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

[Alex Wheeler]

Alex, I assume you are talking about shooting in the 600/1000 yard format.

There might be a difference in the heavier rifles used in this Format as opposed to the 10.5 pound Rifles used in Short Range Group.

The Long Range Committees of the Sanctioning Bodies have determined that Brakes are not a problem in that Format. I cannot see that happening in the Short Range Formats.

Oh it will still mess you up if you double with the guy next to you. I was just saying with really good hearing protection the blast just doesnt bother me. Even in short range where they are not allowed I think really good ear protection would help as well. For me it just tunes everything out and lets me focus on what I am doing and not whats around me.

 

[Larry Koch]

Going back and re-reading some of the comments in this thread emphasizes why so many guns clubs appear unfriendly and/or have shrinking memberships.

You've got what appears to be a friendly type shoot. Some folks on benches and some folks on the ground, and guns ranging from ARs to bolt guns. So many of you are simply unwilling to accommodate accessories that you don't like/want. You all are so creative when it comes to ferreting out tweaks to your load, working around reloading issues and other things, and yet your answer to competitors with a brake is to exclude them.

There are plenty of seemingly simple fixes for the muzzle blast problem. Put up some cardboard between the users, maybe some extra target stands that are a couple of 1x2 strips of wood with a target backer between the shooters. If you're on the ground, use a range bag or rifle case. Put all of the braked rifles on one end and everyone else on the other end, you can probably get away with 1 divider if the two sides have no gaps between them. I'm sure there are plenty more potential workarounds, this isn't an insurmountable problem that requires excluding people from a "run what you brung" type of match.

I just want to enjoy my hear as I grow old, There is no amount of ear protection to stop the violent sound of a brake on large caliber rifle, or a small caliber rifle with a short barrel and a brake. Noise has more than one way to enter the ear drum, it can go thru your skull by intense vibration. I spend many years operation steam and gas turbines to produce electric. And even with plugs and ear muff protection its still able to damage hearing over time. The best would be sound barriers that really work and noise reduction suppressors. But are lame government is going to let it happen. Really if you enjoy brakes so much always sit next to the guy using one. Instead of the guy not.

 

[Northridge]

Oh it will still mess you up if you double with the guy next to you. I was just saying with really good hearing protection the blast just doesnt bother me. Even in short range where they are not allowed I think really good ear protection would help as well. For me it just tunes everything out and lets me focus on what I am doing and not whats around me.

Agreed

 

[Kalitrazescapee]

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

I have a couple rifles that would be easier on shooter brakes...a limbsaver pad does help...and I never got snow or dirt in my eyes... I'll just leave the rum stock

 

[Big Mc]

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.

Easy. Just say No. Tommy Mc

 

[michaeljp65]

Put all the brakes on one end together with empty benches between

put all the brakes up one end right next to each other, and let them see how non braked users feel.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Next match is coming up on the 23rd. I'm going to try running two strings with "non-brake" guys shooting first and "brake" guy shooting second. I'll post an update...

 

[R.Morehouse]

Next match is coming up on the 23rd. I'm going to try running two strings with "non-brake" guys shooting first and "brake" guy shooting second. I'll post an update...

You might want to do some kind of a coin flip to determine which group has the 1st relay........Just Sayin'

Regards
Rick

 

[Lefty Trigger]

You might want to do some kind of a coin flip to determine which group has the 1st relay........Just Sayin'

Regards
Rick

That's a great idea...

 

[rwj]

That's a great idea...

You’re the match director… it’s your decision… let anyone that disagrees volunteer to run the next match!

 

[FNSafari]

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.

Have one relay where only rifles with breaks shoot, then they all can experience the effects

As a side note, I am the match director at a club that holds registered IBS score matches. Thankfully the IBS does not allow muzzle breaks.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Next match is coming up on the 23rd. I'm going to try running two strings with "non-brake" guys shooting first and "brake" guy shooting second. I'll post an update...

You say in your OP that this is a “Varmint“ Shoot.

