Running a local match,... how to deal with muzzle brakes?

[joshb]

I think one of the problems we have is quite a few shooters have any knowledge of how 100/200/300 yard Benchrest Matches are conducted.
The vast majority of competitors shoot free recoil. Many, my self included, shoot “heads up”, meaning I am probably not even looking through the scope when I touch the trigger.

Normal Benchrest Rifles at the adjacent benches have no affect. However, we have tested the amount of movement a rifle experiences when a rifle with any kind of muzzle brake is fired and it has a noticeable affect on the other rifle.

This is an easy test to do. You can see for your self why by simply setting a rifle in bags, aligning the cross hairs on a target, and then fire a large caliber rifle with a brake on the adjacent benches and see what happenes.

You will be surprised. And it might compel you to have second thoughts about allowing brakes in a Short Range Benchrest Format.

I was set up on a bench one time and a guy set up next to me with a braked 50 cal. His first shot knocked my box of shells off my bench!

 

[jackieschmidt]

Wait, are we talking about benchrest or a "varmint" match, like the OP said?

He stated…”Shoot from a bench”

 

[jackieschmidt]

Wow. Never would thought that.

In this video, here guys are more ore less shooting free recoil.

 

[foxguy]

I don't want to be shooting next to a Shooter with a muzzle braked rifle.
Yes, I wear hearing protection and it's still too loud.
I'm all for them being able to shoot on a relay with other shooters with Brakes on their rifles as well.

I actually had a Muzzle Brake shooter say to me, Oh, does it affect your shooting.....Good, then I want to shoot next to you then.

 

[JMayo]

I shot at the same time as a breaked rifle did and my bullet went 10" off poa. The tin was rattling over us. I had double ears on and i was ready to quit... My chest & forehead hurt everytime he shot.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I shot at the same time as a breaked rifle did and my bullet went 10" off poa. The tin was rattling over us. I had double ears on and i was ready to quit... My chest & forehead hurt everytime he shot.

Whats the problem again, Johnny?

 

[LVLAaron]

No brakes!

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Sometime I think shooters use their brake to disrupt the process of the other shooters on the line

 

[LiveFire]

If there are enough benches maybe skip every other bench.

 

[dgeesaman]

We “discourage” shooters bringing rifles with brakes to our “bring what you want” shoots, and they are verboten at SR Registered BR matches.
I watched a yahoo shooting a 338 LM at the 1000 yds Nats 2 years ago. I was two bench’s over and it was blowing the lid closed on my shooting box.
Imagine what the guy between us was going through! Don’t like them, never have. Even my 416 Hoffman is bare barreled and that puppy needs a brake!
G

Can you make the brake shooter shoot through a big pipe?

I know the PRS guys use brakes a lot but the enclosure situation is the one “downside”. So it seems reasonable that takes shooters eat for themselves what they’re dishing out.

David

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I don't want to be shooting next to a Shooter with a muzzle braked rifle.
Yes, I wear hearing protection and it's still too loud.
I'm all for them being able to shoot on a relay with other shooters with Brakes on their rifles as well.

I actually had a Muzzle Brake shooter say to me, Oh, does it affect your shooting.....Good, then I want to shoot next to you then.

Sometime I think shooters use their break to disrupt the process of the other shooters on the line

And then ya have people like foxguy ran in to, though.,

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Can you make the brake shooter shoot through a big pipe?

I know the PRS guys use brakes a lot but the enclosure situation is the one “downside”. So it seems reasonable that takes shooters eat for themselves what they’re dishing out.

David

Wouldn't help unless the muzzle is in the pipe. Then it will make a big difference. Course that stuff ain't real cheap either.

 

[dgeesaman]

Wouldn't help unless the muzzle is in the pipe. Then it will make a big difference. Course that stuff ain't real cheap either.

That’s how I meant - around the muzzle to collect the brakes air and noise. True I have no idea the cost. Maybe “rent” the noise tube to them to try and claw some of it back(?)

Having a braked shooter relay makes sense to me, and give them the less desirable relay timeslot. Once they get serious they’ll figure out how to get a seat at the big kids table.

 

[hoz53]

I run a local match for our club and it's a 300 yard "varmint" shoot where most shoot from a bench. Lately we have got a lot of newcomers showing up and shooting everything from AR223's to big caliber stuff. It's open to any and all calibers up to .308 but the issue were having is with muzzle brakes. How do I deal with them? Several shooters have been complaining about the back blast from them. Some are so bad they are actually knocking stuff off other benches. I don't think it's fair to ban them across the board because some shooters have developed their loads with them in place. Looking for ideas to not piss off anybody and prevent losing my good shooters that don't want to shoot around them.

i think i probably have some hearing loss from people shooting brakes- i dont shoot them and even when im just shooting at the range I wont stay around them let alone if i was gonna compete. I hate them and they ruin the shooting for me. Best thing you could do is outlaw them at your range- mabie have a brake day thats only for the brakers. i wish they would outlaw them at my club. If brakes were completely done away with i dont think it would effect overall attendance in the shooting sports.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

If you look at Factory catalog offerings, brakes must be the new cool trim on the nicer packages. The buying public thinks their wrong if they don’t get one now. The power of advertising!

 

[Old Navy]

I had to build the shield in the photos to protect my tail light filaments. No more brakes now that I have a suppressor.

 

[Xerothermic]

Ban them. It's a 300 yard shoot up to .308. If you can't shoot a .308 without a brake then, maybe, you should be shooting something smaller. Unscrew the damn thing until the competition is over and then you can go back to annoying people as usual.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Safety first- I pack up and go home when a brake shooter sets up on the next bench. Flink lock muzzle loaders also, if to the left of me. Same for 500 & 460 revolvers. You only have 2 eyes.

No brakes!

agree X10s.

 

[Downeast]

I've had to deal with the brake issue at our little range and this is a great thread to review the various options. I'm thinking a second relay for the "brakers". We shoot a lot of prone and some of the braked rifles will blow a lot of debris onto the adjacent shooters and their optics. Good discusslon.

 

[R.Morehouse]

It's too bad that suppressors can't be as easily accessed as breaks. It would be great if Smiths could make custom suppressors for bench guns. Then we could be lobbying for suppressors to not be counted in the OA weight of the gun, all in the quest of saving our ears.......Yeah, Good Luck With That.....
I run a Terminator break on a beautiful custom WSM that is a "PRS" style rig, I don't shoot it in company and usually on my belly....It has almost zero recoil and really is an incredibly fun gun to shoot........Wish suppressors weren't such an expensive and completely ridiculous PITA to access.......I would not want to hang out next to this gun when being shot........But behind it........

Regards
Rick