Muzzle brake or not?

Paul7 said:

If you do plan on using a muzzle break, make sure you're saving up for hearing aids too.

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Muzzle brakes work... but at a cost.

My .308 Socom16 M1a (16" barrel) has a brake on it... it works fantastic. It is still louder behind the stock than it would be without one, and... having stood 45^ off to one side while my buddy fired it... is obnoxiously loud as a bystander. If you are hunting with it... I would still wear earplugs. I wear plugs and muffs when I'm shooting mine... trying to preserve what little hearing I have left these days.

As far as accuracy... the Browning BOSS system proves something hanging off the end of your barrel can affect barrel harmonics, how it does in the end would be luck of the draw.

I'm a crusty, opinionated old bastard. A gun barrel needs ONE hole, which should run from the breech to the muzzle. If it needs more than one hole, I don't need the gun.

Try this -- shoot your rifle without ear protection. Then put in plugs and wear a muff and shoot it again. Notice the recoil reduction? A QUIET gun will have much less perceived recoil.

taliv said:

have to point out that even the names of the products you recommended contradict the rest of your post.

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My point - apparently lost in my brevity - was not to say brakes are quieter in any way than bare barrel, but rather to acknowledge that these two, among a handful of other well designed brakes, don’t seem to bring back as much “concussion” to the shooter as some poorly designed brakes - or maybe rather other brakes which were designed for hyper efficiency in recoil reduction without as much (or any) consideration for blast or concussion to the shooter.

Some brakes will feel like your face is being place kicked through a pillow, so the fact the recoil is lessened is largely moot - the shooting experience, even with plugs and muffs, still sucks. I tend to feel far more “blast” or “concussion” with a radial port brake even behind the rifle, even when recoil is reduced more than a fin-type. I can notice a distinct increase in recoil, but also a distinct increase in blast when shooting an ASR brake instead of a Fat Bastard - which should logically be the opposite (more recoil reduction should bring more blast back to the shooter). But the ASR is a pretty poorly designed brake - it brings blast back to the shooter without slowing the rifle as much as these others. The Piercison Muscle Brake is another brake I’ve found to be very efficient without slapping the shooter in the face - but they’re harder to source than these other two.

Sitting ~4ft BESIDE a shooter with a Hellfire, Fat Bastard, or a Muscle Brake is brutal. But behind the gun, I don’t notice as much blast - just sound.

Similar experience with suppressors - measuring, it’s fairly common that a SiCo Omega 300 is objectively quieter than a TBAC Ultra 7, but most shooters will find the TBAC to be more pleasant. The only thing I can point to is that most seem to find the Omega sound to be “sharper,” so the overall experience is more important than just the shift in decibels.

Varminterror said:

Sitting ~4ft BESIDE a shooter with a Hellfire, Fat Bastard, or a Muscle Brake is brutal. But behind the gun, I don’t notice as much blast - just sound.

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Thats been my experience as well, even most of the cheap ebay brake will direct the blast around the shooter (probably because they copy decent brakes). I keep my muzzles on my hunting guns bare for the other guys more than myself. I touched off the 28 Nosler sans muffs last time I was out with dad and I think it bothered me less than It did him sitting about 6ft to my right and a bit behind.

Varminterror said:

Brake them.

Area419 Hellfire

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I second that.

Considering all of your rifles are .30 cal you can get one brake and move it from rifle to rifle.

One word of caution. If you or your daughter are hunting from a box blind make sure you're wearing good ear protection at the "moment of truth". Otherwise, shooting a braked rifle from within an enclosed space will ring your bell

Hugger-4641 said:

I may let my daughter hunt with it this year, so I'm considering having the barrel threaded and adding a muzzle break.

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It’s nigh on the middle of September now so it might be a little late for this year, but here’s how my wife deals with the recoil of her relatively “hard-kicking” 7mm Rem Mag. Using reduced loads, she practices with it off and on all summer long. In a couple of weeks, just to make sure the rifle is "sighted in," my wife will run a half-dozen or so “full-house” hunting loads through it while wearing a PAST recoil pad. Then, come deer season, if she gets a chance to put a venison in the freezer, she'll hardly notice when her rifle goes off anyway.
BTW, a small charge (24.0grs) of SR 4759 behind a Speer 130gr SP in my wife's 7mm Rem Mag makes for a very mild shooting rifle, and it's surprisingly accurate.

