3-4 inches. Now, it barely comes up 1-2 inches. I plan on porting my wife's .300 Win Mag and my new custon .338 Win. Mag. I have owned several rifles with breaks but I return to porting.

Good luck in making your decision.

Cheers,

Sam
eclemmons@hotmail.com

I wanted to mention that I did not port my .375 H&H. The reason, the "way" this rifle recoils is not an issue. I didn't feel that it was necessary. And being a 23.5" barrel, I didn't want to lose any more length / velocity.

The moral is: shoot your rifle to see how it 'works' during recoil for you before you do anything. You may find, like my .375, that it isn't necessary. I need to shoot my new custom .338 before I decide on it, also.

Sam

Thanks Sam, some good points you raise. I`ll definitely take your advice & try it before any mods.
Cheers Morton

I have used Magnaport, Holland's Ultra Brake, Vais and other generic KDF types. The Maganaport is quiter than most the most effective has been the Ultra Brake, the others are all similar. As far as effectiveness and aesthetics are concerned go for the Magnaport hands down. They are available as a factory option from some mfg's. In the end they are all louder than a stock gun and they all reduce felt recoil to some degree.
bigbull

Just a thought, but if you replace the POS factory stock with either a laminated wood stock, or a McMillan synthetic stock, you may not find the recoil to be too bothersome. I have a Ruger stainless steel rifle in .338 Win Mag that I got for $375.00 USD, new (On Sale, and with a rebate.). It was kind of nasty to shoot (the recoil impulse really flexed that stock). I re-stocked it with a McMillan stock with a Sako pattern, but inlet for a Ruger. The stock cost more than the rifle. Now it fits right, and the recoil impulse is much smoother. Stock design really does matter, and more than a lot of other considerations.

Sam and I thought about the same issue, but came to different conclusions about what each of us wanted. I suspect his thoughts on the subject are more rational than mine.

There is a fair amount of meat in those Ruger barrels. With a well designed and properly constructed stock you may find all of this to be a non-issue.

If you get the feeling that the recoil is a little bit, or somewhat, more than you want to deal with, take a hard look at Magna-Porting. If you are thinking "whoa there, this really sucks", then a Vais brake might be the answer.

Do you hunt alone, or with a friend/guide? Magna-Porting is hard on their ears; a Vais brake is harder. Any of the other Swiss Cheese style brakes are pretty viscous.

JCN

I would second the thought that you need to shoot it first. Do yourself a favor and get used to shooting it from field positions, not from a bench. You will likely not find the recoil too noticable this way. Shooting from a bench, using improper technique can put too much weight (resistance to recoil) behind the rifle and give you the wrong impression.

I have shot a lot of muzzle braked rifles in one form or another and they certainly work..Noise levels are loud, but big bores rifles are loud, so I doubt that the damage is any more one way or the other in truth...One should not shoot either without hearing protection although I do not use hearing protection while hunting. Hearing damage goes with the territory of hunting, like it or not, and if you are unwilling to deal with that, then your better off taking up another sport..the use of hearing protection is a compromise I cannot live with while hunting, but is a must at the range for me....

I don't use muzzle brakes as I can handle the recoil of the guns I shoot and I think brakes are butt ugly and I like a pretty sleek, trim rifle...

A well designed and constructed stock really tamed the recoil of this Ruger SS 338 Win Mag. It has much better manners than a 300 Win Mag that I have that still has the original factory cheap ass injection molded synthetic stock.

JCN

Give Mialls gunshop in Melbourne a call. I spoke to them recentley about getting a 300 weatherby ported and they said to wait for a few months. They have been doing a lot of experimenting with different shape and size ports (basicly like their teardrop shaped shotgun ports but smaller)for rifles. It sounded like they realy knew what they were talking about and were good to talk to. I will be sending them a 300 weatherby and 458 Lott with factory barrels to play with. If I dont like it ,I will fit the custom barrels back on.