How effective is a muzzle break?

[Jacks Grampa]

Just bought a Savage Timberline in 7mm Rem Mag and it came with a muzzle break installed. Will it actually reduce felt recoil or just make the gun louder? Thanks group, James

 

[misser]

there are many vid's on youtube that show just that . yes they work .some better than others

 

[DngBat7]

reduce felt recoil or just make the gun louder

Both. Louder in the fact it points the noise toward the people next to you. As stated previous. Some work better than others. Nice to use on a large caliber rifle.

 

[Jacks Grampa]

Thanks. Sounds like it works better than ported shotgun barrels.

 

[std7mag]

Yes, it reduces recoil!
Especially on hard recoiling cartridges, and or light weight rifles.

Make it louder? No.
100 decibels is 100 decibels.
Just that the muzzle blast, with accopmaning sound is directed rearwards, towards the person shooting it, and any neighboring benches.

 

[Gargoyle]

Savage brakes work pretty dang good. The brake with 90 degree ports are friendlier than the slightly angled rearward facing port brakes.

 

[SKWERLZ]

It should make a noticeably different in recoil, sometimes amazingly so.
It will also increase concussion at the shooter.
Some are better than others, usually best recoil reduction comes at the cost of more concussion.

 

[284winner]

Yep I'll second the comment that savage brakes work. Had a 116 Weather Warrior in 338 win mag. Had a 20" barrel with their radial ported brake w/holes. Worked very well in reducing recoil. Maybe not as good as some of the customs but adequate for sure.

 

[Fuj]

Thanks. Sounds like it works better than ported shotgun barrels.

Huge pressure differential between the two, and the shotguns
have less material thickness for the gases to act on.

 

[gkempf]

Have a Gen3 Little Bastard on my 300WM and i would let my 5"2 girlfriend shoot it with no worries,

 

[Tucker65]

There's only one way to find out. Shoot it with and without and report back to us with your findings.

 

[moondog]

I've got a TBAC 338 can I use on my 300PRC. Yes it's more pleasant to be around when shooting. The Fat Bastard brake is annoying to say the least but it reduces recoil better than the can.

 

[Jacks Grampa]

I will try it with and without.

 

[Bill Norris]

Have no experience with the Savage Brake but the E C Tuner/Brake works very good at reducing recoil.

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

Yes they work. Some work much better than others:

Muzzle Brake: Summary of Field Test Results

This post summarizes the eye-opening results for the massive muzzle brake field test I’ve worked on ...

precisionrifleblog.com

 

[mikeinct]

I'm a fan of muzzle brakes. They Work ! I've had them on 22-250 & 243Win. Not that you need them there. I really like seeing the hits on GH's any scope over 8 power . Muzzle brakes keep your sights on the target too.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Just bought a Savage Timberline in 7mm Rem Mag and it came with a muzzle break installed. Will it actually reduce felt recoil or just make the gun louder? Thanks group, James

To answer your question, virtually any brake will make a phenomenal difference in felt recoil. It's really something most people have to see to believe. So yes, a brake is very effective at recoil reduction but it does come with a substantial increase in perceived noise. Sounds travels through air and without a brake, the sound waves are being pushed directly away from the shooter. With a brake, they come out somewhat laterally and seem much louder. Wear ear protection, as we all should anyway.

A brakes works by capturing that high pressure gas on the back sides of each baffle or "sail". This literally pulls the gun forward, reducing recoil a lot! A bigger "sail" will catch more gas and be somewhat more effective.

 

[243winxb]

Its a noise maker. But kind to the shooter on the next bench. Loose it.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

For a while, Savage offered a brake that could be turned on or off. I thought that was pretty cool. Haven't seen one in a while. Not the most effective design but sufficient and being able to turn it on or off was super nice.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Everyone who goes to the range must expect to put up with muzzle brakes. Just like you have to accept the guy next to you shooting an AR15 or AR10.

Many of us would not be able to shoot a rifle without a muzzle brake. I have two very bad shoulders and without a brake on the end of several of my rifles I would not be able to use them.

Do the work? They sure do. Many will reduce the recoil by more than 50%. It is not inconsiderate to use them. It is a necessity for us older guys.