Hugger-4641 said:

You are spot on. Our gun season starts in Nov. I won't have time this year to work up a softer but still accurate load for her, so if she hunts with the Howa she'll be using this load. I do have time to get the barrel threaded and throw a brake on it.

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Start with the suggested starting load in the manual, using the same bullet and powder. For example, the starting load for H4831 and a 150 grain bullet in my old Hodgen manual supposedly gives 2366 FPS and 30,000 CUP. If that will group within 3 inches, it's good enough.

Not on a bolt action.

If your rifle is an AR, that only hits steel and USPSA targets, then for sure invest in the best brake out there.

I don't know why the kind of brake on my Savage Model 116 SE didn't become more popular. With a flick of the wrist, you can turn the brake off or on-and much shooting has confirmed for me that there's no significant difference in the point of impact between the two settings.

Shot my friend's 300 Win Mag after he added a brake. It reduced the recoil to almost pleasant. Didn't effect accuracy and simple ear plugs make it tolerable. But, DO NOT discharge it in a closed space. My AR15 .223 has a brake and makes the recoil quite light, but noisy as hell. Looking to suppress it.

If you are getting 3/4 inch groups I'd leave it alone.

Has your daughter shot the rifle? I bet if she is able to repeat the 3/4" group (that's an accomplishment!) she'll want to leave it alone too. As others have posted, you've got a little time.

SwampWolf said:

I don't know why the kind of brake on my Savage Model 116 SE didn't become more popular. With a flick of the wrist, you can turn the brake off or on-and much shooting has confirmed for me that there's no significant difference in the point of impact between the two settings.

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I have a Brockman that I got from @Skylerbone Its very effective, and the OFF feature is very nice. I believe this was the design savaged copied for their brake.
https://www.eabco.net/Brockman-OpenClose-Blue-Muzzle-Brake--Installed_p_13345.html

LoonWulf said:

I have a Brockman that I got from @Skylerbone Its very effective, and the OFF feature is very nice. I believe this was the design savaged copied for their brake.
https://www.eabco.net/Brockman-OpenClose-Blue-Muzzle-Brake--Installed_p_13345.html

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It was pretty Noticeable with the break off on the 7wsm striker my dad had, worked good on them for a 14" barrel it didn't blow much in your face. But don't stand next to one Especially next to a large metal building, think I can still hear ringing lol.

In addition to having used that Brockman, dad had a Savage 116 in 300 Win Mag with a similar brake. Both the Savage and Encore were as gentle as .308 Win with very decent accuracy. Both were chronographed open and closed with near identical results.

Still, in this case I might hold off and persist on loaning a milder rifle such as the 6.5 Creedmoor the OP mentioned having. Perhaps it’s even money depending on time line.

While no body like a muzzle going off next to them at the shooting range it’s ultimately the best interest of the shooter what counts. If you think a muzzle break will beneficial to the quality of your shooting please do so.

Brake.....

Hugger-4641 said:

So, I've done quite a bit of load development and shooting this week with my 300wm's, 30-06's, and Sil's 308. I've finally found a good sub MOA load for my Howa 30-06 but it is on the heavy side and I've realized that it has much more recoil than the 308, my 700CDL 30-06 or my 300wm's . I may let my daughter hunt with it this year, so I'm considering having the barrel threaded and adding a muzzle break.
Opinions on this and/or recommendations for a good break?
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H380 and a 150 NBT made a very manageable deer load for my sister in law's 30-06. She has dentures and the recoil of standard loads ate her cheek.

Nature Boy said:

I second that.

Considering all of your rifles are .30 cal you can get one brake and move it from rifle to rifle.

One word of caution. If you or your daughter are hunting from a box blind make sure you're wearing good ear protection at the "moment of truth". Otherwise, shooting a braked rifle from within an enclosed space will ring your bell

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And give you permanent tinnitus. I know that for a fact. One quick shot under a roofed back porch made me have a ringing in my ears since then. I usually had muffs hanging there but they had been moved.
My wife carries electronic muffs. I just wear those spring band ear plugs that hang around my neck.

How about a mercury recoil reducer instead. It'll add a little more weight but not extra becibles to shooter or bystanders.