The Awesomeness of the Muzzle Break

[370bc]

I had a yote bust out of the brush 25 yards from me yesterday morning and made a right turn that gave me a straight away running shot.
Sitting in my turkey lounger chair and with my kimber montana already resting on the bog pog tripod, I was able to enjoy the smoothness of the discharge of the 88 varmint berger from my 243 win and watch the yote go head over heels through the scope from the shot. It was a head shot where the bullet amazingly stayed inside the yote, leaving a pristine pelt for my fur buyer. ( Don't think it will be much this year).
After having several rifles for 15 years with muzzle breaks and using electronic ear muffs, it seems strange to shoot a rifle now that does not have one installed. A person should never shoot anything anywhere w/o hearing protection, (I have on installed on my 1911 also). And the efficiency of electronic ear muffs are astounding. Shooting is fun. Why not make it more fun and employ muzzles breaks & muffs? The views of the hits are as good as it gets and it adds loads of fun to the enjoyment of our sport.

 

[civil82]

I'm a fan of breaks, also. Hearing pro is an absolute must have when varmint shooting with or without a break anymore for me. I had pretty substantial hearing damage at a young age...

 

[Medium rare]

I'm with you on the hearing protection. Always use it. No animal is worth losing hearing over. The only time you should shoot without hearing protection is in self defense. With that said I think muzzle brakes are awesome. They make my 7saum and 300 wsm nice to shoot. Unfortunately we can't use brakes in f-class so most of my rifles don't have brakes.

Sounds like an awesome hunt. congrats!

 

[people]

I like them also. I love being able to spot my shots. The only way it gets better is a Suppressor but they do have draw backs and do not do as good as some breaks.

 

[antitactical]

I am a brake guy too. I put one on a 6mm ppc heavy gun (around 15lbs) this year and put it in a varmint stock. The crosshairs wiggle and a hole appears on the paper when load developing. Awesome for groundhog hunting. You don't need a spotter to tell you where you hit. I put them on almost all of my rifles

 

[Larryh128]

Most of mine have them because I don't like recoil :'( Even put them on AR's.

 

[searcher]

I wanted to brake my F-Class gun for a small quantity of "serious" long-range varmint shots but did not want to thread the barrel on a particularly accurate tube. I ordered a Witt "clamp-on" style brake which is machined to fit your barrel. Put one on my 6BR and, even shooting 105's, I can see the hits. Easy to pull off after the shoot if wanted for F-Class. Cost around $80.00. I have since put them on several other rifles which have barrels that are half shot. They can live out the rest of their lives as effective varminters.

 

[MClark]

I have a Van Horn brake on my 460 Weatherby, without it I want to cry when I pull the trigger.
On a Whitworth 375 H&H I put on the same brake and a mercury recoil reducer, it is like shooting a 243, sweet.

Mark

 

[searcher]

What kind of Mercury reducer? I made a super-lightweight .375 H&H on a Sako and without the brake, it would "brake" you. Added a brake but not aggressive enough - if that can be, and I'm not a whimp when it comes to recoil. Option is to replace with more effective brake or add the Mercury thing - that interests me if not too difficult on my composite stock. I'd just like to get it down to a 7 MM Mag or so. The forend flies out of my hand upon firing.

 

[MClark]

This is the one I used, http://www.mercuryrecoil.com
I ordered online but previous had driven by but we're closed (on a Sunday). I bought four, just in case they get banned or require hazard shipping.
It weighs about a pound.

The 375 I was using for the safari rifle shoots and wanted to be able to shoot as fast as possible and not lose time because of recoil. Sort of a giant "Race gun". The brake is big, 1" diameter and works good. I likely could have just used the brake but I had the recoil reducers and just went for the max.
It far from lightweight at 10 1/2 pounds. I have hunted with it.


Mark

 

[searcher]

Thanks for the info. I spent a lot lightening the rifle and adding a pound back on to manage recoil will be a last, but possible option. Probably time to look at a "Holland-style" brake.