How do you conduct the Match, and what type of targets are you shooting at and at what distances. Do you allow flags, (some informal matches do not).

I’m just curious.

 

[Topstrap]

Shoot beside them all the time at our 1000 yard steel plate matches. Guess it's what you get used to. Nobody holding "Quiet Please" signs up like at golf tournaments. It's shooting and some go bang louder than others.

We're testing an Outlier barrel/chassis 308 with one of their 3 port radial designs and everyone calls it salad shooter. Every shot shooting prone blows grass/stuff everywhere. He's even had grass smoking under the muzzle before. Fun times.

Topstrap

 

[jghoghunter]

I'm sorry this had nothing to do with what is being talked about here. Shooting out in the middle of a field is nothing, compared to shooting under a roof at a range during a match.

 

[Diverjeff]

I'm sorry this had nothing to do with what is being talked about here. Shooting out in the middle of a field is nothing, compared to shooting under a roof at a range during a match.

My bad then,I thought he covered both aspects of comparing noise levels and did state the difference when being in a semi-enclosed space.I'll see if I can delete it the post and if not,mods feel free to do so.

...there you go.

 

[jackieschmidt]

It’s not the sound, ear protection takes care of that.

It’s the effect that the concussion has on adjacent equipment. As I stated in my post #58, at a short range “Benchrest” style match, where the majority of shooters are shooting free recoil and trying to hit a 1/16 diameter dot or shoot a sub .200 group, it is a major concern.

And, as I stated, there are many shooters who do not know how these Matches are conducted. If they did, they wound understand the problems involved in allowing rifles with brakes.

There have been some solutions offered up. Barriers is one. I will propose that at our annual meeting, where the response will be, “you build them, you put them up, you take them down, you find some place to store them.”

Different relays? At our Club, we have 25 Benches. We normally have less than 25 show up for a club match. If we do have more, we shoot two relays. I suppose Brake shooters could be put on the 2d relay. Spaced apart.

But I still contend that there are venues where rifles with brakes, even very large capacity rifles with brakes, are not a problem, and in fact are part of the equipment list. A Short Range Benchrest match is NOT one of these venues.

 

[Diverjeff]

I agree with you 100% Jackie,sitting close to someone with a brake in a semi-enclosed area while trying to shoot the groups you guys do would rattle anyone because of the concussion.I don't shoot benchrest or anything but just go to our local range(benches under a canopy)twice a month and shoot paper and steel with a braked 338LM.Always on a Friday morning when the firing line is light and I make sure I'm as far away as possible from everyone else so as not to bother anyone.I never shoot more than 40-50 rounds and am gone by 10:30AM before the AR crowd shows up,the noise they make does bother me and I'm not exactly sure why but they seem louder than my 338LM.

 

[Steel Mover]

Only time I ever got asked to not return with a gun, was with my new 260. 120s at 3,215 fps and with an integral brake. That was fine, been a match director for 45 years, it was a concreter line with a low metal roof. Every time I pulled the trigger, it felt like it stole the air out of your lungs. Only had shot it on an open range before, so no big deal, I brought a 6.5 BR back for the next month.
Most shooters do not get insulted if you tell them the muzzle blast is distracting the other shooters or disrupting the match.
A 308 Win limit is about power and range not caliber. Would be the same as a 300 Wetherby on a 308 Win restricted range. Your real problem might be just 308 and not 308 Win power level.

 

[Alfred]

We allow a shooter to shoot with one the first time they come to a match, after that no muzzle breaks.

We put it in the match match registration page.

 

[FNSafari]

If you shoot enough off the bench next to other shooters you will eventually double with them....your shot and their shot are very closely timed. If the other shooter is a fraction of a second in front of your shot, you bullet coursing through his muzzle blast wake and what it can do to the bullets POI on the target just has to be seen to be believed. Let alone breaks.
Our club has 12 benches, spaced about 6' apart on center. Way too close to one another for breaks. We cannot extend the line due to geography.