 

[timeout]

Thanks for the info. I spent a lot lightening the rifle and adding a pound back on to manage recoil will be a last, but possible option. Probably time to look at a "Holland-style" brake.

Don't forget to consider that the brake puts the weight out at the end of the barrel. Depending on the length of your barrel, the brake may upset the balance of your rifle. Sounds like you have put a lot of emphasis on light, meaning you intend to carry the rifle a bunch. I have come to the conclusion that a front end heavy rifle is a miserable wretch to pack through the country. I have never tried a mercury reducer, but depending on the current balance of your rifle, it may be the best option. In the weight versus balance debate, I'll add a bit of weight to maintain balance. That being said, I am a fan of brakes to reduce recoil. My shoulders are old and ouchy.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

I wanted to brake my F-Class gun for a small quantity of "serious" long-range varmint shots but did not want to thread the barrel on a particularly accurate tube. I ordered a Witt "clamp-on" style brake which is machined to fit your barrel. Put one on my 6BR and, even shooting 105's, I can see the hits. Easy to pull off after the shoot if wanted for F-Class. Cost around $80.00. I have since put them on several other rifles which have barrels that are half shot. They can live out the rest of their lives as effective varminters.

Im also thinking about ordering a couple of his brakes but they are banning brakes in almost all the comps I take part in over here so im still deciding if it wont be better to get the barrels threaded and add a small silencer to it.At least over her in SA we don't need any paperwork for silencers and we have a couple local guys that build some fantastic cans.

For recoil deduction would you take a Witt brake over a silencer and and does the removing of the clamp on brake damage the finish on your barrel at all?
Sorry about the thread jack

 

[searcher]

I live in California, where they would outlaw Red Ryder BB-guns if they could. As such, I've never fired a silenced firearm as illegal here -so I cannot make a comparison on recoil reduction. I can say that the Witt brakes are quite large and quite effective. They do not lend a streamlined custom look to your firearm but they are good brakes. I like them because I can throw one on a barrel that has limited life left - without having to spend a hundred on a brake and another hundred for the gunsmith - on top of having to wait 3 months to get it done. I have removed a couple of the brakes and there was no noticeable damage to the finish of the barrels. Barrels don't last too long for me as I shoot a lot and I don't get too concerned over scratches if they occur. I might be more careful about mounting on an antique or family heirloom.

 

[p-man]

Guys, take from me - wear your hearing protection as much as you can - after four decades of military service plus years of shooting EVEN WITH HEARING PROTECTION, I now have some measurable hearing loss and I will live the rest of my days listening to what sounds like a swarm of mosquitoes buzzing in my ears. Even though I use ear plugs in the military training, never used them in actual combat tours - never used them in shotgun hunting - and never used them rifle hunting until the last few years. The rest of the time I used ear muffs. Use the best protection you can find - even one isolated shot can damage your hearing. Learn from this Dummy, please.

 

[CSM19Z5M]

Spent a career in Armored Cavalry in the Army. Lots of big boom! My hearing is bad enough already without using a brake. I just don't like them, not sure why. Heck, I'm old, don't need a reason I always use hearing protection though with all my firearms.

 

[Geno C]

If you don't mind ugly and want a really effective brake, look into getting a JP tank brake. They don't add much weight and reduce recoil a lot! They are extremely loud to the shooter and bystanders so ear pro is a must! That being said, I don't own but a couple brakes anymore. I like quiet recoil reduction

 

[370bc]

Wish we could use silencers here in 'The People's Republic' in Illinois.

 

[mao0720]

Ive never been very good at controlling recoil with a harris type bipod. As soon as I put a brake on my 308 barrel, my accuracy went from about 3/4 moa to 1/2 moa, just because I could follow through better after shot broke. Ive since re-barreled to a 243 win shooting 105 Amaxs, and Im already feeling the effects of no brake again, I need to get this barrel threaded for a brake soon. I have a 30 cal suppressor that I was using on my 308 that will work well on my 243 as well. There really is nothing like shooting with a suppressor. Its almost like cheating.